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What Level of Certification Do I Need?

Which do I need?
Certificate of Conformance
Manufacturer's Long Form Certification
(this is the old name)
Manufacturer's Calibration Certificate
(this is the new name)
ISO 17025 Certificate of Test
(this is not for gages)
ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate
Third Party ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate

Certification of Conformance
The Certificate of Conformance is usually a FREE document which accompanies all gages if a better document has not been purchased. It is worth what you have paid for it; nothing. The form and content of this document is not codified in any national or international specification. This is basically a generic slip of paper provided by the gage maker which states that the gage complies with applicable industrial standards and has been measured with tools which are dimensionally traceable to the national standards of the country of origin for the gage. For gages made in USA the national standards of the country of origin is NIST.

  • The paper does not state the gage size.
  • The paper does not identify the applicable standards.
  • The paper does not provide adequate traceability to the national standards.
  • The paper is mostly a manufacturer’s disclaimer and statement of warrantee limitations.
  • The paper is printed in bulk and is fully generic and interchangeable for any gage shipped by the gage maker.

Manufacturer's Long Form Certification
This name is being phased out in favor of Manufacturer's Calibratin Certificate

Manufacturer's Calibration Certificate
There is usually a charge for this document. The form and content of this document is not codified in any national or international specification. This is a detailed inspection report provided by the gage maker which states that the gage complies with the applicable industrial standards and has been measured with tools which are dimensionally traceable to the national standards of the country of origin for the gage.

  • This document replaces and supersedes the Certificate of Conformance.
  • The word LONG in the name does not mean that this is provided on a long piece of paper; some are index card size.
  • The document gives the gage size.
  • The document gives the specific gage dimensions with the appropriate tolerances for each feature.
  • The document discloses the actual values of the features as measured by the gage maker.
  • The document supplies the traceability number to the applicable national standards.
  • The document does not include a re-calibration date.

We insist on the Long Form Certification for any gage departing its country of origin because it forces the gage maker to take one last look at the gage before it is boxed for shipment. It is a cheap insurance policy and less expensive than shipping a bad gage back if an error can be discovered before it ships. It also supplies the end customer the data required to have the gage calibrated locally.

To reduce cost and lead-time on new purchases it is suggested that you incorporate into your internal procedures that Long Form Certifications from Original Equipment Manufacturers be accepted on initial purchase of the gages with subsequent regular calibration being accomplished at your preferred ISO 17025 calibration laboratory.

ISO 17025 Certificate of Test
This is not appropriate for certification of gages. This is an inspection report which is codified in ISO 17025 and requires the inspection laboratory conducting the test to be ISO 17025 registered by a third party registrar. The ISO 17025 Certification of Test certifies that specific part related tests were conducted on a specific part.

ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate
The ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate is designed to report on the calibration of gages. This inspection report is codified in ISO 17025 and requires the inspection laboratory conducting the test to be ISO 17025 accredited by a third party registrar. At this time; very few gage makers have their calibration laboratories ISO 17025 accredited. When getting an ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate it is wise to read the ISO 17025 Scope of the inspection laboratory conducting the calibration to assure that the item calibrated fits within their registered scope.

  • The document replaces and supersedes the Manufacturer's Long Form Certification.
  • The document size is not codified.
  • The document gives the gage size.
  • The document gives the specific gage dimensions with the appropriate tolerances for each feature.
  • The document discloses the actual values of the features as measured by the gage maker.
  • The document supplies the ISO 17025 accreditation number of the ISO 17025 laboratory.
  • The document does not include a re-calibration date.
  • The full requirements are codified in ISO 17025; thus to learn more details read that specification.

Third Party ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate
This is identical to the ISO 17025 Certificate of Calibration except that it is conducted by a supposedly non-biased third party.  I say supposedly because some gage makers have established ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratories as a separate company which they wholly own and occasionally even house in their manufacturing facility. If you wish a completely non-biased inspection it is best that you select your own ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory and route the gages there before they enter your building. When selecting an ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory it is wise to read the ISO 17025 Scope of the inspection laboratory to assure that the item tested fits within their registered scope. When we offer third party services it is usually because the gage maker does not have the ISO 17025 capability and the third party service is needed to meet your requirements.

Calibration Expiration Date; Calibration Due Date; Calibration Stickers; Calibration Labels
This is a messy topic, so follow along as best as you can.

Referring to equipment owned by the ISO 17025 accredited laboratory; ISO 17025:2005 Page 16 Paragraph 5.5.8 states:
Whenever practicable, all equipment under the control of the laboratory and requiring calibration shall be labeled, coded or otherwise identified to indicate the status of calibration, including the date when last calibrated and the date or expiration criteria when re calibration is due.

Referring to information included with an ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate; ISO 17025:2005 Page 22 Paragraph 5.10..4.4 states:
A calibration certificate (or calibration label) shall not contain any recommendation on the calibration interval except where this has been agreed with the customer.

The authors of ISO 17025 obviously thought it important for calibrated inspection equipment to be marked with an expected re calibration date. They also place the responsibility for setting the re calibration date and for labeling the inspection equipment on the owner of the equipment; not on the ISO 17025 accredited laboratory performing the calibration. Any service beyond the basic requirements of ISO 17025 may include a service fee (either stated or hidden).

The suggestion here is this: If you must have a Calibration Expiration Date or a Re-calibration Date placed on your Manufacturer's Long Form Certification or ISO 17025 Calibration Certificate: Write it on the document and initial the notation. This is fully acceptable per ISO 17025 as is found in paragraph 4.13.2.3: All such alterations to records shall be signed or initialed by the person making the [alteration]. If management prefers to have the date applied by the calibration laboratory or the gage maker they should consider the costs involved.
"Cost” in this case includes your shop time for communications between you and your purchasing department.
"Cost” in this case includes your shop time for communications between your purchasing department and the gage distributor.
"Cost” may be increased to cover increased time for communications between the gage distributor and the gage maker or calibration laboratory.
"Cost” may be increased to cover increased cost of processing by the gage maker or calibration laboratory to handle this special request.
"Cost” may include time to repair an error in the process.
Instead of getting all of these people involved with the need to pay them for their service and the increased opportunity for error; the least expensive thing to do is to just make a hand notation on the Certificate once it is received in your system. You may even get a formalized rubber stamp so that the information will be consistent from day to day.

Gage manufacturers do not offer calibration stickers or labels as part of their standard service. I think that they do not like to mar their beautiful gages with an ugly sticker. In actuality calibration stickers require more work for the gage maker which is not included in their standard price and requires information from the end customer for each gage to correctly complete the information on the calibration stickers. Gage makers do not even stock stickers. If calibration stickers are required for new gages from gage makers; there will be a cost increase for the gages ordered over standard gage sales price.

If you require calibration stickers on your gages:
If you require Recertification date on the Calibration Certificate:
- Make the request with the request for quotation of the gages.
- Supply the desired calibration interval for each gage so that can be added to the sticker or certification.
- Expect that an additional charge will be included (possibly non-disclosed) in the gage cost.

Disclaimer:
This data is provided for general information only. The intention is to provide accurate information; regardless; errors may exist in the supplied information. If accuracy is critical, base your final decisions on the data provided in the root document: ISO17025; which is a copyrighted document. To purchase a copy visit an Authorized Reseller.  

Comments:
Original Posting: 10/15/2008
Last Revision: 4/20/2015
Error corrections in, or comments about, the above data can be sent to: office@gagecrib.com

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