The usual comparability for calibration would ideally be extra correct than the UUT and have its personal calibration certificate which will be traced again by an unbroken chain of calibrated requirements to an acceptable normal held by a Nationwide Laboratory. Within the UK, this may be the Nationwide Bodily Laboratory (NPL).
UKAS Calibration is basically calibration undertaken by a laboratory which has been independantly audited and subsequently accredited by UKAS to hold out the work Calibration Services.
What’s UKAS?
UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) is the only real physique recognised by HM Authorities for assessing and accrediting the competence of calibration and testing laboratories.
UKAS Accreditation, ISO/IEC17025 and ISO9001
Laboratories are accredited by UKAS to ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 which is the internationally recognised normal for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories.
The systems, folks, their coaching, and technical capabilities of a UKAS accredited laboratory are usually and totally examined and examined by UKAS auditors, every of them specialists of their area. It’s an costly and time consuming course of, however our ongoing accreditation and fulfilment of the necessities of ISO17025 means you may relaxation assured that now we have the competence, impartiality and efficiency functionality essential to persistently ship technically legitimate calibration outcomes every time.
Accreditation to ISO17025 additionally means our high quality management systems meet the ideas of ISO9001. That is endorsed by three main worldwide organisations’ the Worldwide Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the Worldwide Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC), and the Worldwide Accreditation Discussion board (IAF).
Separate certification of an accredited laboratory to ISO9001 is due to this fact pointless for calibration actions.
Certification of a laboratory to ISO 9001 alone, relates solely to the laboratory’s high quality management systems, not the technical competence of the laboratory. A laboratory that’s licensed to ISO 9001 solely, and isn’t accredited to ISO 17025 shouldn’t be thought of a suitable different to a UKAS laboratory.
It is very important observe nevertheless that UKAS accreditation of a calibration laboratory doesn’t essentially imply that the laboratory can challenge UKAS certificates for all the things that it calibrates. Every particular person calibration method must be individually accredited. The laboratory’s ‘UKAS Schedule of Accreditation’ will element the actions for which they’ve been accredited.
In case you are not sure whether or not we or some other laboratory is UKAS accredited to hold out a selected calibration for you, you may test the Schedule of Accreditation. Or higher nonetheless, simply ask, as a result of generally the publishing of the newest Schedule can lag somewhat behind the newest accreditations attributable to a laboratory.
UKAS Calibration Certificates
A UKAS Calibration Certificate needs to be immediately recognisable by the UKAS Accreditation Image depicting the Royal Crown.
The certificate ought to element the measured outcomes of the calibration, each earlier than and after any changes if that is acceptable. It also needs to element the uncertainty that’s related to the reported outcomes.
It’s not nevertheless, doable to acquire a UKAS calibration certificate for each conceivable piece of measuring gear. There are cases the place for some forms of instrument, no laboratory has been accredited. Or possibly a UKAS laboratory has further capabilities which haven’t been formally accredited. A ‘Traceceable’ or ‘In-Home’ calibration certificate would normally be provided in these circumstances. While not bearing the UKAS image with Royal Crown, this certificate ought to on the very least element the measured outcomes of the calibration and the related uncertainty of measurement. It also needs to checklist any requirements used to carry out the calibration, thereby offering documented traceability to Nationwide Requirements.
