June 2004 slide 1

Calibration basics
Kjell Bergh
Nemko
June 2004 slide 2
What is calibration
Relate measurement to SI units
Traceability
Proof of functionality
Known uncertainty
Uncertainty of calibration process
Accepted deviation of instrument to true value,
Tolerance level
Standards
What is a standard?
June 2004 slide 3
Traceability
Standards
Standard vs. standard ! (Physical object vs. document)
SI-units
International standards
National standards
Sub-standards
Tertial standards
Lower-level standards
June 2004 slide 4
SI units
Basic units
Mass (Kilogramme = kg)
Length (Meter = m)
Time (Second = s)
Electric current (Ampere = A)
Temperature (Kelvin = K)
Luminance (Candela = cd)
Molecular mass (mol)
Derived units
Frequency (Hertz = Hz = s
-1
)
Force (Newton = N = m*kg/s
2
)
Pressure (Pascal = pa = N/m
2
)
Energy (J oule = J = N*m)
Power (Watt = W = J /s)
Electric charge (Coulomb = C =
A*s)
Derived units
Electric potential (Volt = V =
W/A)
Capasitance (Farad = F =
A*s/V)
Inductance (Henry = H = V*s/A)
Resistance (Ohm = = V/A)
Conductance (Siemens = S =
A/V)
Magnetic flux (Weber = Wb =
V*s)
Magnetic induction (Tesla = T =
Wb/m
2
)
Light flux (Lumen = lm = cd*sr)
Light intensity (Lux = lx =
lm/m
2
)
June 2004 slide 5
Accreditation
Calibration lab
ISO 17025
QA-system of organization
Personell
Procedures
Internal surveillance
Scope of accreditation
June 2004 slide 6
QA-system
Certified to ISO standard 17025
Management, command structure
Purchase handling
Assignment handling, billing
Object reception and delivery
Object handling during calibration
Personnel training and competence
Procedure maintenance, update
June 2004 slide 7
Personnel
QA-system
Educational standard
Competence maintenance, training
Integrity, independence of economic factors
Personnel
Responsibility
Procedure loyality
June 2004 slide 8
Procedures
Step-by-step for measurement set-up
Environmental conditions (temp, ventilation,vibration,
etc.)
Acclimatization of calibration object
Calibration status of control instruments/standards
Step-by-step performance of measurement
Competence of personnel
June 2004 slide 9
Internal surveillance
QA-system
Internal procedures
Preventive actions
Regularity
June 2004 slide 10
Scope
Basic units
List all units with accredited certificate
Derived units
Document how these may be derived from basic units
How this is related to accreditation
Objects for calibration
Are the important parameters covered by accreditation?
How much can one rely on the basic accreditation?
Let Cal.lab. document how non-accredited parameters can
be covered by the general accreditation.
June 2004 slide 11
Uncertainty
Cal. object
May show small/acceptable deviation from true value
Stability
Parameter dynamic range
System noise influence
Impedance mismatch
Cal. lab.
Uncertainty of used sub-standards
Uncertainty of cal. procedure
Influence of environment
Influence of operator
Influence of method
June 2004 slide 12
External vs. in-house
calibration
Specialized calibration lab
Accreditation cost
Competence
Equipment
Traceability
Efficiency
In-house
Less transportation cost
Less time delay
Expenses to maintain