So what does industry want from calibration?

The responsibility to maintain the highest quality measurement standards throughout industry lies with the following bodies: accreditation organisations; certification organisations; calibration equipment manufacturers; instrument manufacturers; commercial calibration laboratories; but above all on end-users, who must play an active role in defining their calibration requirements. With the widespread acceptance of IS09000, which affects end-users throughout industry, it is imperative that all organisations associated with calibration provide end-users with simple, understandable, and practical solutions to their needs, while maintaining best-practice metrology principles. All of the above organisations must be flexible and sympathetic to their needs. With the widespread adoption of the IS09000 standard, which demands that measuring equipment is carefully controlled and maintained, the need for calibration has never been more important. After all, in the words of the first person interviewed in the market research mentioned in the paper, "we'd be up the Swanee without it".