There is described a method for calibrating or monitoring performance of an optical measurement device using an optical reference material that emits a reference emission: (a) moving, using a robotic arm, a first reference device comprising an optical reference material into a signal-detecting position of the optical measurement device; (b) detecting, using the optical measurement device, an emission emitted by the optical reference material of the first reference device in the signal-detecting position; (c) generating a reference signal representing a characteristic of the emission detected by the optical measurement device; and (d) comparing the reference signal to an expected reference signal for the emission to calibrate or monitor the performance of the optical measurement device; preferably, wherein the optical measurement device comprises a fluorometer.