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Keysight Technologies
Business Considerations of Equipment
Refresh in a Calibration Laboratory
White Paper
Abstract-- Calibration laboratories operate in a world of constant change,
and this is never more evident than in the products that are requested to be
calibrated. Technology producers survive on innovation and constantly pushing
measurement demands to new limits. This creates a constant need for better
measurement standards, and calibration laboratories are all too familiar with
the dilemma of whether or not to update the existing test equipment that they
use. This paper acknowledges the upgrade costs, but then focuses on identify-
ing advantages achievable from such an upgrade effort. Those advantages are
further explored to identify underlying factors that can realize a benefit.
1. Introduction
Speaker/Author: Richard Ogg Managing a calibration laboratory presents numerous challenges. One of these
Keysight Technologies, Inc. relates to updating the lab to handle new products with higher performance
Santa Rosa, CA, USA that demand better measurement standards. This is a never-ending process
as several instrument companies operate predominately in the space of new
measurement capability. Therefore, these performance innovation companies
constantly strive to introduce new instruments that will stretch the measure-
ment capabilities of even their own calibration laboratories.
The higher performance can appear in different respects. Sometimes it is the
demand to extend a parameter (e.g., frequency) coverage of the lab to higher
frequencies. Or maybe the demand is to measure smaller values than previously
offered. Sometimes neither the range nor sensitivity is improved, but the accu-
racy is improved, requiring better measurement uncertainties. Regardless
of where the performance enhancement lies, the improved capability often
requires the purchase of newer and higher-performing measurement standards.
Whether or not to expand a laboratory's capability is not the focus here. The
question is whether or not to leverage that expansion to a general refresh of the
equipment used in the laboratory to meet existing capabilities. Also, within view
is the scenario where older equipment has failed and a repair/replace decision
must be made. Alternately, it may simply be a decision to refresh existing equip-
ment without additional factors.
The cost to purchase new test equipment is only part of the operational cost.
The author touches on some of the other costs associated with such upgrades.
However, the focus of this paper is on benefits that can be realized by upgrades
in existing capabilities. That is, the issue in view here is whether to replace
existing test equipment used on currently supported instruments and devices
with newer test equipment.
2011 NCSL International Workshop and Symposium
2. Costs of Equipment Refresh
Upgrading the capability of a calibration laboratory does not come for free.
Obviously the first cost is based on the purchase of the new instrumentation.
(Other papers address the lease-vs.-buy decision but generally calibration
laboratories will purchase the test equipment. This decision is immaterial for the
purposes of this paper.) There are other costs associated with refreshing the
measurement standards used and some key ones are acknowledged here.
2.1 Procedure development
With new equipment comes the need for new procedures. To the extent that the
procedures are unique to the instruments or devices for which new capability is
being added this cost is expected and outside the scope of this evaluation.
The additional opportunity and cost is where instruments or devices that cur-
rently are being calibrated could have their current measurement standards
replaced with the newly purchased assets. This means that the calibration
procedure for each existing product that will be impacted by the refresh must be
updated. In some cases a completely different measurement method will
now be used. The total cost of this additional development effort will be affected
by the structure and sharing between procedures.
2.2 Measurement uncertainties
As the improved performance of new instrumentation is applied to existing
procedures there may well be a reduction in the measurement uncertainty for
many measurements. It is necessary to address each measurement uncertainty
analysis associated with measurement routines that are affected. The newer
uncertainties will need to be applied to the measurement reports of the associ-
ated calibrations subject to accreditation.
2.3 Accreditation
In some cases the improvement of capability from the purchase of new instru-
mentation will allow for the improvement of the calibration and measurement
capability (CMC) that the calibration laboratory is accredited to. Thus, in some
cases the scope of accreditation will need to be reviewed and updated.
2.4 Software validation
Where calibration laboratories use automation to enhance their repeatability
and efficiency, there are additional steps that will be required for any upgrades.
When software is updated it must be validated. The extent and impact of the
software validation process will be dependent upon the impact the new instru-
mentation has on existing measurement procedures.
2011 NCSL International Workshop and Symposium
3
3. Benefits of Equipment Refresh
The primary purpose of this paper is to explore potential benefits from equip-
ment refresh. This refresh may be associated with required additions associated
with enhanced capabilities or an 2011 NCSL International Workshop and
Symposium isolated refresh. Usually such a decision is not totally isolated from
other events, such as the failure of older equipment and the necessary decision
to repair (if possible) or replace. A similar situation occurs where an older
instrument starts to consistently be just out of tolerance at its calibration. Thus
the cost of the out-of-tolerance (OOT) analysis and the increasing number of
calibrations place additional pressure to replace a unit.
3.1 Reduced variety of owned assets
The core competency of a calibration laboratory is performing calibrations on
a range of instruments and devices. Generally the lower the variety of instru-
ments supported (i.e., calibrated) the more efficient an operation can be. Variety
increases cost. A low-mix highvolume operation will be more efficient than a
high-mix low-volume operation. But alas, most customers have an assortment
of instruments and devices that must be calibrated.
This economic factor is not an "all or nothing" situation. The scale is somewhat
continuous and incremental changes will affect the overall economics. Thus
there can become a point where maintaining older measurement standards
carry a significant cost