Does anyone have any calibration training materials? I'm looking for something that tells what types of equipment/gages need to be calibrated etc.

We just had our TS surveillance audit and had 2 findings for some attribute tools not in the system and the person doing the calibration had no idea they were supposed to be in the system. Were a small company and can't really send anyone outside but we really need a training presentation.

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry:

Why is training the solution? Your person was running the calibration system and two gauges got past them? Your TS auditor really hit an important issue, huh?:rolleyes:

So, why not just correct the situation? Put them in the system! Then do an inventory of equipment against the records.

Don't waste your time, money and the person's time with training - it won't help one bit.......:mg:

Check with

www.quametec.com

They just announced in Measure magazine a new training approach.....I have not tried it yet, but know the organization well. I think the new method is called "Moodle" but don't hold me to it.

Hope this helps.

Hershal

Jerry, we're the best training material you can get!!:lol:

Seriously, I'm wondering if training material will address your problem.

First, take a look at your operation and identify all the different measurements that would affect quality. It's important to make sure you don't run into the problem again. If you have any specific things you're wondering about... just post and ask!

What kind of training would you be interested in? It's kind of hard to train people to think about quality. Awareness of excellence (or the cost of failure) are usually a bit more reliable IMO.

As far as a presentation, what are the needs? Do you want to just focus on calibration issues, or other quality materials?

We could probably help guide you through a ten minute, six-eight slide presentation on calibration.

Purchase two pressure gauges. Make sure one is accurate; go in and adjust one out of tolerance just a bit. Hook it to a pressure line, and ask them what they should do. Visual aides are always good.

The last one was just an off-the-cuff idea. But I bet with a little creativity and patience, you can drive your point home to your small company, with a little time and very little budget.

Let me know what you think.

Hi Jerry,

We have a Handbook Downunder which could be useful. It's published by Standards Australia. The Standard is SAA/SNZ HB86.2:1998. It's called A Guide to the Selection, Care, Calibration and Checking of Measuring Instruments in Industry.

Regards,

Mark.

Training is important because the person doing the calibration has never done it before. The only thing they know how to do is to print the list of tools due for calibration and follow the procedure that already exists. They have no idea what, why, or when things need to be calibrated or if something new was issued what needs to be done.

They need to understand the difference between variable and attribute gages and how to determine tolerance and frequency etc.

The auditor found several attribute fit/function gages being used in the plant to determine acceptance for product and when he asked our calibration person why they were not in the system they did not know they needed to be added to the system.

Training is the first step in having a qualified competent person then I'll address the system issues of why we had fit/function gages being used that never made into the system.

Any powerpoint presentation materials pl ? :bigwave:

OK, Jerry, your observations do lend to a little more serious issue, IMO.

How many instruments do you have? For a little bit, it may be worth it overall to have a competent lab calibrating your instruments. Getting the correct training, obtaining standards, lab environment, etc. is not cheap, and will not happen overnight.

Do you have access to GIDEP? I know they have pretty good procedures on equipment.

The most concerning issue are the instruments not in the system. Allow me to defend the calibration person for a second. Why didn't the person using the instrument observe it needed to be in the system? Why didn't the procedure say it needed to be in the system?

Are your instruments properly tagged? Did someone not think it was odd they were using non-calibrated instruments?

Yes, the calibration people need some training. However, it sounds like the process needs to be reviewed, and determine what measurements are important, and which ones aren't. You can have the best cal lab around, but the entire organization needs to understand the value of using appropriate equipment, and the costs (real or implied) when they don't.

OK, Jerry, your observations do lend to a little more serious issue, IMO.

Indeed! That wasn't in the OP. I'd still recommend that competencies are defined first, not rushing into training. Per other posts on 'competencies', recently, the sequence should be: determine competencies, evaluate, determine 'awareness' and then decide what actions - maybe training - are necessary to get to the competencies required.

What more I'm concerned about is that a) the auditor wrote up the calibration system, instead of determining the competencies of the tech. who is responsible, i.e. the symptom, not the cause. Then b) it was a 'TS' surveillance audit - didn't anyone check to see if this person was competent at the registration audit (or is this person 'new' to the job).

I also want to ask JKittle, "what have your own internal auditors been asking about?" There may be room for improvement there, too...........

Basically, we calibrate only what is used for final inspection and sticker everything else "for reference only". Most of our calibration is done in house following work instructions. We are regestered to ISO 9000 and have not had any problems after 8 years.

Brad and Andy,

Both of your responses are very good and this is why I love this forum, it sparks good dialog and many different points of view.

I have gone over the procedure and believe it is adequate. However the calibration person is new to the company and we did a poor job of introducing them to our system and they do not have past calibration experience. And as you have pointed out the production people did not recognize they were using devices that were used as acceptance/rejection criteria either. This is even more reason to have a training session to not only go over our calibration procedure but why we do calibration, why it necessary, how are calibration intervals determined, what type of equipment, gages/fit function tools need to be calibration.

I figured there has to be a calibration guru out here that already has something like so I don't have to spend a week doing it myself since I'm not a calibration specialist. :)

Jerry, honestly we can probably help you out. There are probably some generic presentations that are really good, but one designed for your crowd by you, for them, may be more impacting.

Yes, specific calibration training is a different issue. This may involve sending someone to mfg. training. Better yet, pay a competent vendor to come on-site to calibrate instruments (and train), and have them learn. See if they will let you videotape it, where you can use it for future training sessions.

I understand that you feel you are not an expert. However, you don't have to be an expert to remedy this. As I posted earlier, I think you could put together a short presentation to get the job done. Not so specific on how to do calibrations, but rather why it's important, how it benefits the employees, how it saves money, etc.

I would bring up Andy's good points. Before you put together any presentation, make sure you have identified all the variables involved here. As you move towards improving the process, you will probably learn a lot about things, and your presentation will evolve from that.

Thanks again Brad. I'll let you know if we get to the point where we can bring someone in.

One last point.....you should also get a copy of The Metrology Handbook.....available from ASQ.....

Hershal

What I am reading in these threads is that you have two major problems.

System and Competence.

The System problem is evident with the use of M&TE not being recalled for periodic re-calibration.

The Competence problem is evident with the fact that the calibration technicians don't have the minimum basic knowledge and skills.

Work Instructions / Presentations do not fix this problem. These documents are meant to support a skilled staff not supplement a skilled staff.

I would suggest that you refer to ANSI/NCSL Z540-1994 for System requirements.

With regard to specific Training this website offers many courses including the highly "vaunted" CCT (Certified Calibration Technician) training. The website is...

www.wptraining.com

Hope this helps.

Regards,
TIMMYS