Calibration due date

[Tidge]

At two different places I worked at where I had daily interactions with calibrated equipment (one was a metrology lab) The calibration date was on the label, and the cal due date was by the end of the month (as shown on the label). I can't remember if we had any equipment (or references) that wasn't on an annual calibration cycle, but the label would have had the "Calibration due: Month/Year" no matter what the actual cycle was.

Avoiding a specific day for (re-)calibration allowed for flexibility when sending out equipment to be calibrated, allowing equipment to be calibrated based on schedules, etc.

At one place we recorded the (current) calibration date when we recorded data, at another we recorded calibration due date. The reader should be able to figure out which place was more concerned with compliance than science.

 

[KSipes]

simple is always best... unless there is a specific need for a "due on date" calibration, i have always used the tried-and-true method of month and year.

 

[Randy]

I have to ask. I have heard the phrase "go pound sand" as in sand castings for decades, but not this phrase. Suddenly it has come up three times in a few days. What is special about oily sand?

Got the "oily" from Sidney.

 

[Steve Weber]

We have a similar setup to Golfman and you shouldn't have an issue if you do something similar.

Our labels/stickers on calibrated equipment will have the actual date it was calibrated, Month/Day/Year, and then the next due date as just Month/Year. This same date format is used on the calibration records as well and equipment log. That way we (meaning me, because I do the in-house calibrations) have some flexibility.

This system has been in place before I was at the company and has never been an issue with outside auditors (ISO 9001:2015, USG, customers, etc.) as everything is organized and logged per our procedures and records, which I think is the biggest part. If you try to stick to a draconian calibration schedule to the exact day you are at best setting yourself up for extra stress and at worst opening yourself up to some low hanging fruit audit findings.

Our procedure is similar. Cycle time is 1 year. I put the actual date it was done say 2-15-2025. On the due date I put Feb 2026. We changed to this method after getting dinged by an auditor that found a gage that was over due by a few days....

 

[Bev D]

Got the "oily" from Sidney.

I think that ‘oily’ sand would be difficult to pound as the oil would fill the interstitial spaces making compaction difficult, if the sand is not in a contained state it may also just slip - or ooze - out and you may then fall. And the oil would just be very messy. All in all pounding oily sand is worse than pounding regular sand…imho.