Is It Time To Calibrate?
Across many industries, people utilize sensitive instruments that must be properly calibrated in order to return accurate and reliable results. If this applies to the business you're in, then proper calibration is key to your success. How, though, can you know when an instrument needs calibration? While it's always best to work closely with professionals who are skilled at calibrating equipment and knowing when it needs a tune-up, it can also be helpful to educate yourself on the key indicators that it's time for calibration.
Check Your Warranty
Much of your equipment will come with a highly-specific warranty. And, while you might be tempted to toss out all the paperwork related to that warranty, you shouldn't. Instead, read it carefully and set it aside in case you need to refer back to it.
The warranty is important in terms of calibration since many pieces of equipment actually require calibration at certain use points, such as after reaching a certain number of years in use or after being used a certain number of times. Not calibrating when you are mandated to could actually cause your warranty to become void. Thus, paying attention to any such information is important not only for your equipment's proper functioning but for keeping it protected and under warranty.
Look For Reductions In Quality
Are your products suddenly coming off the line with a great reduction in quality?
If you work in foodservice, for example, are you noticing more spoiled food or more returned products? If so, these issues could be due to improperly calibrated equipment, which is a problem you'll want to address pronto.
Hopefully, you won't let poor calibration get to this point, but, if it's been a while since you've calibrated and you're experiencing quality control issues, this factor could be to blame.
Be Wary Of Weird Outputs
Responsible professionals carefully monitor the output data of their machinery and other products.
If you're doing that, then it should be easy to notice when you get strange readings. Perhaps your output data doesn't match the actual output. Or, maybe you're getting an odd error screen. Whatever the case may be, if readings don't match results, calibration issues could be to blame.
When you hire a professional service to maintain and check your equipment, you don't have to worry much about calibration or anything else. Whether you have a service or not, do be on the lookout for these signs and any other sudden changes that could indicate a calibration problem. Contact instrumentation calibration services in your area for more information.