Organization of a calibration laboratory

Improving the quality of industrial products is an economic and social imperative that is increasingly shared today.

For the company, detecting defects, reducing scrap and perfecting manufacturing processes require constant improvements in measurement and control methods.

Controlling measurement processes is the main objective of the company's metrology function, which can be summed up by the slogan: "Good measurements for good decisions".

Whereas, in the past, companies limited their metrological function to the management of measuring instrument fleets, current developments linked to the publication, in 2000, of the new ISO 9000 series of standards are bringing far-reaching changes to quality management within companies. ISO 10012, entitled "Measurement management systems – Requirements for measurement processes and equipment", describes how to manage measurement processes, and is aligned in its philosophy with the concepts developed in ISO 9000.

All the operations carried out by the calibration laboratory are therefore part of a better control of measurement processes.

Periodic monitoring of measuring and control instruments has become a necessity. Indeed, the use of instruments with incorrect readings exposes the company to major risks, such as disputes with clients, rework, scrap, etc.

The use of regularly maintained, checked and calibrated instruments guarantees the validity of measurements and controls, and is an essential quality factor. It increases productivity, and therefore the company's competitiveness.

Every company needs a metrological function. This does not necessarily involve setting up a laboratory with expensive equipment; it can often be resolved by acquiring a few references (a box of gauge blocks, smooth rings, etc.), which are then used to check measuring equipment (calipers, screw micrometers, bore gauges).

In the following pages, we have attempted to provide the essential information needed to set up a metrological structure. It goes without saying that each of the elements presented will have to be adapted to the company in question. The setting up of a metrological structure cannot be conceived without an objective analysis of the company's needs: the absence of this initial phase would inevitably lead to the creation of an ill-adapted and excessively expensive laboratory.