Have you ever wondered why we need to use a calibrated thermometer to monitor food temperatures regularly or at a set time? During my shift in one of the restaurants I worked at, we are monitoring the temperature of the chilled foods daily every 4 hours, consistently recording its temperature in a specific form, and with this, we also ensure that the thermometer we use is calibrated.. I have the privilege to attend training about food safety management and I am excited to share with you here what I have learned and experienced. Food safety Management has a lot of processes to cover. But in t ..read more

As a Calibration technician, or quality personnel, have you felt confused about whether to perform calibration or verification on a specific instrument? How can you tell if you only need verification? Or Just calibration? What needs to go first, is it to calibrate or to verify? As per ISO 9001:2015, one of the main requirements for measurement instruments is either to verify or calibrate, or both.  See below the actual clause: Under Clause 7.1.5.2: “measuring equipment shall be calibrated or verified, or both, at specified intervals, or prior to use, against measurement standards tracea ..read more

ISO 9001 is the quality management system designed for manufacturers (producers of different kinds of products) or service providers. Almost all industries used monitoring and measuring equipment to manufacture products, it is required that this equipment must be calibrated in order to ensure that the intended product specification is achieved. In short, quality is maintained when calibration is performed. What is calibration and why do we need calibration? Visit my other post in this link >> calibration awareness For a calibration process to be properly implemented, there should be in ..read more

Have you encountered the following scenario? You are interpreting a calibration certificate but you noticed that the correction factor you need is not exactly displayed or provided in the report, what can you do? The measurement data of your instrument based on the calibration results have errors. There are chances that specific measuring instruments cannot be adjusted. It is either not included in the design or simply not adjustable physically or automatically. Again, what can you do? The question above can be answered by using a technique wherein we can adjust a measured value by simply det ..read more

Weighing scales are the need of almost every business. Some people also use weighing scales at home to monitor their body weight. A scale is a measuring device that allows you to determine the mass and weight of an object. So, where exactly is a weight scale used? The scale is a device used for commercial applications and for weighing products in the industry. There are a variety of scales used in households, businesses, and industries. Every individual and business has different requirements, and they need to choose the right scale. Individuals need a bathroom scale to measure their body wei ..read more

You may have a properly maintained calibration lab, well-trained personnel, high-end measuring equipment but the traceability of the reference standard you use is in question, then the calibration performed could be rejected. As a beginner once in calibration, my only understanding about the meaning of Traceability in calibration is the unbroken chain of calibration where my reference standard is calibrated by a more accurate standard that is linked all the way to International Standards or SI. It is not wrong to understand this way, but it is not enough. Have you ever thought if there is a d ..read more

scale verification- Pass or Fail? Before considering using a balance or perform a weighing scale verification, one primary requirement is to know the tolerance limit. The user should determine the tolerance limit in consideration of their process, but this is not always the case. As per my experience, most users rely on the manufacturer’s specifications as the basis of their tolerance limit. But one problem I see is that it does not show the tolerance limit or accuracy rating in their specifications (user manual). How can you verify the balance if the tolerance is not  known or given ..read more

Are you qualified to perform the calibration? This is the question I sometimes encounter during assessment or audits related to competency of personnel. Personnel competency is one of the main requirements in a calibration process where auditors are excited to assess for proper implementation whether we are really qualified to perform the job or not. And in order to answer this question is to provide evidence of our competency, which is usually satisfied by showing to the auditors our training records and other qualifications like  education, skills and experience. But having a competency ..read more

Have you ever used the Measurement Uncertainty (MU) reported in your calibration certificate? Most persons that I meet who are In-charge in calibration do not use the measurement uncertainty results in their calibration report. It is either they do not really need it or does not understand its use and importance.  When I was a calibration technician that does not understand the use of measurement uncertainty, I feel incomplete and incompetent as a calibration technician. Every time I see a calibration certificate with MU results, I ignored it and move on to other results. There is no mean ..read more

You received a pressure gauge calibration certificate with the following results: You are asked to interpret these results to determine if the results of the calibration have passed or failed by accounting the measurement uncertainty in the measurement results before deciding. How do you decide? What decision rule can you follow to determine conformity if it is passed or failed? In other terms, is it complying with the specifications? This is a question most users need to answer clearly During the reporting of results, if you put a remark in a calibration report like pass, fail, ok, not-ok ..read more