The need to annually recalibrate vibration monitors is now well established.
But does everyone know about the mobile calibration service?
This is the service in which we recalibrate your monitor(s) in your location – avoiding the need to return the monitors to the factory.
The obvious upfront advantages of such a service are:
- Minimal interaction on your part – all you have to do is provide us with access to the monitor(s).
- Minimal down time for the monitoring operation – typically 1-2 hours.
Where the recalibration is to be done in the field, the standard laboratory equipment cannot be utilised. This is because the equipment is both very heavy and very delicate and certainly not suited to field use.
In this case the Texcel technician takes to the field a full set of sensors that have already been calibrated and he then swaps them out for the existing sensors. The monitor is then reconfigured with the new sensitivities for the sensors and returned to service. Fortunately, the monitor electronics can be recalibrated in the field, so this happens at the same time.
If you have a Guardian or 360 by Texcel contract, this is how Texcel recalibrates your monitors every year.
It is important to note that mobile calibrations, as with factory calibrations, fully comply with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and that results are traceable to Australian standards of measurement.
This means that:
- The sensor (geophone, accelerometer or microphone) is calibrated by comparison with a reference sensor. The reference sensor itself is calibrated by the Australian Government’s National Measurement Institute whose laboratory is NATA accredited.
- The electronic circuitry is calibrated by using a calibrated multimeter. The multimeter itself is calibrated by an accredited NATA laboratory.
All Texcel recalibrations include:
- The monitor and the sensors are recalibrated
- The full system is thoroughly tested
- The firmware is upgraded (if required)
- The software version is upgraded (if required)
- The equipment warranty is extended for another year.
Maintaining the calibration of your monitors is central to your monitoring program – unreliable data is of no use to anyone.
