API 580 Risk Based Inspection Practice Test

Precision and accuracy are both critical concepts in risk assessment, but they represent different aspects of measurement quality. Precision refers to the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results; it's a measure of consistency and reliability. Essentially, precision is about metrics and how closely measured values are clustered together regardless of their proximity to the true value. On the other hand, accuracy refers to how close a measured value is to the actual (true) value. It encompasses the correctness of the measurement process and thus involves the validity and reliability of the applied methods. This aspect places importance on how well the risk assessment method captures the true state of risks rather than just the consistency of the data produced. In risk assessment, understanding this distinction helps ensure that both the repeatability of results (precision) and their correctness in depicting reality (accuracy) are prioritized.