17025 Accreditation Audit - Test Laboratory

[CINDY]

17025 Accreditation Lab - Test

It seems that for Quality and EMS we have an area to announce when you receive your certification or pass your audit. I did not find a laboratory thread for this.

So here it is....

We are having our accreditation audit tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. I want everyone to know it. We passed our readiness review with only 3 areas to improve upon. I am hoping tomorrow and the following days go equally as well.

I will let everyone know how it goes.

Cindy

 

[Jimmy Olson]

Good luck Cindy.


Just out out of curiosity, are you going through A2LA or a regular registrar?

 

[CINDY]

We originally tried to go through A2LA but they are so back logged and have a long wait. We are going through L.A.B. We like our auditor and he is knowledgeable in our area of testing, which is another factor.

Cindy

 

[D.Scott]

Good luck Cindy. Sounds like you are more than prepared.

Congratulations in advance.

Dave

 

[CINDY]

Actually, we will need all the luck. The lab has been doing this for 15 years but they are new to systems and you know how those engineers are....

 

[CINDY]

Yesterday went better than expected. We are expected to receive one minor and two majors from day one.

The minor was issued because the Lab Manager wrote over an error and did not cross it out, initial it, and write the correct entry next to it.

The Majors are for uncertainty. The lab is trying not to do uncertainty but it is obvious they cannot avoid it any longer. They also need to reference and apply astm or mil etc standards, again they were trying to stay away from this but it is obvious they cannot.

Better than I expected!

The good new, my manuals or procedure were just as they should have been. Let's hope day 2 and 3 are equally as good.

Cindy

 

[D.Scott]

Sorry to hear about the majors. They should be very easy to correct though. The references are a case of adding the ASTM/Standard/test to the procedure. Don't forget to include the same on the test report. The ASTM (etc.) # should also be stated on the Lab Scope for each test you are accredited to. Good luck on the rest of the audit.

Dave

 

[CINDY]

The auditor just left for the day and the observations of the day are one OFI.

We still have the uncertainty issues but after a conference call with the head of the accreditation bureau, we have a clear means to clean things up. The auditor has been very impressed with our lab and I learned a few things myself.

Out of all the audits I have ever participated in, this is by far the most successful. And, I have had audits were no nonconformance were noted.

Dave, Thank you, and you know what for. If you are ever in the area and would like a tour, its on me.

Two down and one to go. What a good day.

Cindy

 

[CINDY]

Our audit ended yesterday! Best audit I have ever participated in. We received on minor and two majors just as mentioned earlier. The majors were for uncertainty of measurement. We feel confident that we can make the appropriate corrections with some effort and will have our certificate in about 60 days.

The auditor recommended that we stop reading how to do uncertainty and only stick to 5 standards that we use most frequently that we can apply easily. Makes since, and made this mind attacking monster go away.

This is our second out of three certifications planned. The first was equally as bad as this one was good. If I could bottle this auditor and sell him, I would be rich enough to quit work for the rest of my life. He works for L.A.B. and is quite knowledgeable in his area.

Cindy

 

[Jimmy Olson]

Congrats Cindy. Sounds like you should have that certificate proudly displayed on the wall soon.