There are many calibration laboratories out there competing for your business. But do they have your best interest in mind? Some are “lick and stick” type of businesses that perform the bare minimum evaluations on your equipment and provide you with a calibration sticker and Certificate of Conformance just to satisfy you and keep you coming back.

Many laboratories are in business to make a profit from the opportunities made possible by the increasing demand to comply to ISO requirements to calibrate and show traceability to a national or international standard. Even if the lab is ISO/IEC certified, some of these laboratories perform work beyond the scope of their own capabilities and often will subcontract work out without informing you in the process. Yes, they may have the lowest price tag, and indeed perhaps all you want is a label and certification for lowest price you can get.

However, for those companies which are truly interested in doing a quality business that delivers a quality product to consumers will send their measuring and test equipment to a calibration laboratory that is one of integrity with accreditation to one of the national accreditation bodies. Currently, that means A-Class, A2LA or NVLAP. These bodies are specific and deliver accreditation to Calibration and Testing Laboratories only.

Those labs that are accredited to these organizations undergo stringent evaluation for adherence to scope, procedures, traceability, and training in calibration techniques and equipment. This sometimes may cause these labs to charge slightly more for their services but the old adage applies, “you get what you pay for”.

So, in conclusion, the decision you’re left with is this, “are economic considerations more important to you than being provided with the best possible service and traceability for the measuring and test equipment you rely upon to produce quality products for your customers”?