Starting A Calibration Lab

[avan989]

I was thinking of starting my own mobile Calibration Lab. I think there is a lot of good money in it and just needed some advices from people who has done this before...etc. Most of the stuff I want to calibrated will be physical, torque wretch, calipers, gauge...etc. Where do people find business at/how do you go about getting it? How hard is it to get ISO...etc certification? How much of an investment will it cost total? How do I acquire one of those mobile, temperature control vehicle? If anyone can answer these questions, it would be great. Any advices would also be great as well. I am here to learn as much as possible.

A little about me, I am in the army. 5 years TMDE, getting out. I want to be my own boss even if it means I have to work 80 hours work week.

[Duckbutta]

You said you are in the army. The U.S. Army? I only ask because your written English is atrocious. I think you will find it difficult to attract customers when your promotional materials look like a Third World call center transcript.

[Duckbutta]

Take a minute to consider things from where I sit: If your written English is so poor, what must your English reading comprehension skills be like? In essence, if I can't trust you to interpret the calibration procedures you are tasked to perform, how can I have any faith in any of the results on the calibration certificate you hand me?

[avan989]

Thank You for your advices. I am deeply sorry if my grammar offends you, that was not my intention.

Since this was a forum, I did not try to write in a professional manner. I apologize for this. I can assure you that I am very competent and my reading comprehension skills is proficient. Please do not look at a forum posting and judge me (or the US army).

Thank You

[avan989]

Correction: *Since this is a forum*

[Mr M.]

Being your own boss is a great goal. I started in Air Force PMEL and have worked for commercial calibration companies, defense contractors and as a military contractor. I also had a calibration company with a partner many years ago. I feel I have done OK and enjoy what I do, so for what it's worth here are my comments.
Get the most out of your time in the military. Try to be the best at what you do and do as much as you can while you are in. Make as many contacts as you can, some of the people you have met or are working with now may be helpful someday.
Read up on starting a business or take some classes, you might even find a free seminar at a local library.
Being good at business is not the same as being a good calibration technician. Financing is a big deal. You will need money for many things not just your salary, an office, a van, standards, accessories and calibration of your standards.
Think about where you want your company to be, some areas will not have much work for you to do. It is important to know the area you are thinking of supporting. A survey of the area or good familiarity with the area and your competition is very important. To find customers think outside the box, you may offer a service no one else has thought to offer. I strongly suggest you try to limit the scope of your services as much as you can. Find items that customers need support for that you can do well and that you feel there will be enough of to keep you busy.
Look up the price vendors charge for calibration of the thing you are thinking of doing. You may be surprised at how much or little an item can be calibrated for. If the customer needs something supported that you cannot do try to know where the item can be supported and offer to get the item supported or direct them to the vendor.
The specifics you asked for can be found online. You can get prices for standards, vans, calibration support and certifications by looking online but you should do this work yourself if you want to get a handle on starting your business.
My final comment is this, you are always your own boss, when you chose to be in the military or chose to work for a company you make the choice. When you have your own company you may be the boss but you will be working for your customer and that's OK as long as you are doing something you like. Good luck.

[OlDave]

I believe there was a mention here awhile back about a mobile calibration franchise opportunity.

It is called Z-CAL and their website is:
http://z-calfranchise.com/
Check it out, it may be what you need to get started with.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Z-CAL nor have any first-hand knowledge of it or how it operates.

[Duckbutta]

The problem he will have going the franchise route is the same one he faces now. At some point he is going to have to produce a WRITTEN summary of his qualifications (i.e. a resume). He is going to need some serious tutoring there. Is there time for that with so much else to do to get the business off the ground?

[USMC kalibrater]

You should not throw stones in a glass house, your writing skills are not much better.

[Duckbutta]

You should not throw stones in a glass house, your writing skills are not much better.

I think you suffer from the same poor command of the English language as avan989. Your user name indicates to me that your ASVAB scores must not have been very high.

[griff61]

Tact is probably more important than grammar in most relationships. Maybe more so in business.
I haven't experienced or witnessed a customer requiring a resume, or a language test, before deciding on the quality of the service provided.
Math is pretty much universal

[Duckbutta]

Tact is probably more important than grammar in most relationships. Maybe more so in business.
I haven't experienced or witnessed a customer requiring a resume, or a language test, before deciding on the quality of the service provided.
Math is pretty much universal

You must be easy to please and/or don't demand much of yourself.. For me, poor grammar and syntax is very unprofessional. It indicates either a dim bulb or a lack of attention to detail. Either is problematic.

[griff61]

You must be easy to please and/or don't demand much of yourself.. For me, poor grammar and syntax is very unprofessional. It indicates either a dim bulb or a lack of attention to detail. Either is problematic.

Wow, didn't know that would upset you so much. Might want to put a little salve on that, maybe get a doughnut pillow.
Some of the best techs on the planet work for me and with me. So you've sure got me there, grammar Nazi.
Someone with the tactfulness of an aroused bull calling anyone else unprofessional is amusing and rather ironic. You should look all those words up while you're busy coming up with your next witty response.
Have a nice day!

[griff61]

How much of an investment will it cost total? How do I acquire one of those mobile, temperature control vehicle? If anyone can answer these questions, it would be great. Any advices would also be great as well. I am here to learn as much as possible.

An area you might look into is CMM calibration. I know in Phoenix the local labs used to contract out CMM calibrations to one local guy who worked out of his SUV and serviced places all over the southwest. In that case you will normally work on-sites and won't need to worry much about climate control. Surface plates and some ovens/chamber cals would offer the same sort of lower capital requirements. You could work up from there.
Good luck to you.

[ck454ss]

You must be easy to please and/or don't demand much of yourself.. For me, poor grammar and syntax is very unprofessional. It indicates either a dim bulb or a lack of attention to detail. Either is problematic.

That has to be one of the most dumb statements I ever heard.  You must be stupid cause you dont speak engwish? Yes Engwish.  I have CMM Techs who repair and calibrate the sh!t out of CMMs who guess what...speak a bit of broken english because it isnt there primary language.  But hey they are Asian so they can spin loops around typical engwish speaking people because they have serious analytical skills.  I havent had a customer yet tell me not to send them because there engwish isnt good because you know they are there to speak engwish not repair/Cal Cmms.  See what I did there..I can stereotype too.  Hell I must be dumb too cause I know my grammer sucks...got D's in english in college and High School but Aced my Math which allowed me to get my BS in Physics.