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>Date:    Mon, 6 Jun 1994 18:17:04 EDT
>From:    "Darren Kent ext: 461" <kent@SEDSystems.ca>
>Subject: Test Equipment Calibration
>
>I have a question about the calibration of test equipment.  Any feedback
>would be greatly appreciated.  The situation is this:  we calibrate all of
>the test equipment that we use for formal acceptance testing.  Most of this
>equipment we own, but some of it we rent or lease.  On the equipment we own,
>we keep track of what equipment is used on a specific test.  So if, when get
>that piece of equipment re-calibrated, we find that is was out of
>calibration, we can trace back to the tests we performed and determine how or
>if they were affected by the out of calibration condition.
>
>On the rental and lease equipment, we ask for the equipment to be calibrated
>before it is sent to us and require certificates of calibration to accompany
>the equipment.  So far so good.  But, when we are done with the rental
>equipment we send it back and if that equipment happened to go out of
>calibration while we were using it we have no way of finding out.  The rental
>agency does not calibrate the equipment when we return it, they calibrate it
>when they send it out and only if a customer asks them to.  The piece of
>equipment we used may not get calibrated for a long time or maybe even never
>again. So we can't just ask them to let us know if it is found to be out of
>calibration.  The only solution we can think of is that we ask for it to be
>calibrated when they send it to us and then again when they receive it back
>from us.  Obviously this is cost prohibitive.  Any ideas?  How have other
>companies dealt with this?  Our goal is to meet ISO-9001 and ISO 10012-1, and
>more importantly reduce our risk of using out of calibration equipment for
>testing.
>
>Thanks
>
>Darren Kent
>Ph: 306-931-3425
>Fx:  306-933-1486
>Inet: Kent@SEDSystems.ca
>
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>
Darren, I find your question on the recalibration of rented test equipment
an interesting one.  I agree with your suggestion to have the rental
company recalibrate the test equipment in question upon return and notify
you accordingly.  If the said company were ISO900x registered themselves,
would they not be obligated to provide this level of service?  Perhaps you
should press the point with them.

Another suggestion I have would be to calibrate or test some kind of suitable
check standard or device on a regular basis using the rented equipment
while it was in your possession.  On this basis you could demonstrate the
stability or lack thereof in the metrological integrity of the rental
equipment provided you had enough data points. This may or may not satisfy
an auditor and may or may not garner you a free calibration from the rental
company.  In any case, using check standards and control charts is how we
monitor the stability of our measurment processes.  We are not ISO9001
registered.

--
+---- David Morgan  ---------------------------------------------+
|     Weights and Measures Laboratories, Industry Canada,        |
|     Ottawa, Ontario, Tel (613) 952-3528, Fax (613) 952-1754    |
+---- ab743@freenet.carleton.ca ---- "Fair measure for all." ----+