Our Process

1. Scope Definition

Each calibration request begins with a written scope definition. The instrument list, manufacturer tolerances, applicable measurement standards (such as ISO/IEC 17025 and ANSI/NCSL Z540.3, together with any manufacturer-specific procedures), the calibration points or pressure ranges required, and the turnaround commitment are documented before any work is scheduled at a partner laboratory.

Where a regulated quality system applies — for example FDA 21 CFR Part 820, AS9100, IATF 16949, or an internal ISO 9001 procedure — that requirement is captured in the scope so the partner-lab match is constrained to laboratories whose accreditation scope and document control practices satisfy the customer's auditor. Scope clarity at this stage is what allows downstream work to be performed without rework and without surprises on the certificate.

An itemized quote covering applicable instruments, expected turnaround, and any expedite options is returned within one business day.

2. Partner Laboratory Coordination

Calibration is performed by laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 under NIST-traceable references. Premier Pressure and Gauge Calibration coordinates the partner-lab match based on instrument family (analog gauges, digital pressure indicators, transducers, deadweight testers, manometers, pressure switches, transmitters), the laboratory's accreditation scope and reported calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs), geographic logistics across the Midwest Industrial Belt, and the turnaround commitment captured in the scope.

Accreditation is verified at the laboratory level for every assignment. The accreditation body — ANAB, A2LA, IAS, or PJLA — is recorded along with the laboratory's certificate number and the specific CMC line items that apply to the instruments under calibration. Premier does not hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation itself; the accreditation that backs each certificate is held by the performing laboratory, and the certificate is issued by that laboratory in its own name.

For multi-instrument orders that cross capability ranges, more than one partner laboratory may be involved. Routing is invisible to the customer: a single point of contact remains with Premier from scope through certificate return.

3. Calibration Execution

Calibration is performed against reference standards whose traceability is documented through an unbroken chain of comparisons to the International System of Units (SI) maintained by NIST. For each instrument, as-found readings are recorded prior to any adjustment, applied corrections (where the instrument is adjustable) are documented, and as-left readings are recorded after the adjustment cycle.

The environmental conditions at the time of calibration — temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure where they materially affect the measurement — are logged. The reference standard used, its identification number, its current calibration due date, and the technician who performed the work are recorded against the calibration record so that the chain of measurement is reproducible on audit.

Measurement uncertainty is computed according to the methods set out in JCGM 100 (the GUM) and ILAC-P14, and is reported on the certificate at the calibration points where uncertainty is required for the customer's quality system or regulatory standard.

4. Certificate of Calibration

The deliverable from every assignment is a Certificate of Calibration issued by the performing laboratory. The certificate identifies the instrument by serial number, model, and manufacturer; records the calibration date and the recommended next-calibration (recall) date; lists the standards against which calibration was performed; identifies the reference standards used, with their own traceability chain back to NIST; reports the as-found and as-left measurement results; states the measurement uncertainty; and documents the environmental conditions in effect.

The certificate also carries the partner laboratory's accreditation body and accreditation certificate number — for example "A2LA Cert. No. XXXX.01" or "ANAB AC-XXXX" — together with the laboratory's authorized signatory. Because the certificate is issued by the accredited laboratory, it is the laboratory's accreditation that is recognized under ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) and accepted in regulated environments worldwide.

Certificates are returned electronically by default (signed PDF) with paper certificates available on request for customers whose quality system requires a wet-ink copy.

5. Documentation Return & Recall Support

Once calibration is complete, instruments are returned to the address of record together with the certificate package. The certificate is filed against the order so it can be reissued if the customer's original copy is misplaced or lost, and so the as-found / as-left history is available the next time the same instrument cycles through calibration.

Recall support is offered at the customer's request: when an instrument is calibrated through Premier, an optional recall reminder can be scheduled in advance of the next due date so calibration intervals are not missed. Recall windows are taken from the calibration interval specified in the customer's quality system or, where none is specified, from the manufacturer's recommended interval. No recall reminders are sent without the customer's explicit request — this is opt-in, documented in the order record, and revocable.

Repeat orders are matched back to the original instrument record so trend data (as-found drift between cycles) is preserved across calibrations. Where an instrument is found out of tolerance on a subsequent cycle, the previous as-left record supports any reverse-traceability investigation the customer's quality system requires.

Standards Referenced on This Page

• ISO/IEC 17025 — general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Held by the partner laboratory, not by Premier.
• ANSI/NCSL Z540.3 — requirements for the calibration of measuring and test equipment.
• NIST traceability — unbroken chain of comparisons to references maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• JCGM 100 (GUM) / ILAC-P14 — measurement uncertainty evaluation and reporting on calibration certificates.
• ILAC MRA — international recognition of accreditation bodies (ANAB, A2LA, IAS, PJLA in the United States).