STANDARDS IN FOCUS: GNBS OFFERS TRACEABLE AND AFFORDABLE MEASUREMENT CALIBRATION SERVICES TO INDUSTRY

Oct 07, 2018 Features / Columnists, News, Standards in Focus

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) as the National Metrology (Measurement) Institute (NMI), offers a wide range of calibration services to meet the needs of industry, regulators, and laboratories that are offering measurement services or conducting measurements using precision instruments.

For more than 12 years, the GNBS has been calibrating instruments used to measure temperature, pressure, dimensions, mass, volume and electricity. Standards used in calibration by our Laboratory Services Department are traceable to NIST and those used by highly recognised NMI in the Caribbean, including the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) and Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ).

Most local companies and laboratories understand how critical calibration of their instruments is to achieving reliable and consistent results every time. Calibration is a comparison between a known measurement (the standard) and the measurement using your instrument.

Calibration defines the accuracy and quality of measurements recorded using a piece of equipment.Typically, the accuracy of the standard should be ten times the accuracy of the measuring device being tested. However, accuracy ratio of 3:1 is acceptable by most standards organizations.

Business operations that calibrate their instruments are usually cognizant of the reasons why the process is important. Basically, through calibration,measuring instruments are checked for accuracy and to determine the traceability of the measurement. A certificate or report is issued by the entity performing the calibration. This certificate expresses the error in measurements of the measuring instrument before and after the calibration.

Oftentimes, skeptics who usually do not understand the importance of calibration question the need for the process. However, the understanding must be created that accuracy of all measuring devices degrades over time – or as it is common to say “drift” over time.

This is normal and is caused by regular use resulting in wear and tear. Major events, like mechanical shocks (e.g. from impacts), electrical shocks, unrecommended environmental operating conditions also cause drifting in equipment measurement.

The use of uncalibrated instruments impacts health, safety and dollars and cents. It translates into increased costs from measurement inaccuracies, especially in the areas of manufacturing, where defective products may be produced.

It also results in errors in laboratory results and doctors’ diagnoses; food spoilage or consumption of undercooked or under processed food, etc. Additionally, agencies may lose their international recognitions (Certification or Accreditations), lose franchises and worst, lose the trust of clients.

The GNBS encourages every company and every laboratory to take advantage of its traceable, reliable and affordable calibration services.

For further information on the calibration ranges offered by the GNBS, please telephone: 219-0062, 219-0065 or 219-0069 or visit our website: www.gnbsgy.org