Does anyone Have a phone # or e-mail of someone I could contact to get involved in a CMM Laboratory Comparison Test.
We need to something like this for compliance to ISO 17025.

Thanks,
Dave N

Here is one possible source --

National Assocoation for Proficiency Testing, http://www.proficiency.org/

They have many different programs running, and one is identified as something for a CMM. (I'm not sure what, that's not my field - I'm an electronics person.)

I would also suggest you look on the websites of A2LA, LAB or other registars. They should have suggested references for proficiency testing.

We need to something like this for compliance to ISO 17025.

Dave

First of all, welcome to the Cove!

I'm not that involved with ISO 17025 - but that is changing. Which clause are you attempting to comply with?

Bill

ISO/IEC 17025 - 1999 section 5.9.b

Thanks for your response
Dave N

Dave,

I don't see that as a requirement due to the last sentence in the paragraph above "a)". That being said, if your company decides you want "b)" as part of your regimen for assuring results, wouldn't you just need a "partner" CMM for comparison of measurements? (Any Cove member can jump in on that - please)

If that is so, we have a CMM and I would think my company (TS registered) would be responsive to a partnering (that way we could also add one of the "mays" to our list for compliance).

Bill

I agree with Bill. Proficiency programs were required back when it was a fastener act requirement in the US. Once that act left the scene A2LA and others dropped the Fastener Program from their list of accreditation programs and the requirement went with it.

We still use an in-house comparison for proficiency which was left over from our A2LA days.

Dave

D.scott,

I like the idea from Bill Ryan, but would like to know how you do your in-house comparisons as another avenue.

Thanks,
Dave N

We couldn't find anyone in our field that did proficiency tests/comparisons, so I started my own with our customers.
(We are a calibration lab for coating/plating thickness measurement equip-XRF, Eddy Current, Magnetic, Beta Backscatter, etc...)

It took a little planning and work, but A2LA understood the problem and liked what I did to solve it...

Basically we act as the pivot lab for a series of Round Robin tests...

Jerry
:frust:

Dave, we just had a pre-audit for 17025. One of the requirements before out audit was a proficiency test schedule. If we could not have any proficiency testing completed before our audit, we need to give our auditor a schedule of when it would be performed.

Now, after saying that, none of the proficiency test providers could help us because of the test methods listed in our scope. Our sister lab ran into the same thing. So after much discussion, we were told we could develope our own program between our labs. So we exchanged our lab scope's and low and behold...only two test methods are shared by us.

I'm still waiting for a reply from our auditor. Seems this requirement might need to be dropped.

Does anyone know what happened with respect to this proficiency requirement?

Corporate at my company found these guys:

http://www.hn-proficiency.com/

I just got done with the CMM interlaboratory accreditation. Waiting to hear on the results.

Let us know what happens!