I think we can all agree that calibration is extremely important when it comes to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and safety of your equipment. Over time, instruments lose their accuracy due to wear and tear. If you neglect to calibrate regularly, not only are you subject to quality problems, production downtime, or failure to meet regulatory guidelines, but you are also putting your employees and customer’s safety at risk.
No matter what industry you are in, no matter your application, calibrating your equipment is essential. But determining when your equipment needs calibration is not always clear.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common signs that show you it’s likely time to calibrate your equipment:
1. You just purchased new equipment: You might think that because the instrument you purchased is new from the manufacture, that it will work properly. Alas, that is not always the case. We know what happens when you “assume” something… and you would be doing your company a disservice by assuming your new equipment is already calibrated, let alone calibrated to meet the tolerances you need for a specific application or test method. We cannot stress enough how important it is to calibrate all new equipment before it is used. If you take away anything from this blog, it's that!
2. You’re getting inaccurate results: Not meeting specifications or getting inaccurate results is a clear sign that your equipment needs to be calibrated. Especially if these types of results are happening regularly over a period of time. If you notice that the results are even slightly “off” on a regular basis, it’s time to get your instrument calibrated. The longer you wait, the worse it’s going to get.
3. Your customers are unhappy: The last thing a business wants is unhappy customers. If you aren’t calibrating your equipment, you are risking the quality of your product. If customers have a poor experience with your company or products, they are unlikely to return as a customer, they may post poor reviews on Google, or they might share their poor experience with others. Unfortunately, this can be extremely damaging to your brand, hurt your company’s reputation, and you could lose customers new and old, which in turn, leads to loss of profits.
4. The quality of your product is questionable or faulty: Whether it’s wear and tear on products, a food safety issue, a spoiled product, etc., your production process is being negatively affected. Using equipment that is improperly calibrated will increase your chances of finished goods being faulty. In addition, not calibrating your instrument may also mean that it is operating outside its range allowance, which could result in products being recalled. Both outcomes will negatively affect your business and come at high cost.
5. Downtime has increased: When machinery breaks down and is needing to be repaired, downtime is increased, which can be costly to your business. If you are using uncalibrated equipment, you will begin to see unexpected failures, potentially damaging other parts of your machinery and lead to wastage. In addition, this can also be a safety risk for your operators and you may see an increase in injuries.
Alpha Controls & Instrumentation offers calibration services that are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), one of the most stringent accreditation authorities that is accepted worldwide, and we are a registered ISO 9001 company. Receiving an accredited calibration can put your mind at ease, ensuring that your instrument is accurate, and meets industry requirements.
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