It's late in the afternoon, you need to send out a part or material sample
for analysis, and you're trying to find a laboratory that will provide accurate
testing results while meeting your delivery requirement for the test report.
What can you do to ensure you choose a laboratory that gives you the results
you need? This isn't a new issue, and you aren't the only one who has dealt
with this situation. In fact, this issue has prompted many individuals to
become involved in determining the competency of testing laboratories.
Regardless of the service or product your company sells, the issue of the
quality of your services or products continues to increase in importance.
It's no longer acceptable to simply state that your company provides quality
products or services. Today, you must be able to demonstrate by performance
documentation that your products or services maintain certain quality levels.
Product manufacturers and manufacturing service companies have, for some
time, turned to testing laboratories to assist in demonstrating the quality
of their products or services. But who determines the quality of the testing
laboratories? How can you be assured that you're selecting a laboratory
that provides legally defensible, reproducible data? Where should you begin
your search?
In addition to occasional source listings published in trade magazines,
there are multiple industrial buyers guides that provide lists of laboratories
by specific and general testing-laboratory headings. Today, some of these
buyers guides can be easily accessed via the Internet, such as the IndustryNet
located at http://www.industry.net. In addition to industrial buyers guides,
the American Society for Testing Materials publishes the Directory of Testing
Laboratories annually. This directory is developed using completed questionnaires
submitted by the laboratories.
These sources provide you with the ability to develop a list of laboratories
to contact. However, you must be aware that the laboratories listed in these
sources aren't guaranteed to deliver accurate testing data. In fact, ASTM
states the following in multiple locations throughout its directory:
"ASTM has not attempted to investigate, rate, endorse or place a seal
of approval upon any laboratory. Nor does ASTM vouch for the qualifications
of the individual laboratories. Therefore, this Directory is not intended,
and should not be used, as an ASTM-certified laboratory list of laboratories
offering their services for either government or private work."
Once you have a list of laboratories, how can you determine which have established
quality programs? Fortunately, for almost 20 years there has been a significant
amount of activity that provides individuals with an important screening
factor for determining if a laboratory has an established quality program.
In 1977, the International Laboratory Accreditation Conference addressed
the preparation of an accrediting standard for laboratories. ILAC presented
its drafted standard to the International Organization for Standardization
for preparation as an ISO guide. In 1982, ISO/IEC Guide 25 (General Requirements
for the Competence of Calibration and Testing Laboratories) was published
as a joint effort between ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission.
Today, ISO/IEC Guide 25 has become the worldwide standard for evaluating
calibration and testing laboratories.
A 1990 revision of Guide 25 states, "Laboratories meeting the requirements
of this guide comply, for calibration and testing activities, with the relevant
requirements of the ISO 9000 series of standards." While ISO 9000 addresses
the registration of quality systems, ISO/IEC Guide 25 specifically addresses
the technical competence of a laboratory in addition to its quality system.
The use of ISO/IEC Guide 25 has increased significantly during the last
10 years. The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation uses the
ISO/IEC Guide 25 to perform laboratory audits for 11 testing fields. These
fields include acoustics and vibration, biological, calibration, chemical,
construction materials, electrical, environmental, geotechnical, mechanical,
nondestructive and thermal. As of July, A2LA had 820 accreditations in 41
states, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland and Taiwan.
To obtain a current list of A2LA-accredited laboratories, contact A2LA at
(301) 670-1377 or e-mail a2la@aol.com.
ISO/IEC Guide 25 has become a common document in the accreditation of testing
laboratories providing services to the automotive industry. The QS-9000
Quality System Requirements for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, under
Element 4.10.11, states, "Suppliers shall use accredited laboratory
facilities ..." According to QS-9000 documentation, an accredited laboratory
is defined as "one that has been reviewed and approved by an accreditation
body-e.g., American Association for Laboratory Accreditation."
In 1991, some aerospace defense contractors joined together to explore the
possibility of establishing an organization that could perform laboratory
audits and allow the companies involved to share audit data. This approach
eliminates the need for companies to maintain their own internal audit organizations.
The result of this approach is the Performance Review Institute, which administers
the National Aerospace and Defense Contractor Accreditation Program. For
more information on PRI and NADCAP, please call PRI at (412) 772-1616.
A few years ago, only large manufacturers could afford to have an in-house
staff conduct auditing outside testing laboratories. Usually, these large
manufacturers had significant vendor bases, and their objective was to ensure
that their vendors used a laboratory that could provide accurate testing
data. With the current pressure in most industries to reduce manufacturing
costs, the ability to maintain an internal staff that audits external laboratories
has received a significant amount of attention. One outcome has been the
establishment of organizations dedicated to auditing laboratories' quality
programs.
In addition to looking for specific accreditations, you'll want to know
if the laboratory currently participates in any proficiency testing services.
A laboratory's ability to provide accurate data has been, and continues
to be, assessed by performing what has been referred to as proficiency/round-robin
testing. This testing process involves multiple laboratories that perform
a standard analysis to determine if laboratories obtain the same testing
data. Round-robin testing programs are sometimes conducted by material producers
or manufacturers in addition to testing laboratories. If the laboratory
is A2LA- or NADCAP-accredited, it's required to participate in proficiency
and round-robin testing based on the specific accred-itation(s) of that
laboratory.
Using the A2LA and/or NADCAP accreditations as an initial screening process
for selecting a laboratory results in a list of laboratories whose quality
programs have been reviewed by outside organizations. These laboratories
will have demonstrated their ability to provide consistently accurate data.
Knowing that the laboratory you select has a proven quality program allows
you to focus on turnaround time and other service factors.
You will want to inquire about the turnaround time needed to accomplish
your specific testing requirement-which depends on the laboratory's staff,
equipment and current workload. You will want to determine if the laboratory
has an internal, automated laboratory information system that provides the
laboratory staff with the exact status of your analysis and when it is expected
to be completed. You should also know how the report will be delivered.
Will the report be faxed and/or mailed? Experience shows that when most
companies send a sample to a laboratory for testing, they need an immediate
response-sometimes that means yesterday.
Fortunately, the development of the ISO/IEC Guide 25, the NADCAP process,
auditing organizations such as PRI and A2LA, and proficiency testing have
made it possible for you to locate material-testing laboratories that are
highly competent. You are now able to select a laboratory while having a
high degree of confidence in the accuracy of the testing data.
About the author
Walter W. Brown II is vice president of marketing for Sherry Laboratories.
Since 1947, Sherry Laboratories has been providing metallurgical, materials
and environmental testing services to multiple industries, including: aerospace,
automotive, defense, medical, nuclear, petrochemical, refining and general
manufacturing. With laboratories in Indiana, Louisiana and Oklahoma, Sherry
Laboratories provides testing services to more than 3,500 U.S. and international
clients.
For additional information, contact Sherry Laboratories at (800) 874-3563,
fax (317) 747-0228 or visit their Web site at http://www.industry.net/sherry.
laboratories.