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Setting up the instrument calibration process requires a lot of common sense and precautions. Endress+Hauser offers a method of optimizing calibration intervals, which by taking into account the characteristics of the production process, eliminates additional costs while continuing to manufacture a product or provide a service that meets the expected specifications and quality requirements.
Respecting certain main principles laid down by the quality standards of 11309001. Many companies are content with a regular check (often with an interval of one year) of their instruments without ever questioning their calibration interval. They may then calibrate their instruments too often or not often enough. Setting calibration intervals by habit can lead to wasted resources, increased risks and increased costs. "You have to find the right balance between too much and not enough calibration. Extending the calibration interval reduces costs while reducing it reduces the risk of non-compliance. It is essential to act intelligently on these two levers. It is important not to take the decision to calibrate an instrument every year out of habit but only when the process requires it," warns Christophe Heitzmann.
Concentration of efforts
To gain in efficiency and profitability. Endress+Hauser aims to support manufacturers in their efforts to optimize metrology operations on their instruments so that they can focus their efforts where it is most needed. Its experts will carefully analyze with the manufacturer the characteristics of the production process, the installed base of the sensors and the influence of each of them on process performance. The objective of the approach is therefore to determine the impact of the drift of an instrument on the process and therefore its criticality. The criticality level thus evaluated will make it possible to define the maximum permissible error (MPE) for each sensor and review the required calibration periodicity. "Manufacturers often tend to take maximum safety regarding the calibration of their instruments, regardless of their level of criticality. Gold. too frequent calibration of an instrument that has a lower EMT than necessary leads to additional costs in terms of metrology and maintenance," explains Christophe Heitzmann.
Proven optimization methodology
The methodology developed and deployed by Endress+Hauser to optimize calibration periodicity and EMT level to process requirements is based on 13031010 and 13010012 standards and best practices in the field. It also relies on software modelling tools for instrument drift that have been developed based on a database of 22 billion calibration data. It also benefits from Endress+Hauser's dual expertise in metrology and as a manufacturer of process measuring instruments.
The calibration interval optimization method is implemented in close collaboration between Endress+Hauser experts and the manufacturer in order to define the calibration periodicity adapted to each instrument according to its specified criticality and EMT. This methodology has already proven its effectiveness in the industrial field. "Its implementation in some of our customers has made it possible to extend the calibration interval by 67% of the instruments in their installed base, to maintain it at its level for 20% of them. and to reduce it for 13% of them. This has led to a 37% decrease in costs related to calibration operations and associated maintenance interventions," reports Christophe Heitzmann.
