A UK science and innovation park has invested in new mobile calibration services to improve laboratory sensor testing and ensure compliance with UK safety regulations.

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Stuart Thomas

Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent is home to a life sciences community for a growing number of healthcare companies. With close links to similar clusters in London, Cambridge, and Stevenage, the park currently offers a network of business support services and laboratory facilities to over 50 companies such as Pfizer, Concept Life Sciences, and Viatris, which work in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare development sectors.

Utilising Calibrationhouse’s mobile expertise for the first time, the park, which recently opened a new lab complex for start-ups and small businesses, has completed annual in-service performance checks on more than 120 sensors spread across its estate of 20 laboratories, in under 48 hours.

The service, which provides access to a team of skilled engineers operating from a fleet of technical vehicles, saw the provision of specialist UKAS calibration expertise and experience deployed onsite at Discovery Park, which is supported by state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in County Durham.

The work involved the calibration of temperature, humidity, and air pressure sensor capabilities across their entire operational spectrum. This has ensured that they are all working correctly, continuing to function within specified performance parameters, while remaining compliant with requisite MHRA (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) regulations.

Calibrationhouse’s work at Discovery Park has contributed towards ensuring onsite facilities are fit-for-purpose, helping to minimise laboratory downtime and any disruption to operations necessitated by routine test requirements. This has been beneficial, according to Richard Tucker, BMS lead, whose responsibilities include overseeing annual inspections, testing, and calibration of site equipment.

He said: “The ability to carry out onsite performance testing and calibration is really beneficial to our operations, meeting the requirements of a bustling laboratory environment, where resources and equipment have to be readily available and performing to optimum levels at all times.

“With in-service testing carried out on-site, sensors don’t have to be removed and taken away for checking elsewhere. This allows them to be effectively calibrated and returned to service very quickly, ensuring minimal disruption to ongoing lab operations and capabilities. This saves us time and money, which is always a welcome bonus.

“This is the first time we have used them. It’s proven to be a very good service - reliable and flexible enough to accommodate the array of sensor types in the laboratories. We will definitely continue to use Calibrationhouse again for our future requirements. Their capabilities are very reassuring and thanks to their input and professionalism, compliance testing is now one less thing for me to worry about.”