[Histonet] RE: Balance and Scale Calibration

[Elizabeth Chlipala]

Jessica

Your operating manual for your balance should list your level for tolerance and any good calibration company will also know what is acceptable, this tolerance level can also be governed by your SOP too.    We have a Mettler Toledo Model AB204-S that measures out to 0.0000 the tolerance on our calibration report is +/- 0.0005.   We are not a clinical lab but we have our balance calibrated once a year and we also use traceable weight sets prior to and after each time we use the balance.  The traceable weight sets are also calibrated as required.  Once you order them they come with a recalibration date and then its yearly after that.  If the scale or balance is not within limits and the variation cannot be corrected then you would need to retire the instrument and purchase a new one.  If the instrument can be adjusted then the calibration report would list that the instrument "as found"  did not pass calibration but was adjusted and then was calibrated "as left".  For us in a GLP environment if a particular piece of equipment is found to be out of tolerance we need to document that and also determine if it had any effect on any GLP study that that piece of equipment was used on.  If you use your balance or scale a lot then you may consider a twice a year calibration.  For us we calibrate the majority of our instruments yearly except for our pipettors which we calibrate quarterly.

I hope this helps

Liz

Elizabeth A. Chlipala, BS, HTL(ASCP)QIHC
Premier Laboratory, LLC
PO Box 18592
Boulder, CO 80308
(303) 682-3949 office
(303) 682-9060 fax
(303) 881-0763 cell
liz <@t> premierlab.com
www.premierlab.com

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-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Piche, Jessica
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 10:37 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Balance and Scale Calibration

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering what other anatomic pathology labs are doing to calibrate their scales and balances? I also would like to know what the basic tolerances for balances or scales is? I can only seem to find information in laboratories that deal with soil. I have a procedure and a calibration record sheet in place but I'm not sure what the range is for basic tolerances of the scale or balance so I'm not sure what to do if a scale or balance is not within the right limits.

Thank you for any insight, procedures, information etc.

Jessica Piche, HT(ASCP)
Waterbury Hospital




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