Precision is non-negotiable for many sectors, including aerospace, automotive and defense. Operating uncalibrated equipment poses an unparalleled risk, threatening substantial losses to your organization’s assets, as well as legal and financial repercussions. That’s why measurement and calibration of instruments play a critical role in these industries, which demand a trusted partner for their calibration services.
In This Article
- The Importance of Calibration
- Understanding Measurement Accuracy
- How to Handle Instrument Error
- Navigating Impact Analysis
- Calibration Standards and Processes
- MicronPA’s Calibration Services
- Advantages of Working With MicronPA
- Request a Calibration Service Quote Today
The Importance of Calibration
Calibration compares a known measurement, or standard, with a measurement using your instrument. Even the highest quality measuring instruments degrade over time, slowly leading to inaccurate measurements that can affect the safety and functionality of components.
The calibration of measuring instruments helps ensure they produce accurate measurements, boosting the safety, reliability and quality of the products users rely on across industries. The process aims to determine the accuracy and traceability of measurements, minimizing measurement uncertainty by quantifying and controlling errors within the measurement process to an acceptable level.
Various reasons exist to calibrate measurement instruments, including:
- Improved accuracy and reliability: Calibration reduces data collection and analysis errors, providing accuracy in multiple environments. It also keeps your instruments reliable so you can remain confident in their results.
- Reduced costs: When you can rely on your measurement instruments, you avoid costly errors if they make it to the end user. Regular calibration also extends the instrument’s life span, identifying wear or damage before it becomes a significant issue.
- Sustained compliance: Many industries require calibration to comply with regulatory standards, including health care equipment, industrial machinery and aerospace components.
- Elevated safety: Regular instrument calibrations help you identify potential hazards early so that you can correct them before they impact operational safety.
Understanding Measurement Accuracy
Whenever you take a measurement, your objective is to generate data and compare it with requirements so you can make appropriate decisions. For measurement data to be reliable, it must be precise, accurate and reproducible. Meeting these requirements relies on professional calibration. If an end user measures the equipment using well-calibrated instruments, the data should be close to the figures the manufacturer records.
Precision measurements are rarely identical, regardless of how rigorously you control the measurement process. However, acceptable margins exist to ascertain whether your instrument needs repairs, maintenance or recalibration.
How to Handle Instrument Error
If your measuring instruments calibration laboratory reports an error in your instrument, you should feel confident their assessment is correct and use the data they provide to assist in decision-making. Inaccurate assessments of instrument error can be costly for two reasons:
- False reject situations: The process will be expensive if the results falsely indicate the need for an unnecessary impact study.
- False accept situations: A lack of impact analysis could result in faulty measurement instruments, which could become costly regarding safety and efficiency.
Establishing Acceptable Error
Every industry has different expectations for instrument performance. While any measurement instrument should perform at a high level, consistency is critical. Everyone on your team should know and agree on the acceptable tolerance of an instrument.
While you can expect a margin of error in your lab’s tolerances, communicating your expectations to your calibration provider is critical. You must be able to rely on their statement compliance and tolerance conditions to determine when an impact study is necessary.
The Advantage of Traceability in Calibration
Traceability involves establishing valid calibration of a measuring standard or instrument via a systematic comparison with better standards. The process can expand across standards, building up to an accepted national or international standard. In many industries, a measurement instrument’s reading should be traceable to the fundamental unit through calibration.
This traceability gives you confidence that your measurement instruments provide accurate and reproducible data, allowing for comparisons between calibration and providing valuable data on instrument changes.
Navigating Impact Analysis
An impact analysis is the final step in ensuring precise and accurate instruments. As you’ve established an acceptable tolerance for your instrument, an impact analysis determines how much the error affected your product if your measurement is outside the margin of acceptable error.
Deciding when to perform an impact study depends on your industry. Work with your calibration provider to determine the ideal moment to put any uncertainty to rest. In some cases, the need for an impact study is clear. You may have to work with your team to determine its feasibility in others — for example, if the measurements are close to one end of the instrument’s tolerance limit.
Calibration Standards and Processes
With more than 20 years of experience as a full-service calibration and inspection laboratory in York, PA, we’ve developed a strict set of measurement and calibration processes to match the standards of today. As a result, our trained and tested technicians adhere to ANSI, ASME, ASTM and NAVAIR procedures, which are recognized and respected across the U.S.
MicronPA is also accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. In addition, we’re ISO/IEC 17025:2005(E) and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 accredited.
Our accreditations, as well as our commitment to standardized calibration processes, ensure our instrument calibrations produce repeatable and reliable results you can trust.
MicronPA’s Calibration Services
Due to the critical role of measurement and calibration, we offer several gage calibration services to meet your immediate and long-term needs:
- On-Site Calibration: The advantage of on-site instrument calibration is significant. Instead of risking damage to your equipment during shipping, our on-site calibration services provide your facility the convenience of continuing operations and minimizing expenses. Plus, you’re welcome to watch our technicians complete the calibration process — note, however, that some hardware may require off-site calibration.
- Mechanical Calibration: Our mechanical calibration services are comprehensive. When your equipment arrives, we calibrate, adjust and perform any ordinary or customary repairs. As a part of our commitment to industry-leading standards, as well as our ISO/IEC and ANSI/NCSL accreditation, we provide each item with a detailed calibration label. We also provide you with a long-form calibration certification for your records.
- Electrical Calibration: Our qualified team can complete instrument calibration for data loggers, watt meters, oscilloscopes, thermometers and more. As with our mechanical calibration, you will receive a certificate and can take advantage of our online web certificate service.
Advantages of Working With MicronPA
At MicronPA, our drive pushes us to offer more than accurate and reliable calibration services. We also enhance them with the following features:
- Turnaround: Time is of the essence, which is why we provide a rapid turnaround time of five business days. Plus, rush delivery is free.
- Service: MicronPA is a family-owned and operated business, which is why we’re passionate about offering service that’s professional yet personal.
- Price: Cost is a priority for any company, which is why we maintain a fair pricing model, as well as provide free quotes.
- Expertise: Lifelong learning is a core value of ours, which is why we support the ongoing training of our team.
Request a Calibration Service Quote Today
With decades of experience and a commitment to matching industry-best standards for instrument calibration, MicronPA’s become a company that businesses throughout the area trust in the critical role of measurement and calibration. Whether you’re a part of the aerospace, pharmaceutical, automotive or another industry that demands unparalleled precision, MicronPA can meet your needs.
Contact us today for a quote to learn more about our calibration services.
