Calibration log starter kit
Use this to stand up a calibration log: a spreadsheet row for each gage, a folder of cert PDFs, reminders 30 and 7 days before the due date, and a monthly export you can hand someone who asks. The matching directory entry names Microsoft Excel, n8n, and Claude. Treat the steps below as a practical pattern. They have not been timed in a shop, and they do not replace your quality procedure.
What to track per gage
- A gage ID you never reuse, even after the tool is scrapped.
- Type, what it measures, range, and resolution.
- Where it is kept, and the person responsible for it.
- Calibration interval, date of the last calibration, and the next due date.
- Status: in service, out for calibration, overdue, or retired.
- Cert file name, stored under that gage ID, and the result a person copied from the cert: accepted, adjusted, or failed.
Cert filing
- One folder or drive location per gage ID.
- File the cert PDF as soon as it arrives, by email or scan, before anyone changes the due date.
- Name the file with the gage ID and the calibration date.
- Optional: n8n puts the PDF in that folder, and Claude reads the cert number, calibration date, due date, and result.
- A person confirms those fields before the register changes. Keep the PDF. An unread file must not move the due date.
Due-date alerts
- Notify the responsible person 30 days before the due date.
- Notify them again 7 days before.
- Mark the row overdue on the due date if no new cert has been confirmed.
- Send the alert to someone who can pull the gage from use, not only a shared inbox nobody watches.
- If your procedure says an overdue gage is out of service, set that status when the date passes.
Audit-ready export
- Once a month, save a frozen copy of the register. Do not rely on the live sheet alone.
- Include gage ID, status, last calibration date, due date, result, and cert file name.
- Include gages retired that month, with the date they left service.
- Store the file where someone can open it without editing the live register.
- Optional: n8n emails that file on a schedule, after a person spot-checks a few rows against the PDFs.
This checklist does not choose your calibration interval, quote a lab, or state a time saving. Count overdue gages and the time you spend finding a cert, on your own log, before and after you start.
Directory entry: Calibration recall + cert filing.