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measure for Have you ever lost a wheel off a
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CV? When did you last have your torque wrenches calibrated? There could be a link, whether you and your fleet aspire to IS09001 standards or not. Bryan Jarvis visited a Rotherham firm which is happy to calibrate your tools on site.
IIVI ost busywork shops have a special day marked in red on the calendar: calibration day, when all of their special tools and equipment are checked thoroughly by the specialists.
Some garages prefer to appoint a qualified, experienced staff member to examine its workshop gear regularly and have any defective item repaired, reset or replaced but this is costly, time consuming work because everything has to be recorded so that any visiting BS/ISO standards officials can see that an efficient system is being followed with annual or biannual checks.
Among the specialist engineer.
ing companies offering mobile test and calibration services is Hellaby, South Yorks-based Oakrange Engineering, which is part of the OE Technologies Croup and is itself fully compliant with the BS EN ISO 9001, operating with U KA S (UK Accreditation Services) certified equipment.
Based near the M M i8 junction, Oakrange manufactures and supplies a wide range of air and hydraulic test stations and training rigs for truck and trailer braking systems as well as fuel/turbo diagnostic kit for the likes of the British Army, Knorr Bremse, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Scania and Volvo.
It also has a team of six engineers who carry out calibration and repair work nationwide. "But remember, we're independent engineers," says managing director Steve Oates. "We don't sell tools—we just test them to the relevant standards, calibrate them and ensure that they work within the manufacturer's tolerances. That's the limit of our involvement. We can't be both poacher and gamekeeper, so we make it absolutely clear that our core business is simply providing on-site testing and calibration services."
Assessment
The service includes an initial
free on-site assessment in which all tools and equipment are catalogued then prioritised depending on their application and the degree of accuracy required.
Items that require monitoring are engraved or labelled, listed i a register and then calibrated by qualified technician. Mine repairs or adjustments are fre and Oakrange can provide quote when it comes to replacement!
Certain tools which may not b required to measure or perforn with any great accuracy are sti; listed, but as "visual indication" o "self-calibrating". These includ compression gauges, batter testers, radiator pressure tester and wheel alignment equipment To comply with ISO 9001, comprehensive file carries all th necessary certificates and docu mentation, including a copy o Oakrange's ISO accreditation ant certification that the examiner' test and calibration equipmen
meets National Physica Laboratory standards. After each visit the test engi2er will print off the information id download it onto a disc in the 'rage's manual, for manageLent purposes. He will also brief Le workshop manager/foreman 3 the work he has done, and will Lake any necessary recommenations before booking his next )pointment.
leconditioning
akrange's customer base Lcludes many CV workshops, Lcluding franchised outlets ir MAN, Mercedes-Benz, enault, Scania, Volvo and the W Audi group.
Long periods of continual .?.avy use will take its toll of even Le best quality tools and instruLents, which is why they need to checked regularly for damage, ear or weakening, and either Inked or reconditioned then Llibrated.
For a service that costs in the • gion of 4o a year, customers in be assured that in the event of
something going wrong they won't have been let down by their tools or equipment.
To get an insight into what a visit entails, we looked in on Crossroads Cornmerc ial s' busy workshop in Rotherham where Oakrange calibration engineer Les Smith was busy testing a batch of special tools inside the fully equipped Mercedes Sprinterbased test lab see box, above).
To handle this work his van carries a range of pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical testing equipment as well as an extensive stock of adjustment or shimming materials and just about every type of adapter possible.