Businesses and agencies that run several breathalyzers often want to handle calibration submission, shipping, and placement of replacement units all at once. Breathalyzer calibration is a procedure that checks the relationship between the value a breathalyzer displays and a reference value, and records the result in a certificate. When you have devices used every day at an entrance, devices used only for specific events or night shifts, and devices kept in storage as spares, the question becomes whether you can align them all to one calibration date.
The answer is yes, with conditions. You can combine the shipping and submission dates of several devices, but you cannot ignore differences in usage and treat every device as needing calibration at the same time. If you want them calibrated on the same date, the appropriate order is to check whether other devices can be brought forward and handled together, rather than pushing back the check for heavily used devices.
Sending on the same date is different from applying the same interval
Aligning calibration dates mixes two decisions. Sending several devices to a calibration body on the same day is a scheduling matter involving shipping, approvals, and running replacement units. Applying the same calibration interval to all devices, on the other hand, is a matter of judging each breathalyzer's operating conditions and measurement reliability.
ILAC-G24:2022/OIML D 10:2022, international guidance on managing measuring instruments, explains that a single method for determining intervals cannot be applied across all measuring equipment. So before unifying dates on the calendar, you need to look at the manufacturer's guidance for each model and the actual operating conditions of each device. Calibrating earlier than the existing schedule and delaying the scheduled point without a basis are both forms of schedule consolidation, but they mean different things.
For example, making a device that needs calibration wait until next month's batch shipping date can amount to a decision to extend its interval. Conversely, sending a spare unit whose due date has not yet arrived ahead of time is an operating choice to bring calibration forward. If you need to align dates, checking first whether the latter is possible makes it easier to preserve each device's management standard.
Information to compare for each device
Even for the same model, devices with different test counts, usage locations, and storage methods are hard to manage under identical conditions. In particular, if you judge only by test count, you can miss information that needs separate attention, such as transport, long-term storage, and changes seen in previous calibration results.
| What to check | What to record for each device | How to judge when combining dates |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer guidance | Model name and the user manual currently applied | If the guidance differs, review against separate criteria |
| Actual degree of use | Number of tests and usage locations in the recent management period | Keep to the due date for heavily used devices first |
| Storage and transport conditions | Whether fixed-installed, whether transported, changes in storage location | If conditions differ greatly, keep the basis for judgment separate even on the same date |
| Previous calibration results | Actual calibration date on the certificate and changes from previous results | Do not delay the schedule for devices where a change has been confirmed |
A device without usage records cannot be assumed to have been used little. In that case, the realistic approach is to keep the management standard currently in use and record each device's test count and placement location before the next calibration. Once records build up, you can decide which devices to send together next time based on operating facts rather than guesses.
Schedule consolidation in a hypothetical case
In a hypothetical case, suppose Device A at the headquarters entrance is used for tests every day, while spare Device B is put into service only when needed. The two are the same model, but A has had heavy recent use, and B has a history of being moved to another location while in storage. What to look at here is not whether the two devices share a model name, but under what conditions and how much each one has been used.
If A's calibration is due before B's, delaying A to match B's schedule is not appropriate. One possible action is to send A first as scheduled, or to consider bringing B's calibration forward and sending it together with A. If B is sent early, you also need to sort out whether it is acceptable to be without the spare and whether a replacement unit is available for the entrance work.
In this case, the completion standard is not that the dates on the certificates become the same. The manufacturer guidance applied, the usage history, and the actual calibration date for A and B must each be kept separately, so that the next calibration review point can be judged for each device. If they were calibrated on the same day as a result, the schedule was consolidated. Even if the dates ended up different, management has not failed as long as each was checked when needed.
In a batch submission, keep results separate for each device
When you send several devices together, it is best to list each breathalyzer's serial number and request details separately on the submission list. This makes it clear, after the results come back, which certificate belongs to which device and whether an inspection or repair request was included in addition to calibration. Batch shipping can reduce administrative steps, but it must not merge the history of each device into one.
When the certificates are issued, record the actual calibration date for each device in the schedule. If you arbitrarily write the same date for every device just because it makes approvals or log entries easier, the basis for the next review point becomes unclear. It is better to manage the shipping batch information, such as "devices sent together this time," separately from each device's actual calibration date.
You also cannot assume the applicable documents are the same just because model names or appearance are similar. DATECH's Downloads page lists the Korean-language manuals for The New AF-50 and the AF-50AD as separate materials. When you build a schedule, do not compare only device names. Also check the user manual and management conditions that apply to each device.
Reset the next batch schedule when usage conditions change
Even devices that were used in similar ways at first can drift apart in usage when staffing, entry routes, or installation locations change. Rather than marking only the next date right after calibration, recording changes in each device's log, such as an increase in test count, a move to another location, or long periods of non-use, gives you a basis for the next schedule.
For example, if testing work at a particular entrance increases and one device's usage rises sharply, you can decide whether to wait until the next batch shipping date or review that device first. Conversely, if a spare's usage history has built up sufficiently and its storage conditions have stayed stable, you will have data to consider whether it can be sent together with other devices next time.
So setting the same calibration date for breathalyzers with different usage is possible in itself. However, it must come with conditions: do not delay the due point for heavily used devices, do not extend the interval for devices with unclear usage history without a basis, and keep actual calibration results for each breathalyzer. If you keep to these standards, you can handle submission and shipping together while maintaining the management judgment each device needs.
