Never put an Expiration (Due) Date on a Calibration Certificate

D

Dan Armstrong

#21
Americans have been bullied into believing that oil changes are necessary every 3000 miles, rather than following the manufacturer's recommendations. Toyota recommends 7500 miles between changes for my Camry under normal service, and 5000 miles under heavy service. Of course, that doesn't mean you don't check the oil level between changes.
 
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ScottBP

Involved In Discussions
#22
The truck I used to have had a check engine light that turned on after 50,000 miles, so I took it to the dealer, and they did diagnostic tests and said there was nothing wrong, that the light comes on after 50,000 miles as a reminder to have it serviced. Then they charged me 50 bucks to turn the light off. :mad: But that's exactly what happens with some electronic test equipment nowadays, it'll actually say on screen that the calibration is due, and you have to send it out to have it reset, whether the instrument is reading in tolerance or not. And some metrology software, such as Fluke's MET/CAL won't let you run a calibration procedure if one of the instruments that it uses and reports on its printed certificates has expired. Imagine if your car wouldn't let you start it if the oil hadn't been changed past its recommended interval! :mad:
 
J

JerryStem

#23
We had a major "thing" about this after our latest 17025 audit earlier this year (well, late last year but it took till Feb to conclude.)

My boss/bosses want the date because they think Mr Customer will only return their calibration standards and/or instrument if we have an expiration date. I say nonsense, they wait as long as they want anyway. Some put their own stickers over ours too.

I changed our cert's to have N/A in the Due Date area, with an explanation about how things can affect the calibration over time. But left a space to put a date if the customer wanted it. I thought the bosses agreed to this during the audit.

Boy was I wrong, they threw a fit I had done this. I had to redo about 30-40 cert's with the regular 1yr or 6mo interval and explain why to the customer.

Now we are using the clause that says the customer agrees to it, and basically if it's been going on for 5 years at 1yr intervals, that's what he's agreeing to. I put on the workorder somewhere the description of the item and "annual certification". If they pay the bill, they've agreed to it.

Cheesy, but the bosses are happy. Whatever...
 
C

crendfrey

#24
I agree, and thanks to Wayne for raising an interesting topic.

We need to not forget that part of the information we receive from calibration is the "as found" condition, and we should be using it wisely.

The problem, as I see it, is one of education; people need to know that the due date on the label represents a maximum and not an absolute value. This seems obvious, and I think most people understand that there is risk in assuming that devices are properly calibrated when the state of calibration isn't intuitive. But you can't get people to use measurement equipment prudently by masking significant information.
Our calibration forms/ certs (one and the same to us) contain full calibration data as well as the defined user range including min and max user loads and resolutions. They also do contain the contracted intervals of calibration and the month/year of next inspection.

Customer education is the key to care and maintenance of equipment.
Many standards require interim checks of equipment. We also suggest this to our customers who have sensitive equipment.
Type and correct use of the equipment will establish its ability to hold calibration.

Our due dates are simply a statement to the customer we will be back in this month and year to calibrate unless you call us back for some reason. (user suspicion device is off, user broke it:mg:, starting new run and need documentation)

Customer has everything they need on one piece of paper for each scale including when we will be back. This enables them to do their due diligence as required. BTW dates are on stickers as a reminder to customer and apparently auditors and such like to see them.
 

Rajeeva

Quality Manager, CMQ/OE, CQA
#25
Dear Mr. Wayne,

Thanks for this interesting topic. To be honest, I am not able to take position as I feel both for and counter points are right in their own perspective.

Yes, I do agree that there is no guarantee that the calibration is valid after it leaves the lab and so, the relevance of expiry date is gone. But, I also agree that the expiry dates should be specified on both certificate and equipment as it indicates to the user about the risks involved when the equipment is nearer to re-calibration/ re-inspection.

When we agree that the calibration due date is not required on the certificate & equipment, in one way we are saying that the trust worthiness of that equipment is gone and we are not sure of the results of testing/ measurement. This is not a healthy sign and it results in blame game when process inspection indicates the non-conformance in the product.

Definitely, internal checks are required but one can not apply to all testing/ inspection/ measuring equipment. It should be on case to case basis and depending upon the use, kind and volume of production, the frequency of recalibration could be increased/ decreased.

If any error is detected during the recalibration and at-least we could initiate the corrective action immediately and minimize the damage to the product/ Company reputation and rectify the defective products as we can trace them by specifying the IMT equipment ID # on the quality record. Probably that might be the reason why ISO 9001:2000 Clause 7.6a requires recalibration at specified intervals.

I personally feel that the Quality personnel are best to judge the interval as they know the usage and importance of testing.

Rajeev
 
K

k_srinivasan66

#26
Calibration status stickers with due dates affixed on instruments is for the user to know when the calibration date is due.
According to 17025, the due date for calibration need not be specified in the calibration report
 
A

amanbhai

#27
For my part, I had only the date of calibration/certification put on the label or tag, never a due date. To my mind, the interval between calibration/certification dates doesn't even start until the gage/instrument is put into service. Some gages might lay in a drawer in a temperature-controlled lab for 6 months before going into use. I kept track of usage in a database keyed to serial numbers of each gage or instrument. If the gage got excessive use, it got checked more frequently in-house to confirm it was still within tolerance.

I have had some gages go out of tolerance very quickly. I heard an apocryphal story about employees using a 2-inch micrometer as a nut cracker!
:notme:
Is this formula of not mentining the next due date of calibration is for all kinds of equipment or there is any exceptions?:thanks:
 
D

Daniel Walker - 2011

#28
whoa, whoa, whoa.......
17025 standard CLEARLY states that a calibration due date CANNOT be reported on a certificate or sticker unless requested by the customer. If you are putting due dates on the equipment that wasn't OK'd by the customer you are breaking the rules.

I think I saw a thread regarding calibration intervals. Are we not basing our recommendation to the customer on past performance??? If a device is tested every week and it only fails once a year, are we not suggesting that the customer lengthen the calibration interval to 90 or 180 days??

If a device is tested once every 2 years and hasn't passed a test in 10 years, then the customer should be STRONGLY encouraged to shorten their cal interval. It is the customer's responsibility to set the calibration interval. A 17025 accredited lab CANNOT state a due date without the customer's approval.


Also- Are we the only lab that has this statement on our certs?: "Documented results contained within this calibration certificate relate only to the artifacts calibrated on the date listed."
 
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D

Daniel Walker - 2011

#30
You calibrate artifacts?
I was really expecting to see a funny face after that question, Jim.

Or, wait, this is better....:sarcasm:

I'll bite anyway....
Yes, we refer to items that are in our lab to be calibrated as artifacts. That is, in written procedures and statements such as the one above. Not in daily conversations, of course... We're not that crazy.:bonk:
 
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