In any industry, weighing and measuring is present and having accurate equipment must be of the highest priorities, especially if it includes chemicals, stock or money.
But what is calibration exactly? When calibrating an instrument, you are comparing the known measurement (the standard) against measurements of your instruments. There are two objectives of the measuring instrument with calibrating. Firstly, it is checking the accuracy of your instrument and secondly it determines the traceability of the measurement. If your instrument doesn’t meet the standards set out, then a service of the instrument is required. There are also many different types of calibrations:
- Electrical Metrology
- Temperature and Humidity
- Flowmeters
- Force and Torque
- Dimensional Metrology
- Pressure and Vacuum
So, understanding what calibration is, it is also good to know why you should calibrate your instruments. Instruments that are used all day every day is a lot like cars, they can suffer wear and tear and can break a lot sooner if not serviced regularly. But what are the other drivers that make periodical calibration important:
1. Compliance with regulations and standards
Some industries and workplaces such as pharmaceutical and Labatories must follow strict standards set
out by government departments. In addition, their instruments must be calibrated by a certified
business, which must also follow strict guidelines.
2. Improves safety
There are two safety sectors to take into consideration: employee safety and consumer safety. When volatile material is involved in a workplace, plant and employee safety is a high priority. In other industries such as food and beverage, and pharmaceutical, customer safety must be taken into consideration. An inaccurate instrument can lead to product failure that may have fatal consequences.
3. Economic reasons
Some instruments are used for the basis of money transfer or invoicing. In these instances, any issue with the instrument can have ripple effect within the business or customers
4. Instruments working longer
As mentioned above instruments are a lot like cars, the more you service it the longer they will run. In addition, the economic cost to fix a broken instrument or to buy a new instrument is far greater than the cost of calibrating instruments periodically.
There are several reasons to calibrate including complying with regulatory and standard, improving safety, economic reasons and ensuring your instruments work longer. But before picking which company should calibrate your instruments it is important to see if they are certified with NATA and NMI. This will ensure they have been tested and meet all the standards required.
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