30 years of accredited calibrations at Endress+Hauser Flow

From this moment onwards, the flowmeter manufacturer has not only reinforced its capabilities and core competences but has also confirmed its position as a market leader consistently providing services of excellence.

Endress+Hauser Flow has been a global leader in flow measurement for more than 40 years. This leadership is based on a combination of multiple disciplines, from research and development to the most advanced and efficient production lines, all of which contribute to innovative solutions for the flow market. One of the most important disciplines is calibration. This ensures that the metrological performance of each flowmeter corresponds to the technical specification given by the manufacturer.

Demonstrating competence is one of the most crucial factors supporting the credibility of calibration laboratories. With its widely recognized and globally accepted ISO/IEC 17025 standard, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has introduced a comprehensive framework for this. It can be used to check compliance with the requirements for competence in calibration and testing laboratories.

This standard stipulates the demands that calibration laboratories must meet, fostering the harmonization of quality standards. Its primary objective is to ensure the technical competence of calibration laboratories and the reliability of calibration results.

Endress+Hauser Flow achieved its first accreditation in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 in 1994. From the very beginning, this accreditation covered the product centers for flow measurement in Reinach (Switzerland) and Cernay (France). A small but enthusiastic group of specialists from both product centers made this accomplishment possible. They were also convinced that this was only the first step in the accreditation journey.

The process also relied on the crucial cooperation with the National Metrology Institutes of Switzerland (METAS) and Germany (PTB), along with the local Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS). With this achievement, the specialist in measuring technology started a 30-year success story in calibration.  

Other product centers in USA, India, China and Brazil were founded and also built calibration facilities. As part of Endress+Hauser Flow's strategy for improving and standardizing its global production facilities, accreditation according to ISO/IEC 17025 of all of its flow calibration laboratories has been a key focus to convince customers of their excellence and trustworthiness.

From the perspective of a laboratory providing calibration services, accreditation not only confirms competence and harmonized services, but also serves to overcome trade barriers in the global market.

This is because ISO/IEC 17025 compliance is monitored and affirmed by national accreditation bodies, which are usually also members of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). Most of these bodies are signatories to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Agreement (ILAC MRA), which represents one of the most important advantages of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditations: full international recognition and comparability of the calibration certificates issued.

The global calibration network of the Endress+Hauser Group includes not only nearly 90 stationary but also more than 50 mobile flow calibration rigs, located in product centers and sales centers in more than 40 countries worldwide.

All these calibration laboratories are accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 by national accreditation bodies such as INMETRO (Brazil), A2LA (USA), DAkkS (Germany), NABL (India), CNAS (China) and others. The scope of these accreditations covers flow rate, density, and in some cases, temperature and pressure as well.

Mobile flow calibration rigs play a crucial role in this network. These bring their customers the benefits of agile and rapid response, as well as trustful support throughout the instrument's lifecycle whenever needed. Thus, improving on-site calibrations with the lowest possible uncertainty is part of Endress+Hauser Flow’s strategic vision of its calibration services. 

Today, new key objectives such as optimizing the calibration processes and improving their sustainability, as well as advancing in their digitalization are planned under the perspective of fulfilling ISO/IEC 17025 requirements as well. Periodic re-accreditation audits provide valuable opportunities for Endress+Hauser Flow to showcase the excellence of its calibration services.

The company strives to improve the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation scope by expanding the measurable quantities, reducing the calibration measurement uncertainties and simplifying the traceability to SI national standards.

Additionally, the implementation of Digital Calibration Certificates (DCC), a new approach to manage the calibration results including direct machine-readable information, and other digitalization efforts are aligned with ISO/IEC 17025 compliance as well. And the demand for accredited calibrations continues to grow, driven by the customers' need to meet challenging quality system requirements where traceable and accredited calibration for every measuring device is a mandatory criterion.

Thus, Endress+Hauser Flow reaffirms its commitment to provide calibration services of excellence and the framework provided by ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation continues to serve as a key foundation to maintain this level of quality.