Equipment breaks prior to/during calibration - Evaluation of the product impact?

D

djameskeene

#1
Actual event from yesterday:

During the in-house calibration of a thermocouple, it was broken by the Technician before it could be verified within the range that it is used. It was last calibrated 6 months ago and found within tolerance.

My question:

Is it standard industry practice to do an evaluation of the product impact as you would if the TC was actually found to be out of tolerance? Do we assume the TC was good or bad?

I pose this question in regards to other types of equipment as well (i.e. measurement equipment). For example, what about dropped calipers? I guess the same goes for lost measurement equipment where it was used to accept product and then came up for calibration but nobody could locate it. What's the product impact?

Thanks.
 
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Hershal

Metrologist-Auditor
Staff member
Super Moderator
#2
If I were conducting an assessment to ISO/IEC 17025 at a lab and the very things you described came up.....and they do at times......then I look to see what investigation is performed and documented, and any historical documentation of the item(s) in question.

Based on that review, I would draw a conclusion whether the lab had accomplished the due diligence required under 17025 sections 4.9.1.a & b, 4.10, and 5.5.7.

If an appropriate investigation had been done, then good. If not, then it would be a finding.

Your thrmocouple example would still require an investigation and documentation but "appropriate" may be very simple in the case you describe. Sometimes the junctions break. A history with the specific item will tell you if there is drift. That in turn can suggest whether it may have been OOT (out of tolerence) or close, and therefore whether to investigate more.

Hope this helps.

Hershal
 
B

Bill Ryan - 2007

#3
:agree: Nice response Hershal.

I'll just add that, "based on history", you don't set your calibration intervals to the point that they are "out of tolerance" when they become "due". I realize that anything can happen to "things mechanical" at any time, but Hershal's "due diligence" phrase captures not only this scenario, but many others that happen day to day.
 
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