What this tracks
Every piece of measurement equipment that produces data feeding quality decisions — Fischerscope, micrometers, calipers, pH meters, torque wrenches, temperature probes — needs periodic calibration. Required by AS9100, Nadcap, ISO 17025, CSA N299. Auditors always ask.
Menu: Plating → Configuration → Calibration.
The record
Click + New:
| Field | What to set |
|---|---|
| Equipment ID | Unique asset tag |
| Equipment Type | Fischerscope / Micrometer / pH meter / etc. |
| Location | Lab / QC bench / work centre |
| Responsible | Equipment owner (typically QC lead) |
| Calibration Frequency | Days between calibrations (90, 180, 365 typical) |
| Last Calibration Date | |
| Next Due Date | Auto = last + frequency |
| Calibration Vendor | External lab or internal |
| Traceability Chain | NIST / NRC / PTB / accreditation reference |
| Last Certificate PDF | Upload |
| Status | Current / Due Soon / Overdue / Out of Service |
Frequency-driven scheduling
System automates:
- 30 days before due: email to equipment owner
- 7 days before due: red flag in the list + email to QC manager
- Overdue: equipment marked Out of Service — readings from it are blocked system-wide
Chemistry logs, thickness readings, weight checks that come from an overdue instrument fail hard. Operator sees "instrument X is out of calibration" and must use a current one.
Calibration events
When calibration is performed:
- Open the record → New Calibration Event
- Enter date, vendor, cert number
- Upload the certificate PDF
- Enter found-as-left readings (for trend analysis)
- Mark Pass / Fail / Pass with Adjustment
- Save
On pass, next-due auto-updates. On fail, equipment stays Out of Service pending repair/disposal.
Out-of-tolerance recall
If a calibration fails significantly (> 20% out of spec), every reading taken by that instrument since last calibration is suspect. System:
- Lists all readings back to last cal
- Flags the WOs using those readings
- Notifies QC manager
- Initiates NCR + potentially customer notification
Painful but mandatory per QMS. Catch-and-announce is better than hiding and being caught at audit.
Vendor tracking
Tab: Vendors. Who do you send equipment to for cal? Stored with:
- Accreditation (ISO 17025, A2LA cert)
- Turnaround time
- Cost
- Ratings
Useful when a cert needs replacing and the usual vendor is slow.
Audit reports
Click Calibration Matrix for a spreadsheet:
- Every piece of equipment
- Current status
- Last cal date / next due
- Vendor
- Cert number
Standard AS9100 / Nadcap / N299 audit artefact.
What can go wrong
Equipment marked Overdue but was calibrated yesterday
Calibration event wasn't logged yet. Record it now, overdue flag clears.
Certificate PDF illegible
Vendor sends replacement. Update the record with the clean copy; history keeps the original.
Equipment retired but still in the list
Set status → Out of Service with reason "retired". Don't delete — historical readings still reference it.