Quality System
Quality System & Standards
The standards, traceability and management arrangements that govern the work described on this site.
Overview
Calibration is performed by laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, and certificates are issued under the performing laboratory's own accredited scope. Scoping a job starts with checking whether the specific measurement, range and uncertainty fall inside that scope, verified against the accreditation body's published directory.
Standards Referenced
Work described on this site is performed under ISO/IEC 17025:2017.
The accreditation referenced on this site is held by the laboratory that performs the work, and it reaches only as far as the measurements in that laboratory's published scope. Anything measured outside it is issued as non-accredited work and labelled on the certificate, so an approved-supplier file shows exactly which lines sit inside an accredited scope.
The documentation that accompanies a quotation is explained on the accreditation documentation page.
Metrological Traceability
Measurements are traceable to the SI through NIST, documented as an unbroken chain of comparisons with stated uncertainty at each link. Certificates state the reference standards used and the reported measurement uncertainty, which is the documented chain that the shorthand 'NIST traceable' leaves out. Where a statement of conformity is given, the decision rule applied is stated on the certificate, consistent with ISO 14253-1 and the requirement in ISO/IEC 17025:2017 that a decision rule be documented. Accredited and non-accredited items are identified separately on the quote and on the certificate, so neither is mistaken for the other.
Traceability is documented measurement by measurement. The certificate names the reference standard, states where that standard stands in its own calibration cycle, and sets out the chain back to the SI unit. A reference found out of tolerance triggers a review of the work done against it since its previous calibration, and notification of whoever received that work.
Equipment and Maintenance
Equipment categories handled include bridge, gantry and cantilever coordinate measuring machines, portable articulated arms, granite surface plates, gauge blocks, and ring and plug gauges. Each frame type is tested against its own governing standard: bridge and gantry machines under ISO 10360-2 or ASME B89.4.1, articulated arms under ISO 10360-12 where applicable to the arm and probe configuration on hand, and laser trackers under their own frame-specific standard. Documented procedures cover request review, method selection, result review and release, and a complaints-and-appeals process, giving a disputed result a defined path back through the record.
Reference equipment is tagged with a unique identity, held under controlled conditions and recalibrated on a documented interval, shortened where the drift record justifies it. Where an item is damaged, overloaded or returns results that cannot be relied on, it is withdrawn and labelled, and its return to service is recorded in writing.
Management System
The work sits inside a documented management system:
- 01
Controlled documents
Procedures carry issue and revision status.
- 02
Retained records
Retained for a defined period and retrievable against a certificate number.
- 03
Audit and review
Internal audit and management review run on a schedule.
- 04
Corrective action
Nonconforming work and improvement actions are tracked to closure, and their effectiveness is checked afterwards.
Impartiality and Complaints
Impartiality is treated as a controlled risk, and results are issued on their merits whatever the commercial consequence. Complaints and appeals are logged as a formal input to the management system — the process, including the response commitment, is set out on the complaints policy page. How results should and should not be read is covered on the disclaimer page.
Compiling records for a supplier-qualification file?
Scope, method statements and traceability detail are supplied with the quotation.