One of the many tasks of a reference testing laboratory includes creating reference materials for calibrating scales like this one.

A reference laboratory can be defined in many different ways; however, there are two broad senses to the term:

• a laboratory that performs reference or calibration measurement procedures or assigns reference values to test objects, later potentially providing those associated reference values for references or sources of traceability of test results; alternate names include: reference measurement, reference testing, and calibration laboratory^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

• a laboratory — typically privately-owned — that performs quality and cost-effective high-volume and esoteric testing of biological samples for physicians, hospitals, and other laboratories; alternate names include: referral, diagnostic, or commercial testing laboratory^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Reference measurement and calibration

The idea of a laboratory dedicated to performing reference measurements for the benefit of the general public apparently had been conceived and implemented in Germany before the beginning of the twentieth century; however, as of 1902, few if any of this laboratory type existed in the United States and other parts of the world.