Specifying Measurement Standards on an External Calibration PO?

[nova hotcakes]

Hi,
I am assisting my company in preparing for certification to ISO 9001 and have a question about clause 7.6. We have identified equipment to be sent for external calibration. I understand that we must specify the calibration requirements to the external calibration requirements - we plan to do this on the PO. My question is: is it acceptable to the auditors to place a blanket statement on calibration PO's that says: "to be calibrated to manufacturer's specifications and be traceable to NIST standard"? Or do we have to actually specify the NIST standard?

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[qusys]

Re: Specification of measurement standards on a external calibration PO?

Hi,
I am assisting my company in preparing for certification to ISO 9001 and have a question about clause 7.6. We have identified equipment to be sent for external calibration. I understand that we must specify the calibration requirements to the external calibration requirements - we plan to do this on the PO. My question is: is it acceptable to the auditors to place a blanket statement on calibration PO's that says: "to be calibrated to manufacturer's specifications and be traceable to NIST standard"? Or do we have to actually specify the NIST standard?

Any advice would be appreciated!

The definition of the requirements is for the organization not for the auditors. I do not know which kind of equipment/tools you send out for calibration. I presume the external lab knows the manufactures'specification for their calibration or that you provided them .
Consider to specify which kind of certifcate will be provided to you with error and accuracy data as well as the traceability to NIST. If you select ISO17025 Lab service it is ok, verifying if they have measurements requested in their scope.

 

[Gmzita]

Re: Specification of measurement standards on a external calibration PO?

Nova -

I agree with Qusys' comments above. It is up to you to specify the calibration requirements of your devices. As a ISO 17025 accredited calibration Company, we state the requirements on the Purchase Orders that are issued. We use a combination of "blanket statements" as well as specific requirements based on the device. In the majority of the cases - we will specify calibration tolerances but we also have devices where we can simply specify "in accordance with the latest revision of ASTM E 74" in the case of a Force device or to "Manufacturer specifications" when it is a device like a Micrometer.

If you contract with an ISO 17025 accredited calibration lab, measurements will be traceable to the SI unit (NIST traceability) as that is a requirement for accreditation. But be sure to check their Scope of Accreditation to make sure their CMC meets your needs and they are accredited for the Range/Scale that you require. For instance - if you need a 48 inch length Ruler calibrated but their accreditation only is valid up to 24 inch - you need to keep looking.

Good Luck and if you need any more assistance - please feel free to ask.

 

[nova hotcakes]

Re: Specification of measurement standards on a external calibration PO?

Thanks much! In the past we've always sent out our equipment to the same calibration company, it comes back calibrated, everyone's happy. So the requirement to specify the calibration standard to the calibration feels like additional work to satisfy the auditor. Hence my question about whether the auditor would find the statement acceptable.

 

[qusys]

Re: Specification of measurement standards on a external calibration PO?

Thanks much! In the past we've always sent out our equipment to the same calibration company, it comes back calibrated, everyone's happy. So the requirement to specify the calibration standard to the calibration feels like additional work to satisfy the auditor. Hence my question about whether the auditor would find the statement acceptable.

ISO 9001 certification foresees processes in place for this ( clause 7.6). The fact that in the past everyone was happy for this could change because you are pursuing now the certification process and something could change. Awareness, roles and responbilities could vary and new task/duties should be accomplished. This does not mean you are not already working in compliance . To come back to your question, the auditor could investigate which are these manufacturer's specification in case you specify the reported statement in the PO and how you agreed upon them with your calibration service.
Consider also to establish the acceptance criteria of the calibrated tools/equipment that return to your siteafter calibration. In thsi case the certificate is key . ISO 17025 lab usage should be the best choice to meet the clause , always considering the capability of the external lab to provide measurement in their accreditation lab scope.