Quality concepts
Calibration
Calibration is confirming that a measuring or test instrument reads true by checking it against a known reference, and adjusting or documenting it so its results can be relied on. A torque wrench, a pressure gauge, a moisture meter or a manometer that has drifted will pass bad work or fail good work, and nobody will know which. Calibration is what lets a recorded reading stand as evidence rather than as an unverifiable number.
Run it with the Photo Gate
Inspection and test plan (ITP)
11 items · 8 photos required
Why it matters
A test result is only as good as the instrument that produced it. If a gauge is out and the record does not show the instrument was in calibration, a reviewer can throw out every reading it took, and the retest usually lands after the work is covered.
It also protects the crew. When an inspection turns on a measured value, being able to show the tool was calibrated is what keeps the pass or fail from turning into an argument about the meter.
How it shows up on site
An inspection or test plan that names which instruments require calibration and calls for current calibration records, so a pressure test, a torque check or a moisture reading is backed by a tool that is known to read true.
Standards it's verified against
Checklists that put calibration to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- VerificationConfirming that installed work matches the drawings and spec: checking you built the thing right against a stated requirement.
- Objective quality evidenceRecorded, verifiable proof that work met its requirement: a measurement, test result or timestamped photo, not an assurance.
- Acceptance criteriaThe stated, measurable conditions installed work has to meet before it can pass: the yardstick an inspection judges against.
- Quality control (QC)The hands-on inspection and testing of installed work against the spec: checking the actual product, not the process that made it.
- TraceabilityBeing able to tie a piece of installed work back to the material, submittal, inspection and photo that stand behind it.
- ConformanceThe state of installed work actually meeting the drawings, spec and approved submittal, the opposite of a nonconformance.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.
30-day trial · No card required