Calibration services are available to adjust instruments and promote proper response from calibration laboratories and companies that provide mobile service. Accuracy is crucial to the proper function of precision and measurement tools and devices in many industries today. Thus, the routine calibration of such items is an important part of maintaining the needed accuracy and quality standards. Calibration is typically accomplished by measuring the behavior of a specific device with a monitoring instrument. This instrument allows the calibrator to compare the measured behavior with the standard at which the device should be. Needed adjustments are then made to the device until it is back in line with the specified standard for the instrument.
Instruments that need to maintain a specific unit of measurement to function properly and instruments that monitor variations of measurement themselves need to be calibrated regularly. An industrial scale is an example of a device that monitors weight and after time will become less accurate due to machine wear. A commercial oven, used for the mass production of baked goods, also needs to be calibrated. Lasers, as well, need to be calibrated regularly in order to maintain the high accuracy needed to perform their various functions.
Examples of measurements that need to be calibrated in specific devices are torque, humidity, temperature, pressure, strain, speed, displacement and mass. The standards for these measurements are defined and agreed upon by national and international standard organizations, such as the ISO (International Standard Organization). These standards are important for local and global trade and ensure ethical practices within the market. Calibration services are a necessary bi-product of these standards.
Although calibration services are an effective way to increase the quality of various devices, they are not always one hundred percent perfect, because it is not possible to know every factor that may affect the calibration. This uncertainty must always be taken into account when considering such operations. There is always the possibility of error, even with the most sensitive devices. Furthermore, the calibration is only as good as the standards that it is guided by, so it is important to know exactly what must be done to generate accurate performance and measurements.
What is Instrument Calibration?
Instrument Calibration refers to the process of determining the relation between the output (or response) of a measuring instrument and the value of the input quantity or attribute, a measurement standard. In non-specialized use, calibration is often regarded as including the process of adjusting the output or indication on a measurement instrument to agree with value of the applied standard, within a specified accuracy. For example, a thermometer could be calibrated so the error of indication or the correction is determined, and adjusted (e.g. via calibration constants) so that it shows the true temperature in Celsius at specific points on the scale.
In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a part of the federal government, maintains standards and is considered the arbiter and ultimate (in the U.S.) authority for values of SI units and industrial standards. NIST also provides traceability to its standards by calibration, by which an instrument's accuracy is established by comparing, in an unbroken chain, to higher level standards, e.g. the standards maintained by NIST.
In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a part of the federal government, maintains standards and is considered the arbiter and ultimate (in the U.S.) authority for values of SI units and industrial standards. NIST also provides traceability to its standards by calibration, by which an instrument's accuracy is established by comparing, in an unbroken chain, to higher level standards, e.g. the standards maintained by NIST.
Instrument calibration service providers calibrate various instruments including many types of process monitoring devices and analytical equipment including, flow instruments such as flow meters and sensors, gauges, totalizers or valve position indicators; pressure and vacuum instruments such as pressure sensors or gauges, meters, transducers or vacuum pumps; force, weight or mass instruments including strain gauges, load cells, scales or torque monitors; temperature instruments including thermocouple, RTD or thermistor type devices; humidity instruments including absolute or relative humidity, moisture content or dew point measuring devices; multimeter or electrical meters, either analog or digital; physical or dimensional instruments such as calipers, and micrometers, fiber optic or lightwave instruments including multiplexers, analyzers, isolators etc; rf or microwave instruments such as transmitters, receivers, antennas etc; generators; power supplies including any AC or DC power supply or conditioners; oscilloscopes or scopes or chart recorders; and signal or function analyzers.
Specific services offered by providers of instrument calibration services include, rapid turnaround, on-site calibration, pick up and delivery, calibration documentation, in-house contract lab services, and online documentation. Rapid turnaround means the supplier offers quick turnaround on instrument calibration services, typically in a few days. A supplier offering on-site calibration has personnel and/or equipment for on-site calibration work, eliminating the added expense of taking the instrument off line and shipping it. The supplier offers pick-up and delivery services to minimize cost and time associated with using in-house personnel. Documentation or test reports show calibration information such as "as found" and "as left" data, next scheduled calibration, etc with calibration documentation. A supplier that offers in-house contract lab services has capabilities and resources for setting up an in-house contract lab for supplier - minimizing any downtime or lag in getting instruments quickly calibrated. Supplier has online documentation system to access history, calibration certifications and recalibration notifications.
Specific services offered by providers of instrument calibration services include, rapid turnaround, on-site calibration, pick up and delivery, calibration documentation, in-house contract lab services, and online documentation. Rapid turnaround means the supplier offers quick turnaround on instrument calibration services, typically in a few days. A supplier offering on-site calibration has personnel and/or equipment for on-site calibration work, eliminating the added expense of taking the instrument off line and shipping it. The supplier offers pick-up and delivery services to minimize cost and time associated with using in-house personnel. Documentation or test reports show calibration information such as "as found" and "as left" data, next scheduled calibration, etc with calibration documentation. A supplier that offers in-house contract lab services has capabilities and resources for setting up an in-house contract lab for supplier - minimizing any downtime or lag in getting instruments quickly calibrated. Supplier has online documentation system to access history, calibration certifications and recalibration notifications.
What is Calibration Management Software?
Calibration management software is used to produce documentation with test equipment calibration results. It is also used to produce calibration reports and calibration certificates. In addition, calibration management software provides database functions such as lookups of calibration procedures and calibration services.
Calibration management software generates value-added services to companies by reducing downtime of critical assets, expanding mean-time between repairs (MTBR), and increasing productivity. Common users of calibration software include automotive manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, providers of power and energy, and those in the food and beverage industries. Calibration monitor software also has known applications for private and government organizations that conduct safety standards testing. Users implement such applications to monitor everything from temperature and thermodynamic outputs to fluid flow rates, pressures, and chemical mixtures.
Calibration management software generates value-added services to companies by reducing downtime of critical assets, expanding mean-time between repairs (MTBR), and increasing productivity. Common users of calibration software include automotive manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, providers of power and energy, and those in the food and beverage industries. Calibration monitor software also has known applications for private and government organizations that conduct safety standards testing. Users implement such applications to monitor everything from temperature and thermodynamic outputs to fluid flow rates, pressures, and chemical mixtures.
Calibration management software is typically designed for deployment on single-workstation systems and portable devices, or across closed network systems. This allows the software to be used for monitoring processes involving electrical, electronic, computerized, and robotic manufacturing managed through calibration workstations and test benches. Calibration certificate acquisition is also an important part of the calibration management process for most corporations. Calibration certification applicable to adequate calibration management software includes the current good manufacturing process (cGMP) standards for drug and food preparation as issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as associated record keeping under CFR 21, and standards in calibration services as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 specification. The more detailed documentation and database interface functionality of calibration management software largely depends on the type of calibration required. The user requirements are very detailed in different industries, and practices are more stringently regulated on calibration of machined parts in public transportation industries, and measurements during food and drug preparation, then say on local machining and internal test equipment manufacturers.
Calibration management software suppliers are typically highly specialized in a given industry. Some vendors write basic software to comply with a variety of different industries and then provide customized packages depending on customer requirements. As such, this integrates software development with calibration services and tends to make much of the commercially-available calibration management software relatively expensive.
Calibration management software suppliers are typically highly specialized in a given industry. Some vendors write basic software to comply with a variety of different industries and then provide customized packages depending on customer requirements. As such, this integrates software development with calibration services and tends to make much of the commercially-available calibration management software relatively expensive.
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