Any time you have an instrument calibrated, you should receive a calibration certificate that includes a number of essential details about your piece of equipment and its calibration. It’s important to ensure that your calibration certificate has all of these elements; otherwise, it could be considered incomplete.
In this post, we will discuss the necessary elements that you should expect to see in a calibration certificate. We’ll also include some information about the different types of calibration certificates that you might receive and which one is ideal for your needs.
What is a calibration certificate?
A calibration certificate (or calibration report) is an official document from a professional calibration specialist that outlines key measurements and calibration notes about your instrument.
It’s important to have this supporting documentation with your instrument because it isn’t quite enough to just say that your equipment is calibrated. Instead, you should know how it was calibrated, the conditions under which it was checked, and the person or company who completed the calibration.
What elements should a calibration certificate contain?
With that said, there are some standard details that should be included in your calibration certificate, no matter where you get it from or who performs the calibration.
Whether you’re calibrating scales, a thermometer, gauges, pipettes, or other equipment, your calibration certificate should contain the following information at a minimum.
- Your name and contact details
- The name and contact details of the laboratory or company that performed the calibration
- Specific information about your instrument type and model
- The kind of calibration test performed
- Calibration interval
- Correction factor and error factor
- As-found and as-left data (measurements when the item was received and when it left)
- Uncertainty of measurements
When you receive your calibration certificate, you should verify that the above details are included. If not, the organisation that reads your calibration certificate may have questions about it or might not accept it if certain criteria are missing (particularly details about traceability and compliance).
What kind of calibration certificate do you need?
It’s also critical to understand the different types of calibration certificates that you might expect to receive. Before having your instrument calibrated, you should ask the company or laboratory whether you will receive an accredited certificate, non-accredited certificate, or conformance certificate.
The advantage of an accredited certificate is that it complies with ISO 17025, which is the international standard for calibration. In Australia, that means your calibration certificate will be recognised by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). It should also be recognised abroad, as long as it has the official logo of the accrediting body.
On the other hand, non-accredited certificates and conformance certificates are still useful to understand a bit more about your instrument, but neither is formally accepted or recognised as official calibration documents.
National Weighing & Instruments provides calibration services for hundreds of types of instruments, including temperature and humidity devices, weighing equipment, metrology instruments, and volumetric measuring equipment (POVA). To learn more about calibration services from National Weighing & Instruments or to book an appointment, call us today on 1300 669 162 or visit our website.
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