Our lab is accredited by the ACS Registrars to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. Your ISO 9000 (series) or other quality program in most cases recognize this accreditation and can accept our calibrations without the burden of conducting site audits or quality surveys.
Q: Why do I need to calibrate my instruments?
A: Regular calibration provides you with:
According to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the purpose of calibration is:
Q: How can I see when my equipment is calibrated?
A: Calibration Certificate is always provided with equipment calibrated. Each calibrated item is accompanied with a sticker printed with pertinent data such as serial number and calibration date.
The sticker is attached to the equipment when possible. For small items like transducers with insufficient space for stickers, the sticker is attached to the box in which the item is delivered. If no free space available on the equipment and there is no dedicated box, the sticker is delivered together with the printed certificate.
Q: Are diaphragms cleaned as part of microphone calibration?
A: Dirty diaphragms are not cleaned as part of the calibration. Cleaning the diaphragms affects the performance of the microphone and violates the calibration history. Diaphragm cleaning can be arranged upon special agreement . In such cases, two calibration certificates are issued:
Q: Why should I calibrate a new instrument that came directly from the factory?
A: Sometimes it will be a legal requirement and sometimes you will need to chart changes in the instrument over time. In these cases, you will need to track calibration data from the time of the initial purchase.
Q: When should I re-calibrate my instrument?
A: We recommend that you begin a calibration history from day one and re-calibrate once a year. This enables you to compare your measurement results over time.
Q: Is it sufficient to send in my instruments for calibration every second year?
A: It depends on how accurate you want it to be. Do you want to risk months or years of untrustworthy measurement results? This makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly when the faulty measurements first occurred. This is why we strongly recommend annual calibration for all devices.
How often you calibrate your instrument is a balance between risk and cost. The shorter the period between calibrations, the lower the risk of questionable measurements. We consequently recommend annual calibration for instruments.
Equipment used on a daily basis will have a shorter calibration cycle than equipment used, for example, once a month.
Q: Our instruments are used in our internal R&D department only, and there are no public or quality standards we have to follow. Why should we calibrate?
A: If you need to compare measurement results across a period of time, we recommend that you calibrate your instruments. This will provide you with a certificate containing measured values if one of your products or research findings is later accused of being faulty.
Q: What is the difference between accredited and traceable calibration?
A: Accredited national and international bodies, such as the ILAC, approve accredited calibration. Traceable calibration is conducted according to these same standards, and ensures that calibration results are correct, but an official governing body does not explicitly approve the results.
Q: Why should I choose accredited calibration? Isn’t traceable calibration enough?
A: If you or your customers want to publicize the measurement results or fulfil requirements in quality processes, such as ISO certification, you must have accredited calibration. And the certificate can be used as legally acceptable documentation.
Q: Is it sufficient to use a calibrator?
A: No. A calibrator is used to verify the instrument just before and after a field measurement. This is not a replacement for periodic calibration in a laboratory.
Q: What is required for a calibration laboratory in order to achieve accreditation?
A: You will need a quality policy that fulfils the requirements of ISO 17025, including physical premises, methodology, procedures, traceability, technical skills, and record documents.
When a thermometer is heated, the liquid within the bulb expands and is forced upward into the capillary where its level indicates the temperature value. Each heating and cooling cycle imparts stress to the bulb. After repeated use, even the highest quality liquid in glass thermometer will experience a slight change in bulb volume due to this expansion and contraction. When this change takes place, the indication of the thermometer will also change. Recalibration of the certified thermometer updates the indications and thus allows the user to maintain accurate, reliable and consistent results when making temperature measurements.
When your instrument is calibrated, it is compared to NIST certified primary master standards at the test points specified by the customer or ICL, in accordance to ASTM and NIST test methods.
A new NIST Traceable certificate of calibration will be issued, valid for the period of time that you specify. This certificate meets the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 25, ISO/IEC 17025, the FDA, the EPA, and the ISO 9000 & QS 9000 series of quality standards.
This is a complex question. Consideration should be given to the frequency of use, the temperatures at which it is used, and the requirements of the regulatory agencies and/or the quality system you may be using. In general, for most laboratory and industrial applications a recalibration interval of one year is considered reasonable and prudent, however you should choose a recalibration interval which satisfies your quality system and then be sure to adhere to it.
Having attained an ISO accreditation ourselves, we understand the process and the requirements. We will work with your quality people to be certain we are meeting all aspects of your system’s requirements. We have built our reputation as being a company that makes problems with deficient documentation disappear.
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