Calibrating Weighing Instruments - Part 1

From the point of view of the owner, weighing instruments, usually called scales or balances, should provide the correct weighing results. How the weighing instrument is used and how reliable the weighing results are can be very different. Using weighing instruments for legal purposes must have legal verification.

If a weighing instrument is used in a quality system, the user must define the measurement capability of it. In any case, it is the owner or the user of the instrument that carries the final responsibility of measurement capability and who is also responsible for the processes involved. (S)He must select the weighing instrument and maintenance procedure to be used to reach the required measurement capability.

From a regulatory point of view, the quality of a weighing instrument is already defined in OIML regulations, at least in Europe. Calibration is a means for the user to obtain evidence of the quality of weighing results, and the user must have the knowledge to apply the information achieved through calibration.