FPS Economy LogoCalibration

Calibration means the set of operations which establish, under specified conditions, the relations between values indicated by a measuring instrument or measuring system, or values represented by a material measure or a reference material and the corresponding values realised by a reference standard.

A measurement is meaningless if the unit measured does not match the definition of the International System of Units (SI).

Calibrating a measuring instrument is the only way of being sure of the accuracy, precision and validity of the results.
Used as a quality assurance tool, the periodic calibration of instruments also helps to minimise the cost of errors due to inaccurate or false readings.
Regular calibration is therefore, de facto, a source of cost savings.

In order for calibration procedures to be recognised from one country to the next, the international community agreed on the principle of accreditation and on the procedures for its implementation.

For the value of a calibration to be recognised, the measurements carried out need to be traceable to the SI units. Traceability is narrowly defined as the property of a measurement result that is able to link it with the appropriate standards, usually national or international, through an unbroken chain of documented comparisons.

The national metrology laboratory within the FPS Economy:

  • ensures that national standards are established and maintained, in close collaboration with the BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures) and Euramet (European Association of National Metrology Institutes);
  • disseminates national standards through calibration operations for third parties;
  • guarantees the international equivalence of standards by participating in international comparisons;
  • contributes to scientific innovation and to improving the implementation of standards by participating in research programmes.