Opening a new Calibration Laboratory - Need help

[curioushuang]

Hey guys,

this is my first REAL post in this forum to please be gentle.

I have recently decided to venture into the world of calibration by joining 2 of my EE buddies in opening a calibration laboratory. One of them buys/sells/repairs electronic test and measurment equipment for over 15 years. The other is just your average electrical techinician (5 years of experience).

I searched for a post for start-up labs but didn't find anything. Hoping some of you experienced members in the calibration industry can help me out.

My main question is whether the need for external calibration services is increasing or decreasing. I know many large companies provide in-house cal services now a days, will this eventually lead to the extinction of external cal - labs?

Next, what do customers look for when they are searching for a lab? I have done some research in this but am still unsure. Are customers price driven? Do you have to be ISO 17025 certified? I don't see why an uncertified cal-lab couldn't measure to the same accuracy as one that is certified. Isn't it the equipment that decides how accurate a measurment is, not the procedure? Sure, I can see how procedures can reduce error, but isn't the main intention of a customer to get his/her equipment calibrated accurately, regardless of whether it is done under ISO rules. I know many large companies must get their equipment calibr. by a certified lab, do you guys think there is a market for uncertified cal if it is significantly cheaper?

I guess i'll stop here for now, i hope my question aren't too 'newby'ish. Thanks for any imput ahead of time.

btw, if you have started your own calibration lab, i'd like to speak with you maybe for consunting services. please e-mail me directly for these inquiries.

 

[Al Rosen]

Hey guys,

this is my first REAL post in this forum to please be gentle.

I have recently decided to venture into the world of calibration by joining 2 of my EE buddies in opening a calibration laboratory. One of them buys/sells/repairs electronic test and measurment equipment for over 15 years. The other is just your average electrical techinician (5 years of experience).

I searched for a post for start-up labs but didn't find anything. Hoping some of you experienced members in the calibration industry can help me out.

My main question is whether the need for external calibration services is increasing or decreasing. I know many large companies provide in-house cal services now a days, will this eventually lead to the extinction of external cal - labs?

Next, what do customers look for when they are searching for a lab? I have done some research in this but am still unsure. Are customers price driven? Do you have to be ISO 17025 certified? I don't see why an uncertified cal-lab couldn't measure to the same accuracy as one that is certified. Isn't it the equipment that decides how accurate a measurment is, not the procedure? Sure, I can see how procedures can reduce error, but isn't the main intention of a customer to get his/her equipment calibrated accurately, regardless of whether it is done under ISO rules. I know many large companies must get their equipment calibr. by a certified lab, do you guys think there is a market for uncertified cal if it is significantly cheaper?

I guess i'll stop here for now, i hope my question aren't too 'newby'ish. Thanks for any imput ahead of time.

btw, if you have started your own calibration lab, i'd like to speak with you maybe for consunting services. please e-mail me directly for these inquiries.

Some general advice, start a business you have experience in.

 

[Jerry Eldred]

I've been in the calibration field for around 25 years. Whether calibration business is trending toward going in-house or being subcontracted in my opinion (opinion only) is that it goes in waves. Some of it is business philosophies, such as minimizing headcounts, and focusing on "core business" personnel. Companies trending in that direction may transfer some services to subccontractors. Large corporations I know of in recent years have moved their internal cafeterias to outside contractors, moved IT support to contractors, and some have moved calibration to subcontractors.

On the other hand, I know of companies who, with implementation of ISO17025 requirements, brought more calibrations back inhouse because of the cost increases by some subcontractors (to cover ISO17025 accreditation expenses).

I truly believe it depends on who you ask, and whether it is an "odd or even year" (so to speak).

If I were giving advice to someone starting a calibration lab, get to know your market. There are unfortunately some potential customers who are more concerned about a "sticker" and "passing an audit" (if I may borrow the overuse of quotation marks from Austin Powers). For that sort of customer, there are (also unfortunately) "labs" that cater to that sort of low-dollar customer. In my own company, when internal customers talk about needing calibration to satisfy QS9000 (changing to TS16949), I cringe and do my best to explain that we calibrate so that our instruments do their part to give the customer the product they ordered (meet specs, quality and reliability, and safety). We calibrate our instruments to maximize confidence that their measurements are as accurate as needed.

So there are also customers who demand quality. If I were starting an independent lab, my top priority would be to provide customers with quality measurements.

Regarding procedures, I couldn't imagine performing calibrations without good procedures. Although it is correct that the equipment provides the accuracy, there is more to a correct calibration than just the accuracy of the equipment. If I forget about any ISO requirements, based on my 25+ years in calibration, I know that you must use a consistent method to assure the instrument is not only calibrated correctly, but the same way each time. This is more important or less important, depending on what you are calibrating. As a customer, I would want you to convince me that your technicians are qualified, they know what is important in the measurements, that you use the right measurement standards, that you perform the calibration in the correct environment, and other details. Good procedures are how you assure that no matter who is performing the calibration that it is done correctly and the same way every time. If you have no procedures, as a customer, I would be skeptical as to how my instrument was calibrated.

If we throw the term "CERTIFICATION" into the conversation, there is the implication that some documented method is incorporated.

My guess is that customers who are interested in very low priced calibrations, without any sort of accreditation or compliance, may well be the ones who either own off-brand, un-calibrated instruments, and/or choose not to have them calibrated at all.

If I were to stereotype (definitely the right term here), I would say there are to main potential customers: those who want a sticker (probably also need some sort of compliance), and those who want a good quality calibration (mostly need some sort of accreditation or compliance as well).

Please feel free to email me directly at jerry.eldred@freescale.com

 

[Hershal]

curioushuang,

Jerry has a good post with good advice, so let me just add some things.

You do need to know your market. That is one of the keys to success. Knowing your market includes knowing if they require accreditation under ISO/IEC 17025 or do not require it.

You also need to know your scope of calibration. What can you do effectively and efficiently, and can you NOT do effectively and efficiently?

Since you are in CA, the question of whether organizations are outsourcing or not takes a slightly different meaning than most places. Jerry is correct about the typical cycles regarding outsourcing of calibration, but the market in CA seems to accent that more. And let's throw a wrench into it......it is different in No Cal than it is in So Cal. No Cal appears to be outsourcing more at the moment primarily for cost issues (gee, what a surprise).

So Cal is an extremely volatile market and changes almost daily. Once into a long term (e.g. one year) contract, then there is some stability. If your lab provides a capability no one else can - in your market and area - then you will likely have contracts for a long time.

If your clients do require 17025, then you will have to seek that at some point. There are several good accrediting bodies (ABs) for 17025, including IAS, A2LA, NVLAP, ACLASS, L-A-B, and others. Most are based in the D.C. area, one in the Midwest, one on the West Coast.

Hope this helps.

Hershal

 

[Phil mil std]

New Calibration Lab

I have been the calibration sector for 12yrs plus. Worked in Aero Space companys, currently working in a factory that produces heaters. Having your equipement calibrated by a certified calibration house (traceable to NIST) gives you and your clients a sense of security knowing that the company went through the process to ensure quality, precision and accuracy of there tools and your tools.

Always go with a ISO certified calibration house. Remember the main word in calibration: Traceability.

 

[curioushuang]

Some general advice, start a business you have experience in.

trust me i wouldn't be entering this field if i didn't have full confidence in my other 2 partners. I'm just trying to further my knowledge without them. Who knows, maybe i'll learn some things they don't know yet.

 

[curioushuang]

Always go with a ISO certified calibration house. Remember the main word in calibration: Traceability.

Hey guys thanks for all the help so far. All the advice has been very helpful.

Phil mil std - how is ISO certification have to do with traceability? Isn't traceability linked to the NIST standard that is used in calibration?

Again thanks for the comments, does anyone have any other advice?

 

[Phil mil std]

Calibration

Look for Calibration Services that are ISO certified. Is one statement. The other was making sure all equipment is traceable to NIST. Two Different statements.

I wish you luck!!!

 

[Hershal]

Traceability has two components, according to VIM (International Vocabulary of General and Specific Terms in Metrology):

An unbroken chain of comparisons to National or International Standards and by that to SI;

And stated uncertainties at each step.

Having said that, for a U.S. based cal house, traceability is typically through NIST. However, it can just as easily be through NRC (Canada) or CENAM (Mexico) and is just as valid.

The key is that you HAVE the traceability.......not as much which NMI (National Measurement Institue), and make sure you have the evidence of the traceability. Clients may well ask for it, the smart ones do......and should you seek accreditation, you can count on having to prove traceability.

Hope this helps.

Hershal