>> What is calibration?
My name is Randy Vanwie and I've been with Tektronix for about 28 years now and my background
has actually been in the calibration business for that entire time, plus some.
I'm the Quality Manager for Tektronix Service today.
In this next series of videos, we're going to talk about a number of things but for the
first one, I'm going to talk a bit about the basics and the principles of metrology.
What is metrology?
What does it mean?
Why is it important?
Also some fundamentals on calibration.
We'll use some terms over the series of videos and there are some key terms we will talk
about now and others through the series.
So we'll talk about metrology - we need to understand that.
You'll hear "traceability" used quite a bit.
So we'll need to understand what traceability is and what it means, and actually in some
cases, what it may not mean.
We'll talk about calibration.
We'll talk about adjustments.
You'll hear the term, "verification" used.
And as we go through, we'll have additional terms to that but those are probably the top
four or five that you need to be aware of.
One of the key terms to keep in mind is calibration and if you think about a definition [what
is calibration?], and everybody has a slightly different version of this, but when you calibrate
something you're basically making a comparison.
So you have a device that I would call an unknown.
You don't know what parameter, what value it is.
Then compare it to a known device, or a known item.
It could be a ruler, a gage block, it could be a multimeter.
And you make that comparison so you can determine what the value of the unknown is, or what
the error of the unknown is.
And that in a true sense is what a calibration is.
It's determining the property of a device.
Calibration is needed for a multitude of things but the primary requirement that someone would
have calibration for a device, or for an item, is to ensure one of two things.
Consistency of production or conformity to specifications so that as you make measurements
on your devices or on your processes, you have confidence that the information you are
receiving, the product that you are shipping/producing is consistent and meets the requirements for
whatever your end user is or that part of the process.
And the calibration enables your tools to keep the consistency to make sure that your
output is consistent.
Calibration affects a lot of things that we do but when you look at where calibration
becomes very critical, certain industries around the US - the medical industry, aerospace
- have very demanding requirements for calibration and process control.
When you think about what's involved, as a medical producer - for example for medication
- to make sure you get consistent dosing, that you don't have any issues.
If you look at transportation, or aerospace, if you're an aircraft manufacturer, you have
a very low tolerance for any type of calibration error, again, because of the risk involved
of a failure.
Failure says that you may have components that do not fit correctly, they may come loose
or come apart when it's not expected.
So you need to be careful during the calibration process that you receive good service, and
also that you have a good supplier.
As we talk about calibration, a calibration event will consist of several things.
First and foremost, you need to have the device that you are testing and understand what the
requirements and characteristics of that device are.
So you need to understand what the requirements for test are.
At that time, you also need to identify what standards or references you have to have to
properly test the device.
And another key portion of that is traceability.
Making sure that the devices you are using for test, that they themselves are calibrated
back to a reference so you know they are consistent.
Once you understand what is necessary for the process and for the device you are testing,
the next important piece is method.
You need to understand that you are using the proper method, tools and technology to
properly value or evaluate a device so that when that device is put into use somewhere,
they know that it is working correctly.
We mentioned that you need a good supplier.
What does a good supplier consist of?
Well, a good supplier has a few basic requirements that they have to meet and these are things
that can be identified and verified fairly easily.
They need to have a good quality program in place that says that they have process control,
they have repeatable processes within the organization, so that they have a way to manage
their suppliers, they have a way to manage the tools and information used to support
your device, they have a way to understand - and the technical knowledge - to know what
your device is supposed to support and operate.
Additionally, there are other certifications that can be had externally from various organizations.
You can have an ISO9000 certificate which is a quality management certification for
that.
Many labs are accredited to ISO17025 which is an independent view of their technical
skills, operations and quality.
Both of these give an added level of review and assurance that you are using a quality
calibration provider.
So what's required to know when to calibrate and what to calibrate?
There's a lot of variables to this.
It's a difficult question that gets asked.
It is difficult to answer, in some cases.
But it's critical because you have to look at what's the risk of a failure?
What's the risk of a non-conformance?
So in doing that, most manufacturers will assign a calibration interval of a year, two
years, three years, depending on the product that they manufacture, and based on their
knowledge of how the product will operate over time.
Those are good recommendations to start with.
Again, you have to be able to understand the risk of a failure and the consequences of
a failure in order to determine that.
But in essence, if you are making measurements, if you are testing to conformity, or conformity
to process, or specifications, calibration in most cases is required.
We hear from time to time that people, customers, production areas, don't want to calibrate
equipment.
We hear it's a waste of time, a waste of money, things don't fail.
And what people don't understand is that there is a cost to maintaining a quality program,
a good production system.
Agreed.
You have to do this.
There is an expenditure involved in this.
But the problem comes in is when you don't maintain these systems, don't maintain this
equipment.
The true cost of quality comes to bear when you have a failure.
So the cost for calibration for a single device or for devices in a factory, is insignificant
when you look at what it takes to actually bring product back from your customers or
from the public, to say, "I'm sorry.
I built something.
It's not working correctly".
It's not only a cost to the rework but it's also a cost to your reputation.
We talked a little bit about selecting a quality calibration supplier and Tektronix can bring
to you and your facility, the world's leading multi-service provider for repair and calibration-related
services.
We have the ability to support more than 140,000 different model numbers from over 9,000 manufacturers.
We have more than 100 service locations around the globe.
Over 1,000 associates to help support your operations and partner with you to do this.
We are ISO9001 registered for quality systems.
We are ISO17025 accredited and ANSI and CSLZ540.1 accredited in the US.
And we have the tools, the skills and the expertise to support your operation.
Some people ask, "Why am I at Tektronix?"
and "Why am I in Oregon?".
People hear about Oregon and they believe that everybody who comes to the state is issued
an umbrella because of the rain.
We actually have sunshine up here.
I started with Tektronix in 1985.
I moved up to Beaverton in 1989.
Part of it is the culture.
Part of it is the area up here.
But it's the people here in the North West and at Tektronix that actually keep me here
because it's a high quality of life, very knowledgeable, dedicated people to the operation
and the industry that they are in.
To get more information on the type of capabilities that we offer for our services, you can go
to our website which is service-solutions.tektronix.com.
On this site, we have information on capabilities, we have all of our ISO9001 and ISO17025 certifications
available for you so you can see our major locations and what our capabilities are.