Featured Lab Fridays: Houston

Our Houston Calibration Lab is an innovative facility within our network of labs and a source for unique specialties and calibration capabilities. Dedicated to delivering industry-leading calibration services to businesses in the Houston area and beyond, the lab is ISO/IEC 17025-accredited and encompasses a 38-person team that’s ready to ensure your test and measurement equipment is reliable and accurate. Led by Calibration Service Manager Josh Soileau, the lab’s commitment to quality, efficiency, and strong customer relationships has led many to seek out its services over the years.

“Customers like working with us because of how we operate and handle everything,” says Soileau. “We’re honest and transparent with them, and they in turn trust us and the work we do. They know our team is going to work hard to get the job done and meet their expectations.”

The Houston lab offers in-lab, on-site, and pickup and delivery services, dealing primarily with the large pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries in the region. General disciplines include electrical, dimensional, torque, force, and temperature, but some aspects set the lab apart from others. For one, Houston is the primary location for reference-level DC/Low Frequency electrical calibration standards and primary reference-level pressure standards.

“Reference electrical and reference pressure are our two main capabilities,” Soileau explains. “We’re responsible for most of those assets for the company, and we do that kind of work for other companies as well.”

“There aren’t many primary labs around the area other than the OEMs, but we have them in Houston,” adds Scott Caine, Regional Service Manager. “Because of this, we’re able to offer an economic alternative with improved turn times.”

Servicing everything from multifunction calibrators and multimeters up to 8.5 digits to high-voltage decade resistance boxes, standard resistors, DC current shunts, DC Zener cells, and more, the Houston lab’s electrical calibration services cover a wide variety of equipment. Customers also gain a competitive advantage they won’t find anywhere else through factors like cutting-edge automated calibration processes, cost-effectiveness, and minimal downtime due to the lab’s quick turnaround times.

Speaking of quick turnaround times, the Houston Calibration Lab recently launched new expedited calibration services available upon request where customers can choose between 2-day and 3-day turnaround times for most calibrations and next-on-bench options for reference-level calibration work. And when it comes to automation, Houston is leading the way for automated calibration work, allowing the location to maximize repeatability, reproducibility, and calibration integrity.

“Running automation is essential for the lab just based on the way we operate,” Caine says. “We run multiple shifts 24 hours a day, working around the clock to get units out the door, and automation allows a single technician to get a lot more done at once.”

“We have a handful of stations set up with multiple units being automated at the same time, with a technician keeping an eye on things and stepping in when needed,” says Soileau. “So while those automations are running, it frees the technician up to perform manual work that you can’t automate, and they can do that while everything else is running continuously 24 hours a day in shifts.”

While the lab stays busy with automation, reference and standards work, and more, it also stands as Transcat’s primary repair center, with two full-time dedicated repair personnel and a large space stocked with parts and supplies so there’s no wait for parts to come in when needed. It’s another shining example of the multifaceted approach to Houston’s service offerings.

Of course, you can’t get all of this done without strong relationships among employees and customers. For the team in Houston, there’s a family-like atmosphere that seeps into the work they do.

“Most of the people working here have been here for a while, so we have a lot of fun back and forth because you’ve known each other for so long,” Soileau says. “You’re around each other so much that a family atmosphere is simply the best way to put it.”

“Everyone has a personal relationship with each other along with a business one,” adds Caine. “It’s just a warm atmosphere. We have fun and we work hard too, and I think it shows.”

Customers working with the lab not only benefit from the expertise they receive, but also in how they receive it.

“The same kind of relationship we have with each other at the lab, that same kind of warm, family-like connection, that’s what we have with a lot of our customers too,” says Soileau. “It’s something that’s really important to us and it’s how we’ve tried to handle every interaction and relationship we’ve had with our customers over the years.”

Learn more about the Houston Calibration Lab here and request a quote today! https://ow.ly/Yyj550R9b6Y

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