In the SIMCO webinar titled Top 7 Metrics to Manage Your Calibration Program, we discussed key metrics and KPIs that leading organizations use to properly manage and continuously improve their calibration programs. In this post, we discuss the first metric, On Time Compliance, which measures the percentage of instruments that have been turned in for calibration on or before the calibration due date.
On Time Compliance, which measures the percentage of instruments that have been turned in for calibration on or before the calibration due date.
If instruments become overdue for calibration, they represent risks to your product quality and regulatory compliance. Making sure you have a plan for calibrating instruments on time is key to protecting your quality program and company.
On Time Compliance can be calculated by two methods – as a snapshot in time or spanning a defined timeframe.
The snapshot method is measured at any point in time by counting the number of instruments not overdue for calibration and dividing that number by the total number of instruments. For example: if at one point in time you have 100 instruments and 97 are not yet due for calibration (but 3 are overdue), then On Time Compliance is 97/100 = 97%.
This snapshot metric can vary over time. For instance, if calibration due dates are at the end of month, then On Time Compliance is likely to be at its worst at the very beginning of the month and improve throughout the month. So, if you are doing monthly reports, pick a consistent day of the month for measurement.
The defined timeframe method calculates On Time Compliance by taking the number of instruments turned in for calibration during that timeframe, divided by the total number of instruments due for calibration for that timeframe. For instance, if 100 instruments have a due date in January but only 95 of those were turned in, the On Time Compliance for January was 95%. This approach provides a good overall view of the program’s On Time Compliance for a defined time period.
Through our work with over 3,000 manufacturing organizations, we have found that best-in-class programs have > 99% on-time compliance. Jay Langlois, Manager of Calibration and Continuous Improvement at L3Harris, maintains a goal of 99.95%. If you’re struggling to meet your On Time Compliance goal, consider the following suggestions for improvement.
In our work with our lives-at-stake manufacturing customers, the calibration programs we have seen with the worst On Time Compliance rates are the ones that are managed manually with some combination of paper and spreadsheets. This approach is slow, labor intensive, and prone to errors. SIMCO’s CERDAAC software enables you to meet and exceed your On Time Compliance goals in the following ways:
The following advanced techniques can dramatically improve On Time Compliance but require more work to implement and maintain.