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The Bottle Top Calibration service is accredited by UKAS to ISO 17025. This internationally recognised accreditation demonstrates the levels of competence, impartiality and performance capability required to provide customers with a recognised and reliable calibration service. It is important for goods and services tested in the UK to be accepted both in Europe and worldwide, without the need for additional testing. Increasingly, accreditation is the means of achieving this. 

Who’s doing your calibration work?

ISO 17025

“To gain accreditation, a laboratory must be fully conversant and comply with the relevant standard, which is: ISO/IEC 17025:2005 : General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”

The ISO 17025 standard includes a Quality Management System defining the operation, procedures and effectiveness of the laboratory to maintain and improve the delivery of valid test/calibration results. Technical requirements address the competence of staff, methodology and calibration equipment.

ISO 17025 incorporates all ISO9000 requirements with two important additions:

• Technical competence in pipette calibration
• Validity of results

Competency

UKAS auditors are experts in pipette calibration. As part of the initial inspection, and all subsequent audits, proves a thorough understanding of the subject, provides full documentation and traceability of calibration and demonstrates the required level of competency in pipette calibration.

Validity

All scientific operations have an associated error, or uncertainty. As part of our accreditation, has identified and quantified all aspects of its pipette calibration processes to provide an “uncertainty budget”. This experimental error allows all results to be reported with a specific uncertainty value. The uncertainty is a quantitative indication of the quality of the result. It gives an answer to the question, how well does the result represent the value of the quantity being measured? It allows users of the result to assess its reliability.

Confidence in the comparability of results can help to reduce barriers to trade.

As part of the UKAS accreditation, all calibrations are performed gravimetrically. All weighings are in accordance with ISO 8655-6 using 5 and 6dp calibrated balances.

UKAS

UKAS is the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. It is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. UKAS is a non-profit-distributing company, limited by guarantee, and operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government through the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

This compliance status is based on the information provided by THE LABORATORY STORE regarding compliance with
the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”) version 3.2.1 and is valid until 07/05/2021 pursuant to
the condition of issuing laid out below.

To remain compliant with PCI DSS, it is the responsibility of THE LABORATORY STORE to:

• Maintain compliance with all PCI DSS requirements, particularly when there is any change to your systems. This compliance maintenance includes quarterly vulnerability scans for internet facing systems (where applicable).
• Attest to your compliance on an annual basis.

UKAS ISO17025 accreditation assures you that all measuring equipment has an unbroken chain of traceability back to national standards.

Why choose UKAS ISO IEC 17025 Calibration?

UKAS ISO IEC 17025 calibration of scales and laboratory balances is all about traceability and confidence in the measurement results. UKAS Calibration ensures you of our technical expertise, and that it is externally audited and fully traceable. UKAS Calibration helps you stand out showing your customers and suppliers that your results are credible and robust.

As Found Results

All our UKAS ISO IEC 17025 calibrations include as found results, so you know exactly how the equipment was performing prior to the serivce being performed.

Adjustments

Unlike many our UKAS calibration service services include adjustments, both mechanical and electrical ensuring your equipment performs within its limit of error.

Definitive Results

Once the maintenance and adjustments are completed we test the equipment a second time and report the final results, this ensures you have complete traceability through the calibration process

Nationwide Coverage

With our partners we offer a nationwide team of qualified and certified calibration technicians deliver on-site calibration services. UKAS calibration must be performed in the environment the equipment is being used 

Sensible Reports

Our UKAS ISO 17025 Calibration reports are simple to understand and offer complete peace of mind that the weighing results you achieve are reliable and within the equipments tolerance range

Scheduled Visits

Our expert calibration team schedule in your calibration and ensure you never go out of compliance. UKAS ISO IEC 17025 calibrations can be performed monthly, quarterly, or annually which ensures continued compliance

Virkon Benefits

• Unrivalled spectrum - formulated to meet all pathogenic challenge to staff and patients.
• Efficacy proven by worldwide independent testing program.
• Developed and manufactured by Antec International, worldwide patents granted.
• Unparalleled spectrum of activity, proven effective against:
  • 300 strains/clinical isolates from 76 bacteria
  • 47 strains/clinical isolates from 35 viruses
  • 45 strains/clinical isolates from 17 fungi

Proven effective against all major pathogens known
to man:

• Viruses HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, polio, lassa and rift valley fevers.
• Bacteria Staphylococci, Streptococci, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Mycobacteria- (including TB) and all the major food poisoning bacteria. Proven against a wide range of antibiotic-resistant strains.
• Fungi Candida and the common skin dermatophytes.
• Built-in colour indicator of strength.
• Resistant to inactivation by organic material.
• Contains a surfactant - combines cleaning and disinfection in one operation.
• Avoids the problems of pre-cleaning which spreads infection on cleaning materials and utensils.
• Full details of spectrum and summary of testing program plus copies of all independent test reports freely available.

Offers maximum safety to staff and patients virkon solution

• is non-irritant to skin
• is non-irritant to eyes
• does not possess a toxic vapour phase
• protects staff and patients from all pathogen challenge

Virkon Powder

• does not evolve toxic chlorine fumes when used on urine spills.

Download Virkon Powder Safety Datasheet (EN)

Download Virkon Powder Safety Datasheet (IE)

Download Virkon Solution Safety Datasheet

Virkon Tablets

Virkon Soluble Tablets are now available for the first time. In addition to the usual packs of Virkon powder, ie. 50gm Sachets, 500gm squeeze bottles and 5Kg drums, the 5gm tablet provides a new and quick way to make up 500ml of 1% Virkon solution. The tablet replaces the 10gm soluble sachet and has two major advantages over it's predecessor. Firstly, it dissolves much quicker and in a much cleaner fashion, and secondly they are much easier to pop into the neck of a trigger spray container, which is the application we see as being the most popular for this kind pack form. A 500ml trigger spray bottle can conveniently be used to dispense the solution and is available to purchase.

The tablets are packed either 10 to a small pot or 50 to a larger tub, thereby offering a tub size to suit all needs. Virkon is still the ultimate high level surface disinfectant suitable for use on surfaces in healthcare, laboratory, food preparation and production, catering, residential, hotel, transport, emergency services and public environments.

Widest range of clinical usage

• VIRKON powder for the safe containment and disposal of blood and body fluid spills.
• VIRKON solution is suitable for all routine disinfection tasks whatever the infection threat.
• The combined cleaning and disinfection of all hard surfaces (walls, floors, trolleys, locker tops, laboratory benches, equipment exteriors, etc).
• The replacement of the aldehydes in the treatment of flexible endoscopes.
• General laboratory usage (discard jars, centrifuges, pipettes, etc).
• The routine decontamination of body fluid handling devices (renal dialysis machines, blood analysers, blood bank equipment, etc).

Maximum cost effectiveness

• Combines cleaning and disinfection - avoids the additional time and cost of separate pre-cleaning.
• Reduces the range of disinfectant and cleaning products required giving savings in inventory and stock control.
• Simplifies staff training.
• Simplifies infection control procedures and policies - a major contribution to reducing the costs of hospital or laboratory-acquired infection.

It has been reported that rubbing alcohol (70%) is effective for disinfecting skin such as hands *. However, it is said that there is no effect unless it exceeds 70%. In addition, too high alcohol concentration may cause rough skin, so it is important to use at an appropriate concentration.

*The standard of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 60% or more. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recommends 70% or more. Also, CDC recommends 70% or more for disinfecting the surface of objects.

What is an IP rating?

IP (or "Ingress Protection") ratings are defined in international standard EN 60529 (British BS EN 60529:1992, European IEC 60509:1989). They are used to define levels of sealing effectiveness of electrical enclosures against intrusion from foreign bodies (tools, dirt etc) and moisture.

What do the numbers in an IP Rating mean?

The numbers that follow IP each have a specific meaning. The first indicates the degree of protection (of people) from moving parts, as well as the protection of enclosed equipment from foreign bodies. The second defines the protection level that the enclosure enjoys from various forms of moisture (drips, sprays, submersion etc). The tables below should help make sense of it:

IP Ratings - what they mean.

IP Rated Enclosures - quick find chart

A number replaced by x indicates that the enclosure is not rated for that spec.

First Digit (intrusion protection)

0. (or X - see section below): No special protection. Not rated (or no rating supplied) for protection against ingress of this type.
1. Protection from a large part of the body such as a hand (but no protection from deliberate access); from solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter.
2. Protection against fingers or other object not greater than 80mm in length and 12mm in diameter (accidental finger contact).
3. Protection from entry by tools, wires etc, with a diameter of 2.5 mm or more.
4. Protection against solid objects larger than 1mm (wires, nails, screws, larger insects and other potentially invasive small objects such as tools/small etc).
5. Partial protection against dust that may harm equipment.
6. Totally dust tight. Full protection against dust and other particulates, including a vacuum seal, tested against continuous airflow.

Second Digit (moisture protection)

0. (or X - see section below): No protection.
1. Protection against vertically falling droplets, such as condensation. ensuring that no damage or interrupted functioning of components will be incurred when an item is upright.
2. Protection against water droplets deflected up to 15° from vertical
3. Protected against spray up to 60° from vertical.
4. Protected against water splashes from all directions. Tested for a minimum of 10 minutes with an oscillating spray (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
5. Protection against low-pressure jets (6.3 mm) of directed water from any angle (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
6. Protection against direct high pressure jets.
7. Protection against full immersion for up to 30 minutes at depths between 15 cm and 1 metre (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
8. Protection against extended immersion under higher pressure (i.e. greater depths). Precise parameters of this test will be set and advertised by the manufacturer and may include additional factors such as temperature fluctuations and flow rates, depending on equipment type.
9. (K): Protection against high-pressure, high-temperature jet sprays, wash-downs or steam-cleaning procedures - this rating is most often seen in specific road vehicle applications (standard ISO 20653:2013 Road Vehicles - Degrees of protection).