In-House Calibration Laboratory Software

Large production plants and institutions calibrate thousands of measuring instruments in their own accredited calibration laboratory. The customers of this laboratory are the departments of the institution itself; the workload, the approval chain and the reporting needs differ from those of an independent calibration laboratory.

The In-House Calibration Laboratory Software is designed for this structure. From the equipment inventory to calibration requests, from certificate approval to the follow-up of nonconforming equipment, it brings the whole process together in a single web-based application. It is a calibration-specific solution for institutions looking for a laboratory information management system (LIMS).

• Counts of waiting, in-preparation, under-review and in-approval jobs on the home screen
• A shared calendar for calibration, vehicle and general reminders
• Separate home pages for laboratory staff and department users

All measuring instruments of the institution are kept in a single inventory. The group, type and measuring range of each item, its directorate, department and building, its status and its next calibration date are shown on the same row.

• Equipment with an approaching calibration date listed by month
• Remaining time shown with colours
• Filtering by directorate, department, group and status
• Visible columns chosen by the user
• The list can be exported to Excel

Because it is known in advance which instrument in which department is due for calibration, the workload can be planned and measurements with overdue instruments are prevented.

Departments open their calibration and measurement requests in the software. After the approval of the department supervisor the request appears in the work list of the laboratory; who requested it, when, and who approved it are all on record.

• Request types with and without equipment
• Separate tracking of waiting and completed requests
• Decision rule stated in the request
• Vehicle and calendar planning for on-site calibration
• Equipment acceptance and delivery records

Instead of scattered requests arriving by phone or e-mail, every request moves forward as a traceable record.

A certificate moves stage by stage from measurement to signature: waiting for measurement, in preparation, under review, in approval, waiting for e-signature, completed and revision. Each stage has its own tab and the number on the tab shows the jobs waiting at that moment.

• Certificate templates linked to equipment types
• Separate roles for preparing, reviewing and approving
• Completion of the certificate with an electronic signature
• Accredited and non-accredited certificates managed separately
• The department that uses the equipment approves the certificate result in the software

The remaining-time column highlights jobs whose delivery date is approaching; the laboratory manager sees from the tab counts at which stage the bottleneck is.

An instrument that fails calibration means that the measurements made with it must be reviewed as well. The software manages this process with an error report: the report is opened, sent to the relevant department, a decision is made, an additional test is requested if necessary, and the case is closed once the solution is approved.

• Status summary: reports waiting for approval, in decision, in additional test, in solution approval and completed
• "Jobs assigned to me" and "jobs of my department" views
• The person, date and explanation recorded at every step
• PDF output of the report and upload of supporting documents

A nonconformity does not get lost in an e-mail chain; it is always visible with whom it is waiting and how it was concluded.

The software works according to the organisational structure of the institution. The tree of directorates and departments is defined; every user sees only the equipment, requests and reports of their own department.

• Role and permission definitions, authorisation at screen and action level
• Sign-in with the user directory of the institution
• Integration for data exchange with the existing systems of the institution
• Automatic reminder and notification e-mails with editable e-mail templates
• Service evaluation surveys
• Installation on the institution's own server

The scope of integration and installation differs in every institution; the need is defined together in the demo meeting.

The KALDATA Calibration Laboratory Management Software that we developed for calibration laboratories serving external customers focuses on quotation, customer and invoicing processes. In an in-house laboratory the customers are the departments of the institution itself. The main topics are therefore the equipment inventory, department-based requests and approval, tracking the impact of nonconforming equipment and integration with corporate systems.

Both products come from the same experience: the certificate workflow, e-signature and template structure rest on a common foundation.

To bring the calibration laboratory and equipment tracking of your institution together in one application, request a demo. We listen to your process and evaluate the software together for your structure.