This part of ISO 14253 establishes the rules for determining when the characteristics of a specific workpiece or measuring equipment are in conformance or non-conformance with a given tolerance (for a workpiece) or limits of maximum permissible errors (for a measuring equipment), taking into account the uncertainty of measurement. It also gives rules on how to deal with cases where a clear decision (conformance or non-conformance with specification) cannot be taken, i.e. when the measurement result falls within the uncertainty range (see 3.23) that exists around the specification limits. This part of ISO 14253 applies to specifications defined in general GPS standards (see ISO/TR 14638), i.e. standards prepared by ISO/TC 213, including ¾ workpiece specifications (usually given as tolerance limits), and ¾ measuring equipment specifications (usually given as maximum permissible errors). It may also apply to specifications other than those defined in connection with general GPS standards. This part of ISO 14253 does not apply to inspection using limit gauges. Inspection with limit gauges is covered by ISO/R 1938