The sweltering temperatures experienced in much of the UK during summer 2006 led many people to spend a lot of time checking thermometers and other temperature-monitoring equipment
As temperatures continued to rise, media attention focused on whether the records would be broken - but little attention was given to whether the equipment being used to monitor the temperature was doing so accurately.
Of course, technicians, engineers and scientists don't need exceptionally hot weather to remind them of the importance of accurate temperature measurement.
In many applications and production processes, variations in temperature can make the critical difference between success and failure.
Martin Kulin, MD of family-owned calibration laboratory Hitek Calibration, says that "despite the importance of accurate measurement - many companies and laboratories aren't getting their equipment calibrated regularly enough.
"Modern equipment is highly accurate and a lot more reliable than in years gone by," he explained.
"But things can still go wrong and when temperature measurement is crucial it makes sense to have all measuring and monitoring equipment checked on a regular basis".
Hitek has invested in a mobile testing facility which can calibrate equipment on the customer's site so avoiding unnecessary equipment downtime.
The facility can calibrate from -20C to +650C in relative humidities between 20%RH and 80%RH (comparison method).
It can calibrate a wide range of temperature and humidity testing measuring equipment including mercury-in-house-glass thermometers, thermistors, thermocouples, thermohydrographs, digital thermometers and metal block temperature calibrators.
