UKAS calibration, service & repair

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the UK national accreditation body responsible for assessing and accrediting the competence of organisations in the fields of measurement, testing, inspection and certification of systems, products and personnel. It operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Trade and Industry, which has licensed UKAS to use accreditation marks that feature the Royal Crown, and to sub-license the use of these marks to UKAS accredited organisations.

Having achieved accreditation to UKAS, ETI's laboratories are inspected on a regular basis to ensure that our calibration methods, equipment and personnel are maintained to the highest standards.

A question that often arises is: "How do I know that the thermometer or hygrometer that I am using will agree with somebody else's?" To ensure that there is not a calibration issue between two parties, both instruments should be compared to National Standards, and for the benefit of known accuracies, such comparison is ideally conducted by a UKAS approved laboratory. The following are just a few examples of frequently asked questions.

what's the difference between calibration & certification?
Calibration means "to measure". The instrument being tested is calibrated against a known source. A certificate shows what results have been obtained during calibration and certifies the accuracy of the instrument.

what is meant by uncertainty of measurement?
When anything is measured there is a probability that there will be some inaccuracies. Perhaps the test instrument is not entirely accurate; perhaps ambient temperatures are not conducive to accurate measurement; possibly the operator has not followed correct procedures. Each measurement has an "uncertainty" factor, and this can be calculated by a combination of all potential errors. This is then stated as a tolerance, i.e. plus or minus the measured figure.

how often should we have our thermometer checked?
It depends on a number of factors. How important is temperature in your process? How often do you use your thermometer? How roughly is the instrument treated? Do you have the opportunity to check against other thermometers? For continued confidence in the accuracy of measurement, and to assist in compliance
with HACCP and other legislation, it is recommended that you obtain a certificate of calibration at 12-month intervals.

can my data-loggers be calibrated?
Yes. ETI can issue UKAS Certificates for both temperature and humidity data-loggers with internal or external probes. The standard certificate includes three different temperature or humidity points. For best measurement capability, click here, for humidity and air temperature, click here .