By Floyd Australia Pty Ltd

05/26/2022 About the author: James Nichol is the Calibration & Service Manager of Floyd Australia. With over 20 years of experience in manufacturing, Hydraulics, and process instrumentation, he can provide technical, product, and business knowledge to support the sales process and strengthen the customer relationship. He is a tech-savvy professional that can explain technical details and requirements to a non-technical audience.
What is Calibration?
Calibration is the process of checking, by comparison with a standard, the accuracy of a measuring instrument of any type. It may also include adjustments to the instrument to match the standard.
Calibration of your measuring instruments has two objectives. It checks the accuracy of the instrument, and it determines the traceability of the measurement. In practice, calibration may also include repair of the device if it is out of calibration. A report is provided by the calibration technician, which shows the error in measurements with the measuring device before and after the calibration.
Why is Calibration So Important?
All measuring devices lose accuracy with time, usually due to normal wear and tear from repeated usage. Electric or mechanical stress may also create changes in the accuracy of equipment, depending on the environment. Calibration compares the standard measurements to your equipment's measurements to verify consistency. It's critical that you have your equipment calibrated on a regular basis for the following reasons:
1. Maintain industry compliance and consistency. Regardless of what business you operate in, every measuring equipment you employ is almost certainly subject to regulatory compliance. Using equipment that does not fulfill these criteria can often result in inaccurate results. Furthermore, if you're using various measurement equipment, be sure they're all consistent with one another to get the greatest results.
2. Eliminates safety risks. In some cases, uncalibrated equipment can also pose a safety issue. For example, if you have cold storage spaces that must maintain a specific temperature but are too warm, the food may degrade, putting your employees or customers in danger of developing foodborne illnesses. In hazardous work environments, equipment that has not been adequately calibrated may expose your employees to electric shock, explosions, or chemical hazards.
3. Minimise downtime. Prevention is better than cure. Calibration of your measuring equipment on a regular basis is significantly more efficient than having to repair it if it breaks down. Floyd Australia experts can spot possible issues before they become a stumbling block, ensuring that your operations continue to run smoothly.
4. Keep your customers happy. Customers will be unhappy if your product is inconsistent, and if the inconsistency continues, they will likely begin looking for a substitute partner that can deliver what they claim. This can be detrimental to both your organization and your reputation, so be sure you're running a reliable and successful operation. Talk to Floyd Australia today for more information on pressure and temperature instruments, or our maintenance and calibration services.
How often should a measuring instrument be calibrated?
The frequency of calibration depends on the balance between risk and costs. The shorter the time between calibrations, the lower the risk of questionable measurements. Floyd Australia recommends having measuring instruments calibrated every three (3), six (6), or twelve (12) months, which is dependent on the application of the measuring instrument. Rather, here are several factors that influence the right calibration period:
· Manufacturer’s recommendation
· Stability history/drift of the instrument
· Regulatory requirements
· Environmental conditions
· Workload of the instrument
For more detailed information on the importance of calibration and how we can help your business to improve, Contact us on 03 9339 3400 today or fill in our contact form and we will respond to your enquiry shortly.