CALIBRATION
Eighteen months past validity, and the readings are still being used.
A laboratory certifies factory scales, pressure gauges and fuel dispensers. Each certificate is valid for a period, typically a year, after which the instrument is uncalibrated.
The paper does not change on the expiry date. It sits in the binder looking exactly as authoritative as the week it was issued.
The readings that instrument produces are the basis of invoices, dosages and safety decisions, and the first person to notice the lapse is usually an inspector.
One factory's instrument register, audited on a Tuesday
| Instrument | Certified | Valid until | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform scale, goods inward | Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | 18 months lapsed |
| Pressure gauge, boiler line 2 | Aug 2025 | Aug 2026 | Valid |
| Fuel dispenser, yard | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 | 3 months lapsed |
| Bench scale, QC lab | Nov 2025 | Nov 2026 | Valid |
| Flow meter, filling line | Jun 2023 | Jun 2024 | Certificate missing |
| Temperature probe, cold store | Feb 2026 | Feb 2027 | Valid |
Three of six are usable. Establishing that took an auditor two hours with a binder, and nobody in the factory knew the answer before they arrived.
If you calibrate instruments, or depend on them.
Still at the design stage. What would help is a picture of how validity is tracked where you work, and what a missed expiry has cost.
sari.handayani@teraberlaku.online
Tangerang, Banten