A calibrator is an equipment used to adjust an instrument accuracy, often associated with a specific application. The most sophisticated industrial equipment will not be very useful unless it is calibrated. Through calibration, adjustments made to a piece of equipment ensure that it performs as expected—that it can be relied on to deliver predictable, accurate results that meet quality standards.

Simply defined, calibration is the process of adjusting a device to meet manufacturer’s specifications. Calibration is sometimes also defined as the issuing of data, including a report or certificate of calibration, that assures an end user of a product’s conformance with specifications, and perhaps also with external guidelines, such as those of the International Organization for Standardization, whose ISO 9001 standards, for example, set worldwide specifications for business sectors. A company follows these standards to ensure that its products and/or services gain acceptance among suppliers and customers. This second definition of calibration is more properly referred to as certification.