Calibration Of Platform Scale

What is Scale Calibration?

Scale calibration is a procedure that ensures that a weighing

scale or balance delivers correct, accurate weighing results to the degree
specified on the scale. The accuracy of weighing scales can diminish over time
through regular use, dust build-up or age; a process often referred to as 'drift'.

Importance of Calibration

Balance or scale calibration is essential to achieve accurate weighing results.

Ignoring this important service activity turns measuring into guesswork. In other
words, it is negligent to weigh with a non-calibrated balance or scale. The
accuracy of balances and scales becomes less reliable over time. This is the
result of normal wear and tear caused by regular use and external factors such
as mechanical shocks or hazardous environments. This may lead to a rather
quick degradation or deterioration over a longer time. Periodically scheduled
balance calibration in combination with frequent routine testing greatly enhances
the life time of your balance or scale and its weighing accuracy.

In simple terms, calibration is a quantitative comparison. To check the reading of

a balance or scale, a reference weight is placed on the pan. The error is defined
as the difference between the measured value (the reading) and the true value
(the reference weight). The question whether this error is trustworthy or not, will
be outlined below. At the end of balance calibration, a certificate is created,
which reports the balance or scales readings and compares them to a reference
value. Applied tolerances result in a Pass/Fail statement.

Benefits of Calibration
  Cost savings. Calibrated equipment allows sound decision making, which
avoids waste, rework or product recall.
 Reliable measurements. Using calibrated equipment assures that
measurements made in one place are compatible with those made in
another. Results from any balance in the process will be accurate and
reliable, as will the final product.
 Compliance. Calibration facilitates smooth passing of internal and external
audits.
 Detection of aging equipment. All equipment ages over time and critical
components may sustain mechanical stress or wear and tear. Drift cannot
always be eliminated but it can be detected through periodic calibration.
 Process and profit improvement. Interpretation of calibration results
according to defined tolerances improves processes and ultimately
increases profit.

Often to do when calibrating and Risk of not calibrating

A calibration certificate reports results at the time the calibration was performed.
In many cases the responsible person assumes that the calibration is valid for a
year. This leads to the wrong conclusion that a calibration interval of one year is
sufficient.Ideally, calibration intervals are defined following a risk-based
methodology, for example what is the probability of something going wrong and
how high is the impact? A high impact and high probability corresponds to a high
risk, which requires a shorter calibration interval. Otherwise a low impact and a
low probability results in a low risk, allowing intervals to be extended.To forgo
calibration is a high-risk strategy. Hidden costs and risks associated with the un-
calibrated balance or scale could be much higher than the cost of calibration
itself. Using non-calibrated equipment can lead to production problems such as:

 unscheduled downtime
 inferior product quality
 process and audit issues
 product rework and recalls

Environmental changes can also lead to undetected drift or increasing random

errors which degrade performance. Periodically scheduled calibration along with
routine testing is the best way to reduce calibration-related risk.

Calibrating Weighing Instruments

Practical Guide to Performance Calibration