ACLASS Debuts Single Process for Accreditation to Multiple Standards

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce that the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/ACLASS has begun offering environmental laboratories the opportunity to undergo concurrent accreditation to multiple relevant standards, simplifying the accreditation process and making it easier for members of the environmental laboratory community to fulfill their accreditation needs. Under the new process, laboratories may be accredited concurrently to the NELAC Institute (TNI) Volume 1: Management and Technical Requirements for Laboratories Performing Environmental Analysis, and the following standards and programs:

• ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
• U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP)
• TNI National Environmental Field Activities Program (NEFAP)

ACLASS launched this coordinated approach to accreditation to more effectively address the changing needs of environmental laboratories. In addition, ACLASS will work with laboratories that are already accredited to bolster their existing scopes of accreditation by adding compliance with TNI requirements. ACLASS provides scope expansions within reasonable timeframes to allow for adequate response to short turn-around bids and proposals. Accreditation to the TNI standard is intended to augment rather than replace state regulatory requirements, and laboratories should verify recognition of accreditation before submitting data to state regulatory bodies.

ACLASS is currently accepting new applications for accreditation of laboratories that intend to test to the TNI requirements. Interested laboratories are invited to contact Roger Muse, ACLASS director of sales and marketing, at [email protected].

About the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board provides accreditation services under the ACLASS, FQS, and ANAB brands. The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board cooperates with other accreditation bodies around the world to provide value to the organization it has accredited and their clients, ensuring that accredited certificates are recognized nationally and internationally. The global conformity assessment system ensures confidence and reduces risk for customers engaging in trade worldwide.

The following accreditation services are provided under the FQS, ACLASS, and ANAB brands:

• FQS accredits ISO/IEC 17025 forensic testing agencies and ISO/IEC 17020 forensic inspection agencies.
• ACLASS accredits ISO/IEC 17025 testing and calibration laboratories, ISO/IEC 17020 inspection bodies, ISO Guide 34 reference material producers, ISO/IEC 17043 proficiency test providers, and industry specific accreditation programs.
• ANAB is the U.S. accreditation body for management systems and accredits certification bodies for ISO 9001 quality management systems; ISO 14001 environmental management systems; ISO 13485 medical device quality management systems; ISO/IEC 20000-1 information technology service management systems; ISO 22000 food safety management systems; ISO 27001 information security management systems; ISO 28000 supply chain security management systems; ISO 50001 energy management systems; ANSI/AIHA Z10, CSA Z1000, and BS OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management systems; PS- Prep; and numerous industry-specific requirements.

About TNI
The NELAC Institute (TNI) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality through an open, inclusive, and transparent process that is responsive to the needs of the community.