The Importance of Calibration for Laboratory Equipment

Working in a laboratory comes with many unique challenges that you don’t find in other workplaces. Perhaps more than any other field, the equipment in a laboratory is absolutely essential to its operation. Measurement equipment specifically can cause lots of problems if you don’t take care of it properly. Any measurement device in a laboratory needs a calibration now and then, and it isn’t a maintenance task you can gloss over. We’ll talk about the importance of calibration for laboratory equipment to explain why you can’t skip over it.
Increase Equipment Lifespan
The equipment in most laboratories is expensive, and there aren’t too many ways to reduce those costs. Therefore, it’s so essential to extend the life of your equipment for as long as you can. Calibrating your measurement equipment might not seem like it will improve its lifespan. But the longer you go without doing it, the harder it becomes to calibrate it correctly. Following equipment manuals to perform proper calibrations can help ensure you can use the device for a long time.
Ensure Accurate Results
Almost every laboratory focuses on producing results from experiments and tests. The accuracy of those results can often make the difference between successes and catastrophic failures. The real importance of calibrating lab equipment comes from the need to produce accurate results that are reliable enough to refer to later. When even the slightest miscalculation can spell disaster, you can’t afford to be inaccurate.
Lower Maintenance Costs
The cost of most laboratory equipment pieces doesn’t end after the initial purchase. Maintenance costs can be a huge part of a lab’s expenses. So the less you pay for them, the better. Calibrating your equipment on time every time will help prevent the delicate parts from breaking down because they’ll operate under the correct parameters.
Improve Employee Safety
Some laboratory equipment is dangerous, no matter how many precautions you take. Even seemingly harmless objects can injure someone if they handle them improperly. When you don’t calibrate your equipment, something could go wrong and put everyone nearby in danger. Employee safety should be the number one priority of any laboratory. Protecting lab workers starts by reducing the chances of accidents occurring while they work.