Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
A state-of-the-art calibration laboratory for research and service purposes

Gas Technology Centre (GASTEG) is a center of excellence for promoting training, research and service activities. It is one of the first centers of its kind in Southeast Asia and targeted to become a prime reference for the regional gas industry. GASTEG is a strategic business and learning unit for the Faculty of Natural Gas and Resources Engineering in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Dr. Rahmat Mohsin, Director of GASTEG, envisions continuous development and applications in the advancement of research methodology and the commercialization of the findings to enhance the market demands of local R&D, especially from the university.

The situation
Dr. Rahmat Mohsin has been familiar with Beamex calibration equipment since 1994, when the first units of PC106 and TC305 were purchased for research and development applications in GASTEG’s laboratory. The laboratory was established for the purpose of training in process measurement, as well as understanding calibration and its applications. At present, GASTEG also provides extensive support services with their Beamex calibration equipment.

Calibration has an important role in the GASTEG laboratory. “It is crucial for us to accurately measure data for pressure, temperature and instrument signals in our research work. The process instruments we are using require high-accuracy calibration and the calibrators have been able to provide us excellent results,” Dr. Rahmat Mohsin explains. “It is imperative to provide research students with the best possible instruments for them to excel,” Dr. Rahmat Mohsin continues.

The solution and main benefits
GASTEG’s quality system complies with ISO9001:2000 and ISO 17025, along with other standards that address safety and environment management. At the moment, GASTEG is utilizing Beamex’s MC5 multifunction calibrators, MCS100 workstations and CMX calibration management software. They chose Beamex equipment because of its reliability, performance in terms of accuracy, user-friendliness and also the flexibility of the calibrators to cater to various measuring applications with their all-in-one functionality. The all-in-one functionality turned out to be a very cost-effective feature compared to buying multiple instruments with a single function or just a few functions.

As a research institute, GASTEG naturally possesses very demanding requirements for the calibration equipment they choose. “Excellent documentation capabilities and automation wherever possible,” says Dr. Rahmat Mohsin as he points out two of the most important requirements for choosing a calibration system. “This we saw in the Beamex calibrators, both in terms of their built-in documentation and their ability to transfer highly documented references to calibration management software in the form of calibration and environment data,” Dr. Rahmat Mohsin explains. CMX calibration management software minimizes the required work procedures and time while providing a central reference point for instrument and document management.

The results have been impressive. The calibration laboratory at the GASTEG center is not just for research purposes. “We decided to further expand the laboratory to provide calibration services for outside companies as this laboratory supports comprehensive recalibration services and documentation for pressure, temperature, frequency and electrical parameters,” Dr. Rahmat Mohsin describes. The Beamex partner in Malaysia has been very supportive in all aspects. “The laboratory was also made possible from the commitment, extensive support services and consultancy provided by NV Technical & Training Services in Malaysia over the past years,” Dr. Rahmat Mohsin concludes.