Calibrating measurement and test equipment (M&TE) is expensive, but using equipment that is out of calibration can be even more costly. Faulty M&TE will produce suspect parts, and once you've discovered that your M&TE is the problem, you’ll have to screen the suspect parts and repair or scrap the parts that aren’t in spec. If you’ve already shipped the parts to a customer, you may have to recall them.

You not only lose the bad parts, which increases your material costs, you also lose the many labor-hours needed to screen the parts and verify equipment accuracy. These lost hours increase your costs and delay your production schedule.

To avoid the problems that inaccurate M&TE can cause, companies must calibrate their equipment regularly. Some companies, however, are so strict about sticking to their calibration schedules that they often calibrate equipment unnecessarily. Although this helps them avoid producing bad parts, the unnecessary calibrations also increase costs.

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