|
|
ACLASS Signs International Cooperation Agreement American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Release date: December 22, 2008
ACLASS Signs International Cooperation Agreement for Reference Material Producers, Maintains APLAC MRA Status for Calibration and Testing
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-American Society for Quality (ASQ) National Accreditation Board / ACLASS has signed the Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) mutual recognition arrangement (MRA) for reference material producer accreditation. The signing ceremony took place in conjunction with the 14th APLAC General Assembly and Technical Meetings held December 6-12, 2008, in Singapore.
A regional cooperation of bodies that recognize laboratories, inspection bodies, and reference material producers, APLAC promotes international acceptance of endorsed test, calibration, and inspection reports and other documents issued by laboratories and inspection bodies accredited by signatories to the APLAC MRA.
ACLASS is one of only five accreditation bodies worldwide that have been approved to sign the MRA for reference material producers, also known as RMPs. The RMP arena encompasses potential accredited areas entailing a lengthy list of materials use for critical and measurable properties such as biological, chemical, clinical, pharmacological, food, physical, mechanical, engineering, environmental, and forensic sciences. Accredited RMPs must meet the international requirements of ISO Guide 34, General requirements for the competence of reference material producers.
"Much of the value of RMP accreditation relates to international confidence in the RMPs themselves," Dr. Bill Hirt, ACLASS Senior Accreditation Manager, said. "This leads to international trade assurances, and assurances that international guidelines are followed in the production, labeling, and assignment of property values to the materials, including stability and homogeneity determinations."
At the meetings in Singapore, ACLASS was also approved for continued status as an APLAC MRA signatory for calibration and testing. Approval to sign the APLAC MRAs is granted only after a rigorous peer evaluation, which is conducted every four years after MRA signatory status is attained.
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board provides accreditation services under the ACLASS and ANAB brands.
Under the ACLASS brand, the organization accredits ISO/IEC 17025 testing and calibration laboratories, ISO/IEC 17020 inspection bodies, and ISO Guide 34 reference material producers.
Under the ANAB brand, the organization 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 22000 food safety management systems; ISO 28000 supply chain security management systems; ISO/IEC 20000-1 information technology service management systems; ISO 27001 information security management systems; ANSI/AIHA Z10, CSA Z1000, and BS?OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management systems, and numerous industry-specific requirements.
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board is a member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), and is a signatory of the ILAC and IAF multilateral recognition arrangements. Through these arrangements, 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.
For more information about ACLASS, visit www.aclasscorp.com.
For more information about ANAB, visit www.anab.org.
Company Information:
Name: American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Address: 11 West 42nd St., 13th Flr.
City: New York
State: NY
ZIP: 10036
Country: USA
Phone: 212-642-4900
http://www.ansi.org/
|
del.icio.us
DIGG
Facebook
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Twitter
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
