The 1^st 2018 IRMF was held at the Birchwood Centre, Warrington on the 20^th June. Over 40 people attended the conference.  The topics presented were very diverse, including:

- Progress on the intercomparison exercise
- Do we really need to try so hard? Is testing a waste of money?
- Lead attenuation of high dose gamma at BAE Barrow
- Qualified experts – how many do we have and what certifications do they hold?
- Recovery of a failed neutron exposure system at AWE
- How do we decide whether an instrument is fit for purpose?
- Update on ISO standards

There were a number of lively debates, including a discussion around the recognition of qualified experts; the lack of Qualified Persons and portability/recognition of this status, particularly compared with holding RPA status, was of particular interest to the audience.  The delegates were also asked to think about what instrument failures were not picked up by ¹³⁷Cs testing, and what ought to go into the new GPG14 document. The audience was also asked to lend its weight to a justification for a new van de Graaff system at NPL, as this service is widely used and the existing system is somewhat aged.  The next meeting will be held at NPL in November - please look at NPL's website for this meeting.  SRP will run next year's IRMF in June. 

View the presentations and photos from the day below.