An interesting debate we have with many of our clients and potential clients is regarding NABL certification. A lot of companies insist that the product they buy should be calibrated by a NABL approved lab. The reason when asked is that “the end user demands it”. We manufacture Universal Testing Machine and calibrate them too. This requires us to maintain our own calibration standards, which we in turn get calibrated from NPL (National Physical Laboratory, Delhi). Our certificates come from NPL and not NABL. So now we end up being on the wrong side of the debate even though NPL is the highest authority in India when it comes to calibration standards.
Let’s look at this a bit closer. If you own a lab, you have all the equipment and provide calibration services, chances are it has to be approved by NABL for you to legitimize your offerings. Every year you get all your equipment checkout by an inspector who signs off and issues a NABL approved certification. So, in summary, NABL is a signing authority assigned by the government of India. Unlike NPL it does not own any actual physical instruments or any standards. NPL on the other hand, has a well equipped laboratory, it maintains its standards as per international laws and provides calibration services at reasonable prices. In fact, a NPL representative sits in NABL as a board members. Doesn’t matter whichever way, whichever angle you look at it, NPL is the higher authority. This is not a slight on NABL, it’s a great system and works very well, but it’s just the reality.
In spite of the explaining and proving with facts, this is a debate we often end up losing and, in the process, lose a few potential clients too. We have asked NPL to mention on their calibration certificates that the standards calibrated by them are equivalent to the ones calibrated by a NABL approved lab. However, we have not received a response from them regarding this. If you have ever been through this or have any more thoughts or ideas, we would love to hear from you.
Now being a government lab, NPL has its own quirks, and the paperwork is always there, but it gets the job done. But this is a discussion for some other time.