Calibrating Your Survey Equipment or Buy New?

In construction, navigation, and beyond, surveying tools ensure the gathering of accurate distances and angles between two points. If not regularly and properly maintained, their accuracy can be affected. This is where instrument calibration services come in. 

Why Calibrate

Calibration brings the results of surveying tools back to an approved standard range. When it’s specifically calibrated to NIST guidelines, it means that it follows the measurement standards set by the NIST organization. NIST stands for National Institute of Standards and Technology, a government regulated entity that aims to boost industry innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST is a physical sciences laboratory and non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. 

Through NIST traceable calibration, you minimize instrument errors and prevent the use of unreliable data. These mistakes cannot only affect quality assurance but can also compromise safety. Businesses like Warren Knight in Philadelphia offer instrument calibration services that use NIST traceability as their calibration standards. 

When choosing a calibration partner, check if they calibrate the various instruments and tools you use. They shouldn’t just be an expert in calibration and in providing calibration certifications; their roster of offerings should include repair and servicing. 

All these services will help you prolong the usable life of your surveying and precision instruments. Unless your devices have been significantly damaged or an auditor determines that the gap in traceability is quite substantial, then calibrating them will also save you money in the long run. You don’t need to buy new tools unnecessarily. 

Other Ways You Can Maintain Your Survey Equipment

Just as it is important to buy the right tools and have the necessary knowledge to use them, you must also ensure that your surveying devices are properly maintained. One way maintaining your equipment is to rely on a high quality instrument calibration company. Apart from doing it at certain intervals, you must also bring it to the pros if your tool has been damaged by harsh elements or has been exposed to temperature fluctuations or mechanical/electrical shocks. 

Here are other ways you can maintain your equipment.

Use them properly. If you don’t use your devices the right way, they will be more prone to damage. Proper use also entails careful storage. You can invest in top-quality carrying cases to minimize impact, especially when transporting your surveying equipment. 

Always check site conditions. Sometimes, it won’t be your usage and handling that would damage your instruments — but the environment where you’re using them. For instance, when it’s raining, you shouldn’t let your device get submerged in water. 

Minimize attempts for DIY repairs. Many surveyors, especially those who are experienced, try to repair their devices on their own. If you’re not really sure or confident about it, never DIY. Apart from getting in touch with the manufacturer, you can rely on businesses that specialize in fixing all sorts of issues with surveying tools. 

Get them serviced. First off, you need to tap experts to inspect and identify if repairs are needed for your devices to function well. Preferably this vendor also has repair services for optical instruments. Regular servicing can help you fine-tune your equipment and prevent issues from developing. This way, you can prolong their lifespan, ensure getting accurate data, and protect the underlying financial investment for your arsenal.

Precision Measurements In Surveying, Navigation, Topography

How do you measure the slope of a hill? Or the height of an object, such as the trees in a park? Getting these figures requires more than a regular ruler or tape measure. And this is where precision inclinometers come in handy. 

Also called clinometers, these are devices designed to measure angles of slope or tilt in degrees, minutes, seconds, or percentages with respect to gravity. The manual inclinometer system primarily consists of a probe, cable reel, a mobile readout unit, and a host of accessories, such as cable reel batteries and mobile chargers. 

For decades now, they've been used by surveyors, engineers, and geologists to create accurate land assessments and topographical maps. They are also used for navigation and instrument calibration. 

Inclinometers made by a trusted manufacturer of precision alignment equipment can also be used for safety applications. For instance, this measuring device allows city planners to build an appropriate runoff for sidewalks and streets. Engineers can study bridges and dams and determine their soundness over time. 

Skiers and hikers can also rely on clinometers to measure the angles of snow-covered slopes and evaluate the risk for avalanches. Additionally, volcanologists can use inclinometers to record ground shifts in active volcanoes and use data analysis to predict volcanic activities. 

The Different Types of Precision Inclinometers

Inclinometers come in different sizes and shapes, and each type is built to fulfill specific purposes. Here are the different types of inclinometers produced by a manufacturer of angle measuring tools. 

Ball inclinometers. If you are to navigate through the oceans, you will need a ball inclinometer. It's a device used to measure tilts on sailboats and other watercraft. The readings are done by referencing a ball placed inside a bent tube. It's available as a single- or dual-scale ball inclinometer. 

Drum inclinometers. These are rugged instruments made to measure the tilts of an object. This inclinometer is typically graduated from 0° to 180° to 0°. 

Optical inclinometers. Boasting a 360-degree operating range, this type of inclinometer is used primarily for calibration and alignment applications. NIST traceable calibration for optical equipment is recommended.

Vernier inclinometers. This type of clinometer is frequently used to level and align machinery and small platforms. It's a surveying instrument that can read angles in the horizontal plane. 

Pendulum inclinometers. If you are to measure awkward locations, the pendulum inclinometer is the most suitable instrument to use. You can secure the angle reading with the help of an extended Vernier scale, equipped with a magnifier, and a drum-locking component. 

Electronic inclinometers. Powered by a battery, this type of inclinometer has a range of ±45°, with a capacity of reading 0 to 360° angles. It also comes with a built-in calibration for enhanced accuracy. 

Abney levels. Manufacturers of custom alignment telescopes and other precision instruments know just how vital Abney levels are. It's composed of a clinometer and four scales. It is used to get one or a combinations of different slope readings (e.g., degrees, percent of grade, and topographic arc). 

When choosing a precision instrument, you have to consider its measurement range, accuracy, and the number of axes measured. For a more convenient and accurate reading, you should also consider the output type and resolution (or the smallest measurable change in the output).

Calibrating Your Optical Equipment to NIST

Many tools are included in a surveyor's toolkit, from devices that measure distances to angles and custom optical equipment. And for these tools to provide accurate readings, two things are important: first, you should know how to use the tool properly, and second, the instrument itself must be calibrated.

What is Calibration?

Calibration is the process of determining the accuracy of your instrument before using it to measure something. Your instrument will then be configured so that it can provide results that fall within the standard range.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an organization that aims to advance measurement science in an effort to foster innovation and industrial competitiveness. They provide standards for instrument calibration services for optical equipment like video boresights, observational theodolites, pilot balloon theodolite, a compass for land Surveying and other surveying tools so that users can achieve the highest level of measurement quality.

A business that offers NIST traceable calibration means that they’re capable of calibrating instruments based on the set measurement standards by the NIST.

The Why, The When, and The How

Having accurate measuring tools, especially optical surveying devices is fundamental to being a competent and responsible surveyor. However, for several reasons, surveying tools become inaccurate over time. This can be caused by overuse or mishandling, exposure to corrosive substances, electrical/mechanical shock, or simply natural wear and tear, especially if the tool is frequently used.

This phenomenon is called "gauge drift." And subjecting your tool to calibration is key to addressing this drift.

Without proper calibration, you’ll get errors in your readings. And with inaccurate readings, you’ll analyze the wrong data and will produce inaccurate models, which will serve as the basis of a bigger project. In the long run, this can compromise the durability and the safety of the final output — and the users of that final output (e.g., motorists using a bridge, employees working a commercial building, families residing in a home).

This is why apart from the annual servicing of your tools, calibrating them every two weeks is advised (this frequency depends on how often you’re using the tool). Calibration must also be done when your tool has been exposed to harsh conditions such as electrical/mechanical shocks, and extreme changes in the environment.

But how do you calibrate optical equipment and other surveying tools such as the measuring instruments for nautical applications? The easiest and most cost-effective way is to take them to professionals who offer calibration services that use NIST standards.

The calibration procedure may vary from tool to tool. But in essence, it entails using the tool to test samples of at least one calibrator — the result of which will then be used to establish a relationship between the measuring method of the tool being tested and that of the calibrator. If significant discrepancies are found, the tool will be configured to produce more accurate results, i.e., those that are within the acceptable range.

When looking for a provider of NIST traceable calibration services, confirm that they do conform to industry measurement standards and that they calibrate the specific tools you have. It’s also ideal to tap a provider that offers a quick turnaround time and performs repairs as well.