Why Calibrations are Crucial to the Optimal Function of Flow Instruments - Powerlabs

Why Calibrations are Crucial to the Optimal Function of Flow Instruments

April 13, 2022

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Routine calibration services for both liquid and gas flow equipment is essential to operational accuracy for many industries. Depending on the quality, these calibrations may need to be maintained by accredited processes such as A2LA for IOS 17025 or ISO 9001.

Most types of assessing plants and manufacturing facilities across the industrial sector require air flow calibrations in order to maintain safety standards and environmental baselines.

The Need for Quality in Flow

It is especially true to continue to calibrate and maintain flow calibrations for industries such as beverage manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, oil refinery, municipal waste processing, recycling, civics support and water treatment industries – among others.

While these are just a few examples of how flow instruments are used, it only scratches the surface of how important it is to routinely calibrate these components:

  • Laboratory: If a facility needed to maintain their air quality in a specified room and they would need to have their air pump be properly calibrated. This is to ensure the flow reading accurately measures the air that crosses air filter to consistently purify the air quality while also detecting contamination. When the flow instrument is routinely calibrated, it lessens the risk for errors.
  • Aviation: In the aviation industry, it is important for flow instruments to work at the desired function especially for turbine meters. These instruments measure the rotation of the turbine inside of the meter and it measures the rate, turning it into the velocity. Calibrating this instrument is essential to the performance of an aircraft.

Why Calibrations are Crucial to the Optimal Function of Accurate Flow Measurements

It is critical that flow equipment be accurately calibrated to ensure consistency throughout all processes, which will help ensure the final result is predictable within expected parameters. In order to accurately measure the flow rate, it may be required that the customer provide their desire reference conditions such as standard temperature, pressure, and gas type.

Comprehensive Service

Constellation PowerLabs calibration services offer premier flow meter calibrations and specializes in accredited ISO 17025 calibrations, Appendix B calibrations and the issuance of calibration certificates.

Flow calibrations are routinely performed at Constellation PowerLabs for customers across various industries. These calibrated flow instruments include but are not limited to the following: thermal mass flow meters, rotameters, laminar flow meters, flow orifices, venturi flow meters, positive displacement (or PD) meters, air sampling equipment, ultra-sonic flow meters, volumetric flow meters, clean and contaminated equipment, turbine meters, anemometers, pilot tubes, and leak monitors.

A Meticulous In-house Process

Flow instruments are sent to an Constellation PowerLabs testing facility at the client’s convenience. Upon receipt, one of the many highly trained technicians will review the standard protocol testing format and, if necessary, create a testing format to utilize before calibrating. The technicians will then use a detailed cross-referencing protocol to ensure testing specifications are met – whether based on manufacturer specifications or a set of parameters specified by the customer.

Each calibration service is performed by an experienced team of highly trained technicians, using NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) traceable standards. This provides an additional layer of confidence for facility directors about the optimal state of their equipment and the safety of their employees.

An Accredited Team

In order for calibration services to provide the highest level of service, a facility must be accredited by an industry-recognized governing body. PowerLabs is certified by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for ISO 10725 requirements up to 100 liters in air flow calibrations.
While our labs are A2LA accredited for 17025, this also meets the quality requirements for ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 and ISO 9001.

Appendix B Services

Constellation PowerLabs is also accredited in Appendix B calibrations and testing to meet the heightened safety requirements of the nuclear power industry. Our  Quality program is regularly audited by NIAC (National Infrastructure Advisory Council) and NUPIC (Nuclear Procurement Issues Corporation). These distinctions satisfy the requirements of 10 CFR 21and 10 CFR 50, Appendix B.

These guidelines provide additional safety qualifications, industry expertise and technical proficiency as they require competency in every piece of measuring and testing equipment used in a nuclear facility. The quality standards satisfied by Appendix B Calibrations also ensures expert proficiency when handling facility components. This mitigates risk and consequence of accidents due to the enhanced proficiency of the testing personnel.

Calibration Certificates Available on OneLab

PowerLabs team provides clients with documented calibration certification for their air flow calibration systems and the highly sensitive instruments which regulate them. These certificates can be found on OneLab, PowerLabs online customer portal.

OneLab is a free online database for Constellation PowerLabs customers that provides statuses and information on customer equipment, shipping and tracking of equipment, calibration certificates, invoices and more. This is a great tool for customers to know exactly what is going on in the labs as it provides customers transparency as well as the ability to download their calibration certificates as many times as they want while also researching their equipment to see what is due for calibration.

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