MCERTS approved surveys and flow meter inspections

Flowcheck is an approved MCERTS inspection company. Their MCERTS inspectors are authorised to survey both open channel flow meters and closed pipe flow meter installations. The MCERTS emissions monitoring legislation requires that, if flow is a parameter stated on an Environment Agency emissions permit, it is a statutory requirement to have the flow meter installation inspected by an approved MCERTS inspector. Flowcheck’s MCERTS inspectors will carry out adjustments and calibrations, as required, to optimise the performance of a flow meter installation and help enable our clients to achieve MCERTS certification.

Flowcheck perform comprehensive flow meter calibrations to ensure that the flow meter and complete flow measurement system is functioning to its best accuracy. The need for accurate flow meter calibrations is becoming increasingly important in industry due to the requirements of the MCERTS scheme and the realisation that accurate flow meters can save money.

In general, flow meters will read 'high' if there are problems with the flow measurement installation or if the flow meter has gone out of calibration. This can have serious financial implications on applications where the flow meter is used as a tariff meter i.e. as a means of charging or paying for the liquid passing through the flow meter. On these installations Flowcheck can help clients save money by ensuring that the flow meter calibration is accurate, and the flow measurement system is functioning at its best, under all operational conditions.

Many of the open channel flow meter calibration calculation formulas are complex and, in practical terms, need to be performed using dedicated computer software. Flowcheck have developed their own open channel flow meter calibration software which fully replicates the computations detailed in BS3680. Using Flowcheck’s calibration software, in conjunction with the experience and specialist tools they have for setting up open channel flow meters, they can ensure that open channel flow meters are functioning to their best possible accuracy.

Unlike open channel flow meters, where all the components are clearly visible, closed pipe flow meters provide few visual clues to indicate if they are reading accurately. Many closed pipe flow meters have a proven record of good reliability and accuracy but the performance of these devices will be impaired if they have been incorrectly sized, poorly located, badly installed, or have a component malfunction. Flowcheck expertise in flow measurement enables them to identify problems within closed pipe flow meter installations. Flowcheck can perform on site calibrations of closed pipe flow meters and we can determine the uncertainty within the flow meter measurements.