In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at a topic that’s talked about a lot but isn’t always that clear: operational excellence. We’ll briefly discuss the history of the concept, what it means in practice, and how it applies to process industries – including the many benefits it can unlock. We’ll also set out how calibration can play a role in enabling operational excellence in your process industry plants. Read on to find out more.

Beamex’s automated, paperless calibration solution has helped National Grid streamline its calibration processes and save a huge amount of time and money in the process. In this blog we take a look at what can be achieved with a combination of the right hardware, software, and expertise.

A Tale of Three Steves

Stephen Jerge, Calibration Supervisor for Lonza Biologics, a multinational chemical and biotechnology company, recently walked attendees of the Beamex Annual Calibration Exchange (ACE) through the project he headed to transition from a paper-based calibration management system (CMS) to an integrated, digital, paperless solution using Beamex CMX. Steve has over 30 years of calibration experience in the telecommunication and pharmaceutical industries.

Over the last 3 years, his primary focus has been contributing to Lonza’s global paperless SAP/CMX integrated solution through implementation, training, and supporting calibration operations and expansion projects.

Watch the presentation video recording now!

In this blog post, we’ll share The Tale of Three Steve’s as we follow his journey from 2017 Steve, a stressed-out, overworked supervisor; to 2019 Steve as he underwent the rollout of a new, automated system; to Steve 2021, whose focus is on continuous improvement.

Many businesses still use a lot of manual entry in their industrial processes.

This is despite the fact that it is commonly known and accepted that it is a slow and labor-intensive process and there are always human errors related to manual data entry - Human errors are natural.

It is commonly accepted that the typical error rate in manual data entry is about 1 %.

What does this 1 % mean in practice in calibration processes, and how can you make it smaller, or even get rid of it?

This article mainly focuses on industrial calibration processes and the manual data entry related to these processes.

Many calibration technicians follow long-established procedures at their facility that have not evolved with instrumentation technology. Years ago, maintaining a performance specification of ±1% of span was difficult, but today’s instrumentation can easily exceed that level on an annual basis. In some instances, technicians are using old test equipment that does not meet new technology specifications. This article focuses on establishing base line performance testing where analysis of calibration parameters (mainly tolerances, intervals and test point schemes) can be analyzed and adjusted to meet optimal performance. Risk considerations will also be discussed – regulatory, safety, quality, efficiency, downtime and other critical parameters. A good understanding of these variables will help in making the best decisions on how to calibrate plant process instrumentation and how to improve outdated practices.