It is important for manufacturers (of food products especially) to be sure that their flow-measurement equipment is performing within its designed specifications. Equipment that is not configured or operating correctly can over-read or under-read, dosing too little or too much of a
particular liquid into the mix. This can cause changes to the finished product and cost the company a considerable amount of money over time, likewise for the measurement of Clean In Place chemicals and effluent discharge.
A series of tests are performed over the flow range in which the meter operates. This generally consists of five results: upper and lower limits, midpoint and two intermediate points.The results obtained are compared for flow rate against K-factor/meter error; any results that show a marked deviation from the line of best fit are repeated. This either confirms the result or eliminates an error.