Astell has been helping organisations achieve effective steam sterilisation for more than 140 years. Over that time, we have learned that buying an autoclave is the start of the story, not the end: the machines that stay trustworthy are the ones that are calibrated, validated and serviced year after year. This article draws on lessons from Astell’s own service and validation records across a large installed base of laboratories.
The challenge: sterile today isn’t sterile forever
A cycle that passed on installation day is not a guarantee for the years that follow. Temperature probes drift, door seals age, steam and water supplies change, and loads evolve as the lab’s work does. Without periodic checking, “we sterilise at 121°C” quietly slides from a measured fact towards a hopeful assumption — and in a regulated or audited environment, an assumption is not evidence.
What validation actually involves
The core check is a multi-point thermometric validation. An engineer places a set of calibrated temperature probes through the chamber and into representative loads, runs the machine’s cycles, and compares the measured temperatures against a reference standard whose own calibration is traceable to national standards. Each programmed cycle is checked in turn, and the whole exercise is documented — the report that lets a lab prove, not merely state, that its loads reached temperature.
Not once, but every year
The clearest pattern in the service records is that validation is not a one-off. Machines are validated on installation and then re-validated year after year, with busy sites re-checking several autoclaves each cycle. That rhythm is what keeps the evidence current: a validation from three years ago says little about the machine today, whereas an annual record is a living chain of proof.
Why in-house engineers matter
Calibration, validation and service work best together, carried out by engineers who know the machines, arrive with reference equipment whose calibration is itself traceable, and can calibrate, validate and put right small issues in a single visit. That combination is what turns a service call from a disruption into a routine renewal of confidence.
What this means for lab managers
Treat validation and calibration as an ongoing commitment planned into the budget and the calendar, not an afterthought when an audit looms. A machine that is validated on a steady annual cycle stays trustworthy for a decade and makes an audit painless; one that is left unchecked becomes a question mark exactly when it can least afford to be.
How Astell can help
Astell’s in-house service engineers calibrate, validate and maintain autoclaves across the UK and beyond, keeping the chain of evidence current from installation onwards. If you would like to discuss a validation or service arrangement, or have another autoclave-related question, contact Astell to discuss it. With hundreds of autoclaves available, highly customisable builds, versatile installation options and an expert team of in-house service engineers, Astell has the skills and experience to help solve your steam sterilisation challenges. Contact Astell today at Info@Astell.com.
