National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, as part of their main mission, certifies and provides standard reference materials (SRM). SRMs are used to perform instrument calibrations, verify accuracy of specific measurements and to support development of new measurement methods. SRMs are also used to support measurement traceability in the United States. NIST provides a Certificate of Analysis and a Material Safety Data Sheet (if applicable) with every SRM.
A certificate of compliance is a written document that states the fulfillment of a given requirement. It is a formal certification that declares that a piece of equipment met a set of conditions.
A certification that states NIST-traceable standards are reference materials certified to specific values laid out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). They are designed specifically for standardized instrument calibration and quality assurance protocols aimed at eliminating measurement uncertainties.
The standard in our industry usually requires all equipment have a 3rd party certificate before you are allowed to use it on the job site or in a lab. This ensures that the equipment is safe to use and meet the requirements for that product. This is mostly done by a manufacturer, or calibration vendor. You can also get NIST certified by us.
Send your equipment to us and we will certify it according to the manufacture and NIST specifications and provide a certificate of inspection. This is an official NIST certification document that proves that the equipment is NIST certified.
We do not require an RMA to send in your equipment for certification; however, make sure you have complete contact information with your equipment.
This helps ensure we will get your equipment back to you in a timely manner. We strive to maintain a 24 to 48 hour turn around. Drop it off in person and we generally have about a 2 hour turn around.
According to NIST guidelines, there isn't a set expiration date for certifications. It is all according to the company and project you are working with/on. Companies such as DeFelsko recommend that their equipment is certified every year. We provide NIST certification for these DeFelsko products, for example for the DeFelsko Adhesion Testers.
The benefits of NIST are to help show relevancy of your equipment during an audit or legal matter. Having up-to-date certifications are mandatory across the industry for that specific reason.