EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance calibration of medical equipment

Good day..I just want to ask if there is an allowance if an equipment is due for calibration..For example, the due of a certain equipment is March 26, 2017, and it is annual calibration.thus it mean that beyond that date, it is not safe to use or there is an allowance (1 week or 2 weeks) after the due date?hope someone can answer my issue regarding this matter and may i have a reference stating that matter.thank you...

In the example you give, calibration is already a year out of date, so another day or two isn't going to matter much.

Depending upon which standards you are trying to follow, no doubt there may be some rulings about "slippage" buried somewhere in the small print (especially if you are Accredited), but otherwise it is really a matter for your management (of the hospital etc.).

Just do your best ... but if you are having trouble meeting scheduled commitments, why not make a case to your management for extra resources? Or, failing that, seek a relaxation of PM intervals for non-critical items?

our ISO question as regarding date of our equipment calibration..ISO told that we must strictly follow and not exceed on the date stated in our sticker..next calibration must not exceed the due date..

thanks for your response.
How about when the equipment especially the life support equipment (ventilators / infant incubator) is in patient used?thus it require the end user to disconnect just to calibrate the equipment?and what if there's no equipment available for replacement and the patient need that at the moment?

30 days was the maximum allowance that I was brought up with, after that you must remove the equipment from service until the calibration (PPM) has been completed

We don't use an exact date just the month. In your example of life support devices, if no other equipment is available it would be dangerous and irresponsible to remove the device just to perform a calibration, perform a visual check and inform the senior nurse nurse and by email that the device requires service when the patient is finished or another device is available to swap. The patient condition should always be considered.

Check ECRI, JCI and now CBAHI for information regarding withdrawing equipment from use.

Care to summarise what those august bodies advise, Neil ... are they singing from the same hymn-sheet, I wonder?

we allow 1 month after due date even when we had iso. any equipment overdue service we e-mail the ward manager asking to make the equipment available for service. if we find the equipment and it is in use we attach a label asking for the equipment once off the patient. if we can't locate the equipment we then register it as missing.

@ richard colemen

Do you have reference in your 1 month grace period for the overdue equipment?