Calibration protocol and lab partners

Who calibrates PiHue's weighing scale?

The digital weighing scale used to weigh every finished rug is calibrated every three months through IICT Bhadohi — the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, the national carpet technology institute for India, located in the same town as PiHue's factory. IICT supplies result papers from each calibration; there is no calibration certificate in the QC pack, and PiHue does not claim one. What travels with the shipment is the QC slip per rug; the IICT calibration record is held at the factory and available for a buyer's audit.

What is IICT Bhadohi?

IICT — the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology — is India's national institute for carpet technology, based in Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh, the same town where PiHue operates. It provides testing, calibration, technology transfer and technician training for the Indian carpet industry, and for a Bhadohi manufacturer it is the natural calibration authority. Its national-institute status makes the calibration record independently referenceable, which matters for hospitality and contract buyers whose compliance teams want traceable calibration.

Beyond scale calibration, IICT performs wool content testing and hexapod testing for PiHue. Wool content testing quantifies the actual wool percentage in yarn or a finished sample — useful where a specification calls for 100% wool or a specific blend ratio. Hexapod testing is a mechanical wear test that simulates traffic on a floor covering; specifications that reference hexapod results reference an accepted industry method.

Which other tools are on the QC bench, and what are they for?

The full materials testing bench holds a wrap reel, an analytical balance, a twist tester, a hot-air oven, a digital weighing scale, a measuring tape, and standard laboratory equipment for a textile-testing bench.

• Wrap reel — takes a measured length of yarn for count and twist testing.
• Analytical balance — weighs yarn and fibre samples where finer resolution than the platform scale is needed.
• Twist tester — measures yarn ply twist (turns per unit length).
• Hot-air oven — for moisture-content determination and controlled drying of test specimens.
• Digital weighing scale (10 g accuracy) — for whole finished rugs.
• Measuring tape — for the length-and-width dimensional verification that runs on every rug.

Which third-party labs does PiHue work with?

Four named third-party partners cover the tests we do not run in-house:

• Hohenstein, Germany — issues our Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification (base class).
• Eurofins Product Testing India, Gurgaon — runs the monthly random Chem-ST restricted-substances panel, plus California Prop 65 clearance and REACH SVHC statements on request.
• Intertek — established relationship; per project on request for any test not covered by the routine partners.
• SGS — established relationship; per project on request for any test not covered by the routine partners.

Routing between Intertek and SGS is chosen per project by turnaround at the specific facility, the buyer's compliance team preference, or the buyer's existing account. All four partners publish their ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation scopes on their own websites, and a buyer's compliance team can verify a specific test scope directly with the lab before commissioning.

What is ISO/IEC 17025 and why does it matter?

ISO/IEC 17025 is the international standard for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories — a lab holding 17025 accreditation has been externally audited on its measurement uncertainty, chain-of-custody protocols, technician competence and equipment calibration. Test reports from a 17025-accredited lab carry weight with customs, retailers, insurance and building certification programmes.

Each of PiHue's third-party partners publishes their current 17025 scope; a buyer can verify the specific accreditation reference directly with the lab before commissioning work. This is why routine and on-request testing is routed through recognised international labs rather than through cheaper alternatives whose scope cannot be independently checked.

How does a buyer independently verify a report?

Each third-party report cites the lab's 17025 accreditation reference and a unique report number; the buyer can independently verify the report by contacting the lab with the report number and confirming it was issued to the specimen described. Intertek, SGS and Eurofins operate report-verification portals; Hohenstein confirms certificate status on request. PiHue shares the report reference so the buyer can verify without needing to trust our forwarded copy.

What does the buyer receive with a shipment?

Every shipment carries the QC slips for every rug in the shipment — GSM, measured length and width, skew, and net and gross weight per piece. Test reports from the routine third-party partners (Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certificate, most recent monthly Chem-ST panel) are available on request to any buyer whose account is open. The IICT calibration record is held at the factory and available for a buyer's audit if requested.