WHAT DOES A CALIBRATION TECHNICIAN DO?

The Calibration Technician ensures compliance with both corporate and divisional policies through rigorous documentation reviews, including calibration certificates and equipment specifications. This role supports internal and external audits, executes equipment testing, and assists in quality verifications such as line verification and environmental conformity to uphold manufacturing standards. Additionally, the technician collaborates with engineering to analyze manufacturing data, identify improvement opportunities, and implement corrective actions to resolve production issues effectively.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Calibration Technician

1. Calibration Technician Duties

  • Continuous Improvement Support: Supports and participates in continuous improvement activities that positively affect safety, the environment, quality, reliability, and productivity or improve the overall suitability and effectiveness of the management system, its processes, and products.
  • Buyoff Performance: Perform buyoff and final audits.
  • Clean Work Practices Integration: Required to incorporate clean work practices in daily working routines.
  • Product Calibration and Certification: Calibrating and certifying products and accessories to meet tolerances and product specifications.
  • Software Configuration: Configure and load software on customer computers.
  • Failure Identification and Repair: Identify units & accessories that fail tests or tolerance levels and may repair as necessary.
  • Audit Participation: May participate and conduct internal audits.
  • Production Schedule Maintenance: Maintain the workload which is designed to meet production schedules to ensure on-time delivery of products.
  • Quality Assurance Calibration: Follows defined calibration techniques and processes according to standard operating procedures to provide product quality assurance.
  • Guideline-Based Function Performance: Relies on instructions and pre-established guidelines to perform the functions of the job.

2. Calibration Technician Details

  • Calibration Skills: Calibration, adjustment, repair of various pieces of measurement and test equipment
  • Tracking Skills: Track and record calibration information
  • System Maintenance Skills: Maintain calibration system, including tracking and scheduling of measurement and test equipment calibrations
  • Traceability Skills: Ensure that proper traceability is maintained on measurement and test equipment
  • Gauge Calibration Skills: Perform calibration of gauges using a Gagemaker Mic Trac
  • Equipment Calibration Skills: Perform calibration of test equipment such as pressure gauges (using a deadweight tester) and inspection equipment such as hardness testers
  • Maintenance Skills: Clean and perform routine maintenance of measuring equipment
  • Coordination Skills: Coordinate with outside providers when required for calibration
  • Reporting Skills: Complete all reporting and documentation as required
  • Compliance Skills: Ensure compliance with Stream-Flo Group Guiding Principles in terms of Health, Safety, Quality, and Environmental regulations or policies

3. Calibration Technician Responsibilities

  • Policy Compliance: Responsible for compliance with applicable Corporate and Divisional Policies and procedures.
  • Audit Support: Provide support during internal/external Audit.
  • Documentation Verification: Reviews and verifies compliance of documentation such as calibration certificates, Out of Tolerance, CMMS, etc.
  • Quality Inspection: Review material, equipment, and systems quality through examination, inspection, measurement, or testing of raw materials, components, sub assembly, final assembly, packaging, labeling, and documentation.
  • Process Auditing: Audits and verifies processes such as line verification or environmental conformity to prevent quality system and manufacturing impact.
  • Procedure Compliance: Reviews and verifies compliance with department documentation such as calibration procedures.
  • Equipment Specification Review: Reviews and verifies compliance with manufacturing documentation such as equipment specifications.
  • Equipment Testing Execution: Executes testing of equipment as part of daily activities with little or no guidance from Supervisor or Coordinator.
  • Testing and Disposal Execution: Executes equipment testing or disposal based on engineering dispositions.
  • Documentation Compliance: Ensures that all evidence documentation complies with governing procedures.
  • Manufacturing Support Assistance: Assists engineering in providing manufacturing support by reviewing and analyzing data to determine manufacturing issues and trends (CMMS (MAXIMO) as a source).
  • Manufacturing Issue Resolution: Resolves and prevents Manufacturing issues by assisting engineering in determining root cause and implementing corrective and preventative action.
  • Data Entry: Inputs data to required systems.
  • Process Improvement Proposal: Proposes process and document changes by identifying improvement opportunities.

4. Calibration Technician Job Summary

  • Data Collection Skill: Troubleshoots and provides input to engineering, qualification, and validation studies and reports by collecting, compiling, measuring, organizing, and recording data, and by writing procedures.
  • Training Skill: Assists in setups and trains new or transferred Technicians.
  • Scheduling Skill: Contributes to generating work schedules when required by Supervisor.
  • Communication Skill: Communicates as a team member with other functional groups as well as with internal customers.
  • Vendor Coordination Skill: Contacts outside vendors as part of job responsibilities.
  • Documentation Skill: Responsible for documenting any work performed in Maximo using the correct WO as per applicable procedure and justifies all the working hours on the system.
  • Equipment Management Skill: Responsible for maintaining back-up/spare equipment/instruments/standards and ensures spare parts are maintained at the required levels, to meet equipment needs in operations and supporting areas.
  • Maintenance Skill: Responsible for maintaining calibration areas in a clean and organized condition.
  • Quality Improvement Skill: Responsible for responding to complaints on equipment calibration work orders and creates improvement plans and implements projects to improve the calibration area and metrics/goals.
  • Troubleshooting Support Skill: Responsible for providing support on equipment/process troubleshooting.
  • Calibration Support Skill: Responsible for providing support related to equipment calibration activities to NPI, ME, QE, EHS, and Operations projects.
  • Asset Management Skill: Creates new equipment asset on system and completes all the activities required to release the equipment, including equipment installation, validation, etc.
  • Root Cause Analysis Skill: Responsible for performing root cause analysis on equipment failures and identifies/implements improvement opportunities or corrections.
  • Procedure Improvement Skill: Responsible for identifying improvements in calibration procedures and performing the documentation update

5. Calibration Technician Accountabilities

  • Calibration Skills: Perform incoming and outgoing calibrations at all stations in the lab.
  • Technical Reading Skills: Read schematics and mechanical assembly drawings, test procedures, test setup drawings, and product definitions.
  • Troubleshooting Skills: Troubleshoot calibration problems and interface under the direction of Calibration Lab supervision.
  • Equipment Maintenance Skills: Maintain and perform simple repairs of test equipment.
  • Improvement Recommendation Skills: Recommend improvements in test fixtures, test procedures and product definitions, prepare ECRs.
  • Supply Management Skills: Effectively use bench stock and supplies associated with testing, supplies, tools, and equipment.
  • Supply Notification Skills: Notify the manager of missing or needed supplies, tools, and equipment.
  • Specification Application Skills: Work with Calibration Lab supervision in applying new and updated product specifications from product definitions and procedures into controlled databases.
  • System Development Input Skills: Work with Calibration Lab supervision to provide input into future TC-AM systems including the writing of specifications for developments.
  • Operational Support Skills: Assist Calibration Lab supervision with plans and generating special operating instructions.

6. Calibration Technician Functions

  • Compliance Management: Ensure all company, Site Engineering policies, and Calibration procedures are adhered to.
  • Deviation Management: Ensure that all calibration deviations are handled and escalated as per company, site procedures.
  • Calibration Execution: Ensure the successful calibration of all process, utility, and lab equipment.
  • Scheduling Coordination: Coordinate with the planning departments, area supervisors, and service providers to ensure calibrations are scheduled and performed within required intervals and with minimal equipment downtime.
  • Data Management: Ensure an accurate instrument register is maintained and all relevant data is entered on the calibration management system.
  • Technical Support: Respond to technical queries related to the performance of and calibration of instrumentation.
  • Faultfinding Execution: Carry out faultfindings on any instrument within the utility areas.
  • Reporting: Report status to the Area Utility Coordinator, project team members, and the site project management office as necessary.
  • Inventory Management: Ensure that all necessary spares and consumables are available.
  • Performance Management: Manage the performance of all direct reports in line with company policy and performance criteria.