Significance of Instrument Calibration on Quality of Results

You must have heard about the importance of calibration for laboratory equipment, but do you really understand its value? While this is a widespread and vital concept, there are people who still do not know its meaning or significance. Here, we will help you understand everything about calibration, from what calibration is to why is calibration important.

什么是校准？

甚至在您到达之前purpose of calibration in the laboratory, you first need to understand what this process is and why it is performed in various places.

Calibration is basically a procedure where you compare a Device Under Test (DUT) that has an unknown value with a known value’s reference standard. Through this, you can look out for any errors to further correct the device for accurate results.

通常，当机器或工具是新的时，将进行校准过程。由于它只是从制造商那里进来的，因此很有可能没有表现出完美的结果。校准有助于校正机器，因此在其测量值中未发现错误。

但是，校准不是一个时间过程。它再次以预定的频率进行，以检查由于设备的磨损而可能出现的错误。因此，确保测量工具始终显示正确的值，并且没有任何过程会受到其影响。

校准通常对于以下行业至关重要：

• Laboratories:Thepurpose of calibration in the laboratory是为了确保其所有测试都正确地进行，并且没有任何仪器造成任何不准确性。
• 食品工业：The校准的重要性in the food industry is to keep their ingredients within standard limits and avoid any severe trouble for the consumers or their brand.
• Manufacturing Units:Theimportance of calibrationincreases for manufacturing unitsto maintain their processes, alarms, and systems. Plus, it helps in keeping away any injuries or loss of the workers.

总体而言，我们将重点关注实验室设备校准。

Why Is Calibration Important?

Instrument calibration is a vital activity without which your results cannot be relied upon.

Your lab may be equipped with the most sophisticated and costly instruments but if you do not calibrate them periodically, your results will have no significance.

Even low-cost instruments such as thermometers, pH meters, volumetric apparatus and ovens need to be calibrated from time to time to give reliable data.

物品,如重量、测量棒,体积pparatus which apparently do not seem to change with time also need to be calibrated against reference standards not just at time of purchase but regularly at defined intervals.

由于温度，湿度和处理不当的操作导致磨损等环境条件的变化，因此需要进行这种校准。

Sophisticated instruments running on mains power supply need to be more frequently calibrated because of involvement of several variables such as stability of power supply, usage lifetime of light sources, fall in efficiency of chromatography columns, normal wear and tear of mechanical parts,etc.

Instrument calibration is always against a traceable standard which is maintained under specified environmental conditions. Traceability to known national and international standardization bodies such as ISO, NIST, ASTM, BIS, BS, AOAC, etc is necessary.

At times it becomes cost prohibitive to procure the original standards so in such case reliable standards bearing traceability to original standards can be procured at a reasonable cost.

简而言之，校准有助于根据标准使测量设备更加准确。这样，您在执行任何过程时最终不会犯任何错误。因此，您的结果就像您希望它们一样完美。这就是为什么校准对于不同行业很重要的原因，必须以特定的时间间隔进行以避免任何麻烦。

Calibration Frequency

It is necessary to calibrate all instruments and glassware before first use in the laboratory. Subsequently calibration is repeated as per intervals specified in the standard operating procedures on the basis of supplier recommendations. Outside the schedule calibration becomes necessary when an instrument is relocated even within the same laboratory, after a major repair or even if a new accessory is installed.

您不必担心与校准相关的成本，因为它在importance of calibration。随着校准设备将显示出更准确的结果，您可以轻松地削减此过程中犯错误的进一步成本。因此，这更多是一项投资而不是支出，您必须以特定的间隔进行。

校准在哪里?

大多数仪器可以在内部进行校准，但是某些仪器需要供应商代表或AN进行定期校准。外部校准实验室，该实验室已获得NABL的认可。

同样，一些校准是简单的，需要针对参考标准进行输出的校准，并且有些需要校准不同的模块，例如HPLC，它需要单独的光源，泵，喷油器等单独校准。保持所有记录的记录变得更加重要calibrations and such records should be preserved for time specified in SOP’s.

Who Can Calibrate?

仪器校准只有在由实验室或第三方授权的人进行的人进行的情况下才是真实的。校准乐器的人应将其签名放在校准贴纸和校准记录上。

Even in the general sense, calibration must be done only by a professional or authorized person. Otherwise, you can not ensure whether the calibration was successful or not. Therefore, failing the entire purpose of carrying out the process.

What to do if Instrument is Out of Calibration Validity?

在使用仪器之前，请检查其校准贴纸，并确保其在其校准有效性之内。如果您发现校准日期已经结束，请简单地用“仪器在维护下”贴纸替换校准贴纸，并告知有关人员在使用其使用之前完成校准。

像仪器校准一样，经过验证的分析方法的使用也起着同样重要的作用，并将在随后的文章中进行讨论。

Please do let us know if you liked the article and share your valued comments.