ISO 28560-2 Quality Control Service

The ISO 28560-2 Conformance Service is provided by Convergent Software Ltd (CSL) to assist libraries and librarians to test whether the encoding on an RFID tag conforms to the rules defined in ISO 28560-1 and ISO 28560-2. The service may be used at any time by the library, for example prior to the conversion to the ISO 28560-2 data model, or when new data configurations are being considered, of as a quality control test on tags from new suppliers.

The service is offered exclusively to libraries and is not available to RFID system vendors. Convergent Software has other products and services available to the vendor community.

The service operates on a subscription basis where a library purchases 6 credits (1 credit = 1 tag test), which may be used over a period of time. Each individual tag is tested against the encoding rules specified in ISO 28560-2. The service provides a report that indicates whether the encoding fully conforms to the encoding rules, or whether the encoding fails to meet the requirements. If the quality control report indicates that the encoding on the tag is correct, this does not equate to a certificate that all tags encoded using the same software will also pass.

While a successful decode provides a good indication that other tags encoded with the same data elements and using the same software system are conformant, no guarantee is given to this effect. The data elements within ISO 28560 may contain a wide range of data values. It is not practical to test all of the data permutations used within each element and so the test procedure assumes that a supplier will employ only permitted values and data structures within each element when specified in the various parts of ISO 28560.

The subscription for 6 credits costs £250 + VAT for tags provided by libraries in the United Kingdom, and €300 + VAT for anywhere else in Europe. A subscription can be achieved by sending a Purchase Order to 28560QCservice@convergent-software.co.uk.

After a library has been assigned an invoice, sample tags to be tested need to be sent to this address:

Convergent Software will carry out the tests and respond with a written report on the successful pass or failure of the each sample, which will be retained on file for future reference. Information about the library and the specific samples submitted will be kept confidential. Anonymous results of the tests may be combined with other results in an analysis report and presented to subscribing libraries as part of the service.

Participants in the Quality Control service will also have access to other information:

Convergent Software Ltd. makes no representation that a successful pass of a single sample tag is indicative of full conformance of the encoding system used to create the encoding on the sample tag. This applies to the specific data elements encoded and more so to data elements that were not tested.

The data elements within ISO 28560 may contain a wide range of data values. It is not practical to test all of the data permutations used within each element and so the conformance testing assumes that the developer of the encoding system will employ only permitted values and data structures within each data element as specified in ISO 28560-1 and ISO 28560-2.

Libraries are permitted to share the results of the tests (whether a pass or a failure) with the organisation providing the tags, or the organisation providing the encoding software if the encoded tag was created by the library. Transferring the results to other parties is not permitted. The results of successes shall not be used for promotional purposes. The results of failures shall not be used for litigation, but only for ensuring corrective actions are taken.