Calibration

Calibration for industry, large and small

Calibration is a key quality activity for all businesses that need to ensure the work they do is accurate.

If you are an ISO9001 registered company, or a member of an organisation such as NAPIT or NICEIC, you'll need to ensure your test equipment is periodically calibrated to make sure it is measuring correctly.

Thorcal are able to calibrate the vast majority of test equipment and instrumentation within 3 working days, while you wait, or on site.

What is calibration?

Calibration is the comparison of one piece of measuring equipment against another, much more accurate one. 

What is UKAS Accredited calibration?

Labs that perform calibration should be accredited by UKAS to ISO 17025.

This is the internationally recognised standard which checks the lab is doing things correctly, and having it means the lab can provide UKAS Accredited calibrations. Thorcal can provide Accredited calibrations for Pressure, Temperature and Electrical items. Read more here

What does traceable calibration mean?

You should be able to trace an unbroken chain of calibrations back to the National Standards. You should be sure that the master gauge used to calibrate your item has been calibrated by an Accredited laboratory. Choosing a UKAS Accredited lab ensures this  Traceability. 

What are National Standards?

Most countries have National Standards.

Simply put, these are the master units of measurement, such as the 1 kilogram weight or the internationally recognised SI units. In the UK, the National Standards are maintained at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington.

Why is calibration important?

Aside from needing it to satisfy your audit requirements, calibration gives you peace of mind that your test equipment is measuring accurately. This saves your business time and money by preventing quality failures and rework.

How does it work?

Either send your item to us, book a site visit or arrange a collection. Our technicians will inspect your item and compare it against our master equipment at various test points. The results will be recorded on a calibration certificate, which you can either have as a paper copy or view in PDF format through our portal system. 

How long does it take?

If we can calibrate your item in-house, it will never take longer than 3 working days for traceable calibration, or a week for UKAS calibration. If you need it quicker, let us know and we'll do it even faster for you. If you're really stuck, call to make an appointment and if we can, we'll calibrate your item while you wait.*

* UKAS calibration takes longer, and is not available for rush turnarounds.