XRF Calibration Best Practices for Field Teams
Calibration drift costs trust — a practical guide to daily checks, standards, and documentation.
Specelex Team · 2025-06-18
Portable XRF accuracy depends on a disciplined calibration program. Here is what field teams should standardize.
Daily startup
1. Power on and warm up per manufacturer spec (typically 30–60 seconds for Specelex)
2. Run check sample on a certified stainless or alloy standard
3. Log result, operator ID, and instrument serial in your LIMS or PDF template
4. If drift exceeds tolerance, run recalibration before production measurements
Weekly / monthly
- Verify multiple standards across your element range (e.g. 316 SS + pure Cu)
- Inspect window and nose for contamination
- Update firmware and grade libraries when released
Audit trail
Regulated industries (oil & gas, aerospace, pharma) require traceable calibration records. Specelex cloud reporting timestamps every check sample reading with GPS and operator ID.
See our [PMI Checklist](/en/pmi-checklist) and [Academy: PMI Field Workflow](/en/academy/pmi-field-workflow) for integrated workflows.