UKAS Calibration: Explained

Calibration is an essential part of maintaining high levels of quality, empowering businesses to confidently undertake their business activities. With quality expectations continuing to grow and attracting heightened focus across many industries, as well as quality’s importance in determining the bottom line, more companies are seeking to use the gold standard of calibration – UKAS calibration.

UKAS Calibration refers to calibration that is undertaken in a laboratory that has been independently audited and accredited to carry out the work.

UKAS is the government-approved body that ensures that certification, testing, inspection, and calibration services meet the highest standards. Accurate calibration is crucial to ensuring measurements are valid, enabling you to trust your equipment and quality control measures. Using a UKAS accredited calibration laboratory demonstrates your commitment to quality management and is a mark of integrity for your customers.

How can calibration support your manufacturing business?

Calibration is the process of comparing the measurement values of the device under test with a known calibration standard. It allows you to be confident that your measuring devices are accurate, and that your quality inspections and tests are valid. Calibration is required as part of almost every quality management standard, including ISO-900, and some will specify the level of calibration required.

When a measurement device is manufactured, the manufacturer will specify the tolerance levels, calibration intervals, and conditions for use and storage of the device. For most equipment, manufacturers recommend an annual calibration periodicity, or sometimes sooner, basis.

External calibration is carried out periodically by a third-party provider as a matter of good practice. This will be documented and stored for future quality management audits. ISO 9001 requires that you identify the measuring devices that need calibrating and retain an audit trail to prove that they have been calibrated. Many third-party providers will use traceable calibration. This means that the calibration of the specific device can be traced back to a national standard via an unbroken chain of documentation.

For some applications, traceable calibration is a satisfactory standard for measuring equipment. But using a UKAS accredited calibration centre to verify the accuracy of your devices is the gold standard in calibration. Depending on the application and industry standard, you may be required to use an approved UKAS calibration laboratory. For example, industries such as medical, defence or aerospace usually demand the highest standards in measurement accuracy and calibration. These requirements are often continued down the supply chain, so that manufacturers and end-users can be confident of the quality of the final product.

What is UKAS Accredited Calibration?

For industries that operate with tight design tolerances, such as aerospace and defence, being confident in your calibration and measurement techniques is paramount to success. Accurate measurements and tests carried out in compliance with best practice standards can minimise product failure and reduce overall manufacturing costs. In terms of supply chain, UKAS accreditation can give your manufacturing facilities a competitive advantage and allow you to break into overseas and domestic markets.

UKAS calibration uses a calibration procedure that has been carried out in a UKAS accredited laboratory, that has been independently audited and found to be competent to carry out the work. Achieving UKAS accreditation can be a long and arduous process, with a significant number of quality checks and audits.

The benefits of a calibration partner

At DM Systems & Test, we have worked hard to put the appropriate policies in place for our UKAS calibration services. Our expert technicians are highly trained, and we have numerous UKAS accredited calibration procedures. We test a range of both mechanical and electrical equipment used in an array of industries, from defence and aerospace, to pharmaceutical. We also have ISO-9001 certification, which complements the UKAS calibration services on offer and demonstrates our commitment to quality management.

Our UKAS calibration services are carried out at our UK-based calibration laboratories. We understand the importance of keeping down-time to a minimum, so our off-site calibration services will be carried out within 5 working days, with our dedicated team collecting and returning your equipment safely and promptly. You will be provided with the appropriate certification that demonstrates that your measuring device or devices meet the required calibration standards.

For more information on our UKAS accreditation, or to find out which of our calibration services are UKAS accredited, get in touch. We have a team of experts who are available to advise and recommend which level of calibration is most suitable for your application or industry sector.