COMAR
is an internet based
information service to assist testing and analytical laboratories in finding
the certified reference material they need.
COMAR is maintained in a co-operation of national or international institutes.
The use of COMAR is free of charge. Users have to register online.
COMAR is a liaison partner with ISO Committee on Reference Materials (REMCO).
History
In the late 1970's Laboratoire National d'Essais (LNE) proposed an computerized
index
CO
de d'Indexation des
MA
tériaux de
R
éférence (hence
COMAR
).
This code was presented to the ISO Committee on Reference Materials
(ISO-REMCO), which encouraged its use as the basis for an international
information system on CRMs.
In the mid 1980s COMAR was improved and established by 3 co-operating
institutes (LNE, NPL,BAM). At this time the COMAR database contained
about 3000 CRMs.
In May 1990 the co-operation was set up on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
originally signed by 7 participants. From 1990 to1998 the COMAR
secretariat was hosted by LNE. Since 1998 the secretariat has been operated by
BAM.
Until 2003 COMAR was not free of charge. It was sold on floppy disc as
MS-DOS version and updated once a year.
In 2001, the development of a user-friendly and internet capable version of
COMAR was initiated and commissioned by BAM. This product was developed
by a commercial software house.
Since March 2003 COMAR is free of charge available for users via the
internet.
Technical Requirements
All standard internet browsers may be used (Internet Explorer version 5,
Netscape version 4.5 and Opera version 6 or higher). The site has been designed
for a screen resolution of 800x600 Pixel.
Why certified reference materials?
Contents of the database
CRMs are classified by fields of application
8 main-fields with up to 10 sub-fields
October 2009