How to maintain measuring equipment
This guidelines helps to establish proper process to distribute responsibilities & fulfill requirements for calibration, identification and maintenance of measuring equipment and test devices which is used in measuring products, manufacturing, testing and inspection processes.
This process covered the measuring equipment, instruments and devices which is used in the manufacturing the product, in-process inspections for the measuring the product dimension, inspecting the product sizes to compliance of the product quality requirements. To maintain requirements of the measuring equipments, company should prepare the procedure for calibration, identification and maintenance of measuring & test equipment which used for manufacturing, testing and inspection process to compliance of quality product. The process of the maintain measuring equipment applies to the measuring & testing devise, equipment and instruments to proportional indications used for verification of product conformity and for controlling of production processes.
Establishment of the process to maintain measuring equipments is responsibilities of the quality heads and laboratory peoples to ensure that all the process is properly handled & follow up by concern peoples, hence maintenance manager is responsible to calibration, repair all the process equipment, devices and instruments to support of quality peoples.
Identification of Equipment, Instrument and Devices
Each items of measuring equipment should be controlled in accordance with standards requirements & instrument, devices, gauges should assigned standard and unique system code that indicates its location, its own code, calibration date and due calibration date on labeled. Control number can possible to enter on small hand instruments, devices & tools by marking vibration pen or impression stamping, its depends on company standards but each required information should be on measuring equipments. Further Each applied number should be controlled, unique and in sequences to easier for the tracking & locating.
Calibration is the processes which compare of measuring standards with equipments of know accuracy to detect correlates for possible adjustments for maintain equipment, instrument accuracy. Calibration process helps makes equipment, instrument and devices to perform accurately, Measuring & test instrument, devices used to determine inspection / test or examination to compliance with standards requirements of the instrument, devices manufacturer / international standards.
Quality assurance are conducting the process of the calibration, maintenance & inspecting all the measuring and testing equipment as per calibration scheduled, as per it all active measuring equipment are calibration controls are maintained. All the calibration information, schedules and records are maintained in calibration record sheet, quality assurances are establish, maintained and updates sheet on time to time. In the calibration record sheet some very important information which helps identify, tracking and follow up information can get like equipment location, its specifications, calibration date, due date, control range & concern report to verify the calibration status on time. Instrument and gauges if beyond its due date should not used more, it has to be returned to concern department (Quality Dept.), and Concern Department will be conduct calibration, repair or remove from the system if required.
Measuring Equipment, Instrument, Gauges & devices are conducted classification to ensure process system & maintain systematic controls over it, listing and classifications are needs to maintain information about equipment should covered classification as:
- Description of the equipment, Instrument, Devices and gauges
- Location of Equipment, instrument, Devices & gauges
- Identification number should unique and in sequences
- Control Range of the Equipment, Instrument, Devices and gauges
- Least Count
- Frequency of Calibration
- Acceptable Criteria
In house calibration on all equipment by standard requirement for accuracy is maintained for calibration use, all the quality instructions and documents should strictly follow by the quality peoples to maintain its accuracy. Requirements of the calibrations are on base of frequency, quality peoples, internal end user of measuring equipments are sending the calibration service request for to quality assurance department to re-calibration, maintenance to maintain its accuracy, for the prime request of calibration is requested to quality assurance peoples are conducting on base of the each request, see picture below of calibration services request form as below:
Calibration services request form is placed by end user, department along with measuring instrument, devices, equipment for calibration, on after successfully calibration quality assurance department is issued calibration certificate by included information – identification of equipment, measurement values, least count, traceability statements, method of calibration, current accuracy and date of calibration & Calibration Frequency are major parts that required in calibration certificate.
All measuring equipment having is calibration seals that should be accurate & as per standardization. Measuring equipment are used for the product quality acceptance that quality assurances must evaluated during calibration process, all the necessary documents, label and records are maintained to compliance of calibration standard requirements and records of the calibrations are mentioned in calibration card.
Calibration provisional extensions
Provisional extensions for the calibration process is the intervals to extend date of the process by the authorized peoples to understand conditions of the equipments, in case any measuring equipment is not used that authority can extend some time in due date for calibration, but extended time should not more that half of calibration frequency time or as per company standards for calibration, extensions can be apply to all electrical & mechanical equipment but depends the extension period on base of equipment is electrical or mechanical, extensions are considered after authority approvals.
Storage & Transportation of Measuring Equipment
All the measuring equipment storage facilities must establish to prevent loss & involuntary damage due to atmospheric reasons same are care during the handing and transportation of equipment should appropriately. Storage of measure equipment information form through records is maintained. Equipment should protect from temperature, stresses that cause damages by mechanical. During the storage, handling and transportation shocks, vibrations, moisture and other environmental effects should consider to maintain accuracy of measuring equipment.
Reference Documents
Measuring instruments, equipment, devices & gauges calibration and maintenance are depends on the standard references & document, on base of the standard process all the activities are conduct, but some documents that helps to maintain measuring equipment, which are used by quality assurances and end user of company, here as below given document references table:
Measuring Equipment Review
Quality assurances should conduct the measuring equipment review on frequency defined; all the calibration frequency reviews to considering some factors, conditions and requirements are reviews are conducted. Reviews are conducted on some factors which are, use of the measuring equipment is matter for the review & also considered history of measuring equipments, the previous calibration record of the measuring equipment, instrument, gauges and devices are reviewed by quality assurances. Measuring equipment is used for assurance of the product quality that its must accurate, its accuracy of the measuring instruments are consider for review. Quality Assurance is also considering production process stage where measuring equipment is being used, the criticality of the measurement parameters of product & requirements of tolerances are considered. In case of measuring equipment calibration frequency is decided to consider instrument self life.
Measuring equipment is important part of the quality assurance that reason are product standards specification, tolerances of dimensions which is measurable are measured by measuring equipment so its accuracy is matter for product quality.
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