The proper maintenance of scales, thermometers and other measuring instruments present in most industrial companies has a direct impact on the quality and safety of production. In this article, we show the importance of a correct periodic calibration of these equipment and explain how, thanks to MapexQM, you can easily and efficiently manage their useful life.
Why is calibration of measuring instruments so important?
Industrial companies in all sectors (food, chemical, cosmetics, etc.) know firsthand the importance of carrying out a correct and thorough calibration of their measuring instruments. The quality and, above all, the safety of their products depend on it.
During the calibration process, the values obtained by the chosen measuring instrument are compared with the values of a reference standard. Thanks to these periodic reviews, companies are able to:
- Verify the proper performance of their measurement equipment, detect misalignments and correct them.
- Ensure the reliability and traceability of measurements made during production.
- Avoid energy and resource deficiencies.
- Minimize costs associated with giveaway (in the case of instruments such as scales).
- Comply with ISO standards or current legislation.
- Increase the level of customer satisfaction.
- Protect the company’s reputation.
In-house versus outsourced instrument calibration
Today, quality standards such as ISO 9001:2015 require industrial organizations to have a calibration management system for their equipment. In fact, companies must periodically calibrate those instruments that play a critical role in their production processes or that are relevant from a safety or environmental point of view.
However, not all calibration equipment undergoes the same controls. For example, each company can establish the calibration periodicity of its instruments, depending on their function, frequency of use, or conditions and/or manufacturer’s recommendations.
In addition, companies can calibrate equipment in-house or, on the contrary, outsource this service. Below, we explain what each of these options consists of.
In-house instrument calibration
In-house calibrations are verifications carried out by the company’s own Quality Department. The operations must be performed by qualified personnel, always using reference equipment previously calibrated by a certified agency.
Although they are done internally, the company must keep an exhaustive follow-up of its calibration procedures, as well as record the results and calibration certificates so that all this information can be consulted at any time.
This is a strategy that especially benefits large companies that have a lot of measuring equipment to calibrate and can hire professionals trained in this task.
Among the operational advantages of setting up in-house laboratories, we find the optimization of calibration times, obtaining real knowledge about the quality of the measurements, and the reduction of direct and indirect costs in the long term.
Third-party calibration services
Outsourced calibrations are those carried out by an accredited external supplier, who is responsible for verifying whether the equipment is suitable or not, either in their laboratory or in the customer’s production plant, and who finally issues the corresponding certificate.
This is the most popular alternative for companies that do not have qualified personnel within the organization and for whom implementing an in-house calibration strategy is an added cost that they cannot afford.
Manage the lifecycle of measurement instruments with Mapex
Industrial companies that have several measuring instruments need software that allows them to manage the entire life cycle of this equipment and to centralize the information on internal and external calibrations on a single platform.
Thanks to MapexQM, companies have at their disposal a solution in which they can register all their measuring instruments (name, brand, model, calibration laboratory, periodicity, acceptance criteria, certificates, associated quality controls, etc.); configure in-house and/or outsourced calibrations; establish and monitor the preventive maintenance plan for this equipment, and attach all types of documentation.
If you still perform all these tasks on paper and without the help of an MES system, contact our team. They will explain to you the benefits of digitizing the management and control system of the measuring instruments of your industrial company.
