A spreadsheet with hundreds of rows
The quality officer maintains the equipment spreadsheet: every balance, pipette, thermometer, fridge, oven, incubator and instrument, with its last calibration date, next due date and a link to the certificate somewhere on the shared drive. Daily and weekly checks are recorded on paper sheets by each bench. External calibration visits are booked by email.
When an assessor asks to see the record for a particular pipette, finding it takes a while. And now and then, someone realises a balance went past its due date last week and has been in use since.
Why calibration slips
- Due dates are in a spreadsheet nobody looks at daily.
- Routine checks are on paper sheets at the bench.
- Certificates from external providers are saved inconsistently.
- Equipment moves between rooms and gets lost in the list.
- Nobody at the bench can see whether an item is in date.
Pipettes show the problem well. A lab can have a large number of them, each with its own check interval, moving between benches and people. A spreadsheet row per pipette is easy to create and hard to keep true, especially when one is sent away for service and a loan unit takes its place.
What it costs
Using equipment beyond its calibration date can call results into question and may need an investigation under your procedures. Assessors expect clear records. The quality officer spends time maintaining the spreadsheet and chasing checks, and external calibration visits are booked late.
| Task | Spreadsheet and paper | Equipment register |
|---|---|---|
| Due dates | Spreadsheet column | Reminders to owners before due |
| Routine checks | Paper sheets | Logged on a tablet by scanning the item |
| Certificates | Shared drive | Attached to the item's record |
| Status at the bench | Label sticker | Scan to see in date or not |
| Out-of-date item | Found by chance | Flagged and marked not for use |
Finding an item out of calibration after the fact can mean reviewing every result it was used for since its last good check. Without a record of which equipment was used on which tests, that review is broad and slow.
How we build it
- Every item gets a record with its ID, location, owner and the checks, calibrations and services it needs, with intervals your quality procedures set.
- Items carry a QR label. Scanning it shows the item's status and lets staff log a routine check with the readings.
- Reminders go to owners before anything is due, and to the quality officer if it is missed.
- Certificates from external providers are uploaded to the item's record, and key details such as the next due date are captured.
- An item past its due date is flagged not for use, and, where the LIMS records equipment used per test, can be flagged there too.
- Reports show everything due in a period and the history for any item.
The register records and reminds. Your procedures decide the intervals and what happens if an item is found out of calibration.
After the change
Owners are reminded before things are due. Checks are logged at the bench with a scan. Assessors can be shown any item's record straight away. The quality officer manages exceptions instead of a spreadsheet.
External calibration visits are easier to plan too. The register shows everything due with each provider over the coming months, so visits can be booked to cover as many items as possible at once, and certificates from the visit are attached to the right items as they arrive.
Could this help your lab?
- Calibration due dates are in a spreadsheet.
- Routine checks are recorded on paper.
- Certificates are hard to find.
- Items have gone past their due date unnoticed.
- Staff at the bench cannot quickly check an item's status.