ADVANCED TECHNICAL

CALIBRATION
SERVICE COMPANY
FOR INDUSTRIAL INSPECTION & RADIOLOGICAL SERVICES WLL LABORATORY

SINGLE GAS DETECTOR (MSA ALTAIR 2X)

Procedure No. L3-ATS-CAL-14

Revision No. 0

Date 01-January-2019

Purpose Implementation

Prepared By Manivasagan Subramanian

Reviewed By Jeffry Rozario

Approved By Jijo Chakkappan

TITLE : MSA ALTAIR 2X CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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REVISION RECORD SHEET

NOTES

i) Revisions after Rev. 0 are denoted by a vertical line in the left hand margin
against the revised text, with the revision number displayed next to the revision
line as shown on the left.

ii) Revision numbers are A, B, C, etc. up to the issue for management approval
and implementation, which is Rev. 0. Subsequent revisions shall be 1, 2, 3,
etc.

No. Date Description of Revision Prepared Review Approved

Issued for approval &

0 01-Jan-2019 MS JR JC
implementation

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TITLE : MSA ALTAIR 2X CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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Table of Contents

S/No. Description Page No.

1.0 Purpose 4

2.0 Scope 4

3.0 Reference 4

4.0 Definitions 4

5.0 Responsibilities 5

6.0 Calibration Conditions 5

7.0 General Guidelines 5

8.0 Calibration Procedure 9

9.0 Records 10

10.0 Attachments 10

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TITLE : MSA ALTAIR 2X CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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1.0 PURPOSE
1.1 The purpose of this work instruction is to ensure that standard practices /
methods of Calibration are followed to obtain reproducible and comparable
results and this document shall be revised as and when required to meet
specific requirements of the project to become a project specific work
instruction.

2.0 SCOPE
2.1 This work instruction is applicable for ATSi’s Calibration Laboratory to
carryout calibration of single gas detectors at Lab. temperature as per
applicable international standards/methods.
2.2 Calibration of Altair 2X model.

3.0 REFERENCE
3.1 Documents used: MSA Altair Pro User Manual
3.2 Valid Calibration Check Gas (H2S, CO, Cl2, NH3) from MSA or equivalent.

4.0 DEFINITIONS
4.1 Altair 2X: is a type of Single gas detector from MSA Safety Company. A
variety of gases can be detected depending upon the sensor installed.
4.2 TWA : Time–weighted average (TWA) is the average exposure of a chemical
substance over a specified period of time, usually a nominal 8 hrs.
4.3 STEL : Short term exposure limits (STEL) is one that addresses the average
exposure of a chemical substance over a 15-30 minute period of maximum
exposure during a single work shift.
4.4 UUT : Unit Under Test
4.5 H2S : Hydrogen Sulfide
4.6 CO : Carbon Monoxide
4.7 Cl2 : Chlorine
4.8 NH3 : Ammonia
4.9 ppm : Parts per million
4.10 PPE : Personal Protective Equipment

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TITLE : MSA ALTAIR 2X CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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5.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1 All the Operators/Technicians perfoming the Calibration shall be trained by
ATS.

6.0 CALIBRATION CONDITIONS

6.1 Lab. Temperature : (21±2) °C
6.2 Relative Humidity : (<70) % RH

7.0 GENERAL GUIDELINES

7.1 The calibration should be performed in the controlled environment only. Both
the UUT and Reference Standard equipment should be placed in controlled
environmental condition as mentioned above for at least 30 min warm up.
7.2 The technician performing calibration shall ensure the following before starting
calibration:
 Calibration Check Gas validity need to be verified.
 Ensure required PPE are used such as Gas protective mask.
 Ensure required first aid kit is placed near to the calibration desk.
 Keep one calibrated gas detector in ON condition on the calibration
desk near to the UUT for instant gas leak detection.
 Ensure adequate exhaust arrangement in the calibration area.
7.3 Activating / Deactivating the detector:

MODEL ACTIVATION DEACTIVATION

Press TEST button and hold

Press TEST button in a
Altair Pro until the OFF countdown is
normal atmosphere.
complete.

7.4 Confidence indicator flashes once in every 60 seconds to indicate the user
that the instrument is ON and operating normally.

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Code No. Description

1 Visual alarm indicators (LEDs)

2 IR interface

3 Sensor and Sensor Screen

4 Safe LED (Green)

5 TEST Bsuttons

6 Liquid crystal display (LCD)

7 Gas Type

8 Audible alarm

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7.5 Detection ranges of Gas Alert Extreme:

RANGE RESOLUTION
DETECTOR TYPE
ppm ppm

H2S 0 – 200 1

CO 0 – 1999

NH3 0 – 100 1

Cl2 0 – 10.0 0.05

7.6 The detector shall be calibrated using the following recommended calibration
gas mixture:

REFERENCE CONCENTRATION
DETECTOR TYPE
GAS ppm

H2S H2S 20 ppm

CO CO 60 ppm

NH3 NH3 25 ppm

Cl2 Cl2 10 ppm

7.7 Alarm set points:

ALARM H2S CO NH3 Cl2

Low Alarm 10 ppm 25 ppm 25 ppm 0.5 ppm

High Alarm 15 ppm 100 ppm 50 ppm 1 ppm
TWA Alarm 10 ppm 25 ppm 25 ppm 0.5 ppm
STEL Alarm 15 ppm 100 ppm 35 ppm 1 ppm

7.8 Trouble Shooting:

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PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE SOLUTION

MEM RST Data Error. Calibrate device. Reconfigure

any custom settings (Alarm
Set points, data log, etc...).

PCB ERR Electronic Component

Error. Contact MSA.

PRG ERR Program Memory Error.

Contact MSA.

RAM ERR RAM Error.

Contact MSA.

UNK ERR Unknown Error.

Contact MSA.

LED/ERR Sensor Error.

Contact MSA.

Sensor warning.
♥ Sensor is near the end of its
life.

Sensor alarm.
♥&
Sensor has reached the end
of its life and cannot be
calibrated.
Replace sensor and
recalibrate.
Battery warning (no alarm).
Remove from service as soon
as possible and replace
battery.

BATT Battery empty (with alarm –

Device is no longer sensing
ERR flash LEDs, horn).
gas. Remove from service
and replace battery.
Device does not Low battery.
turn ON Replace battery.

8.0 CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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TITLE : MSA ALTAIR 2X CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

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8.1 UUT shall be visually inspected and cleaned using a soft damp cloth or
standard meter cleaner prior to performing calibration of the detector. Clean
the sensor screen with a soft brush to avoid any sensor block from dust, if
required replace the sensor screen.
8.2 Turn “ON” the detector an LCD functional test activates the cell segments and
the horn, LED’s and the vibrator.
8.3 The software version displays for 3 seconds.
8.4 The instrument gas type displays for 3 seconds (CO, H2S, O2 etc.).
8.5 Low alarm, high alarm, STEL and TWA alarm set points displays for 3
seconds.
8.6 At a normal measuring mode.Press button for one second to access the
information page.
8.7 When ZERO? Is displayed, press the button for a zero calibration.
8.8 During the setup, the hour glass, the no calibration gas icon and the
measured Gas concentration are displayed.
8.9 If the zero Cal operation fails, ERR is displayed. The device returns to normal
operation after a button press.
8.10 If the zero calibration is successful, PASS is displayed followed by SPAN?
8.11 During the SPAN? Display, press the button to start the calibration mode.
8.12 Feed test gas into the device:
8.13 Connect the regulator (screwed on the calibration gas cylinder) and the
sensor opening with a tube and open the regulator.
8.14 The current gas-reading, hourglass and calibration gas cylinder icon are
displayed.
8.15 If calibration is successful, PASS is displayed and the device returns to
normal operating mode. Close the regulator.
8.16 WAIT is displayed together with the “no gas cylinder” icon.
8.17 This shows that the regulator must be closed and the calibration gas must be
removed from the device. The device will then return to normal operating
mode.

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8.18 If the span calibration fails, ERR is displayed. The device returns to normal
operation after a button press.
8.19 If calibration fails, check:
 Whether the sensor inlet or sensor surface is dirty,
 Whether the correct test gas was used,
 Whether the test gas cylinder is empty or the date has expired,
 Whether the test gas hose was connected to the sensor
8.20 If necessary, repeat the calibration.
8.21 PASS is displayed. Otherwise (ERR), the device must be taken out of use.
If the calibration is successful, a √ is displayed for 24 hours. If the safe LED
(green) option is enabled, the green LEDs will flash periodically.

9.0 RECORDS
9.1 Measurement/Reading shall be recorded in the appropriate Check
List/Formats given the Attachment.

9.2 The test report should contain the following information as minimum.
 Client/Customer Name
 Instrument Manufacturer, Make, Model, Range, Serial No & Accuracy
 Test results

10.0 ATTACHMENT

S.No Format No. Description

1 L4-ATS-CAL-C-02 Single Gas Detector

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