Accreditation Scheme:relationships between ANSI, NIST, NCSL, ILAC, APLAC, NCCLS, etc.

Would anyone venture to explain to me the relationships between ANSI, NIST, NCSL, ILAC, APLAC, NCCLS, etc.? I think I understand the ISO & QS-9000 certification scheme, but I do not have a clear understanding of the Accreditation Scheme (as for all the different bodies / organizations).


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I am not answering my question! I just read an Article on the INMS website (Canada's Institute of National Measurement Standards). [The address is http://www.nrc.ca/inms/inmse.html] The article "ISO/IEC Guide 25 - Above and Beyond ISO 9000" was informative in formulating the Laboratory Accreditation Scheme. But it raised a question as to the USA scheme. It stated: "Other countries have severalaccreditation bodies that offer services on a national, and sometimes international, basis and then there is the USA where there are in excess of 150 laboratory accreditation bodies." This does not jive with the understanding that the US has two accreditation bodies the NVLAP and the A2LA that issue accreditations in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 25. What gives?

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No this is not the answer either! But I'm still working on it. I did find two other sources which help in trying to understand the various relationships. One was the ILAC-12:1994, Testing, Quality Assurance, Certification and Accreditation. [Their address is http://www.ilac.org/] The other was the ANSI website that describes the many facets of their organization. [Their address is http://web.ansi.org/]. Wonder if I'll ever get a clear picture of how all these organizations make up the Accreditation Scheme?

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[Marc]

Sorry none of us can help, Doug. I personally appreciate your stopping back and leting us know what you do find out. It's good to have the info as a resource here.

Thanks for the inputs!