Process automation specialist, Endress+Hauser South Africa’s Temperature Calibration Laboratory utilises only the highest precision and state-of-the-art equipment, resulting in it achieving a SANAS accolade as one of the highest performing temperature calibration laboratories in South Africa.
The most basic criterion when it comes to temperature calibration is to always use a reference sensor that is of higher accuracy than the device to be calibrated.
Endress+Hauser’s Temperature Calibration Laboratory, located in Apex, an industrial area in Benoni, has been named as one of the highest performing temperature calibration laboratory in the country, boasting some of the lowest uncertainty of measurement when compared to other labs (that is, at 0°C ± 0,008 K/°C).
“This is due to the ultramodern technology used, which is of highest precision and is mirrored on other Endress+Hauser factories in Europe,” points out Benjamin Mlangeni, product manager for Temperature System Components & Registration at Endress+Hauser South Africa.
To ensure that it continuously offers the lowest uncertainty of measurements, the South African facility not only conducts inter-laboratory comparisons (ILCs) with other local labs, but also performs an annual ILC with two European laboratories situated in Germany and Italy. The latter proves its traceability at a global level. The Endress+Hauser lab is accredited in accordance with the recognised International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 to calibrate instruments from -20°C up to 1550°C. “This allows it to cover a wide scope when compared to other calibration labs,” continues Mlangeni. “The accreditation demonstrates technical competency for a defined scope and the operation of a laboratory quality management system.”
The reference equipment employed by the lab includes high-precision multi-meters that are annually sent to the National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) for calibration, again evidencing traceability to national and international standards.
Other South African labs also use the local Endress+Hauser lab as a reference for the calibration of their master reference sensors. “This means that other labs send their master temperature sensors to us to calibrate so that they can use them as reference sensors to calibrate their customers’ units,” explains Mlangeni.
The Endress+Hauser Temperature Calibration Laboratory was initially built to support production, yet over the years it has expanded its offering to include re-calibrations, third party instruments and other laboratories’ reference equipment.
“Normally we calibrate new instruments, which are manufactured in our factory. However, we also calibrate used instruments that our customers need to calibrate periodically for their internal regulatory requirements,” says Mlangeni.
A standard three-point calibration takes approximately 2.5 hours depending on the type of instrument, temperature range or number of calibration points.
“Temperature calibration is a critical process to make certain that an instrument performs within set specifications. Due to the very low uncertainty of measurements at our lab, customers are assured that calibration results are as possible to the real deviation of the instrument,” concludes Mlangeni.
For further information, please visit: eh.digital