FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NIST 96-25
July 16, 1996
Contact: Roger Rensberger LAB ACCREDITATION GROUP
(301) 975-2762 OFFERS A "VISION" FOR A
media@nist.gov SIMPLIFIED SYSTEM TO
IMPROVE TRADE
A "vision" for U.S. laboratory accreditation in the 21st century
has been developed that defines an improved national system that could
eliminate duplication of effort, save money and increase U.S.
competitiveness in domestic and global markets.
This vision for improving laboratory accreditation in the United
States was presented at a recent open forum sponsored by the Commerce
Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology at the
request of the American National Standards Institute and ACIL, formerly
known as the American Council of Independent Laboratories.
This view of the future describes a U.S. system that could lead to
a cooperative relationship between the public and private sectors. In
turn, such a relationship would result in a simplified system whereby a
testing laboratory will be accredited in a given field of testing, with
worldwide recognition of the laboratory's competence; and the user will
benefit from a test performed once, with worldwide acceptance of the
assessment.
The vision statement was developed by the steering group of the
Laboratory Accreditation Working Group. The LAWG was sponsored by NIST
at the request of ANSI and ACIL to evaluate the current situation in
laboratory accreditation in the United States and to propose an improved
system. The group confirmed there is widespread agreement within
industry and government that the current situation results in
unnecessary burden.
The steering group of the LAWG consists of the three sponsoring
organizations and representatives from each of the stakeholders:
laboratories, accreditors, and the government and private-sector
entities that require accreditation of laboratories for their own
purposes.
The open forum was held to explore the issues, seek ways to improve
the nation's infrastructure for laboratory accreditation and arrive at a
consensus plan. In the forum, reports from the different sectors,
including international trade experts, focused on the need for agreement
on common procedures, reduction of overlapping and duplicate programs,
and the development of coordination among sectors. The invited speakers
presented examples of multiple, often duplicative accreditation required
by organizations in government and the private sector that results in
the loss of time, money, and domestic and international acceptance of
accreditation.
The keynote addresses included a historical review of prior efforts
to streamline the laboratory accreditation infrastructure; an overview
of how failure to accept competent testing by accredited laboratories
affects commercial trade relations (especially when the lack of common
procedures and mutual recognition agreements limits the free trade of
products designed for acceptance in overseas markets); and a description
of the procedures followed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service
and the European cooperation on Accreditation of Laboratories, known as
EAL.
In addition to the vision statement put forth by the LAWG steering
group to provide a philosophy for developing broad cooperation on
accreditation procedures and infrastructure that would be much more
effective than the present chaotic system and which would meet the needs
of all those affected by laboratory accreditation, a set of principles
was offered as a guide for developing a possible infrastructure. The
principles include recognition of qualified, competent organizations
that accredit laboratories, the use of procedures and requirements based
on international standards and guides, elimination of domestic barriers,
and improved access to foreign markets for U.S. products.
Single copies of the report, Proceedings of the Open Forum on
Laboratory Accreditation, NIST Special Publication 902, are available
from the Office of Standards Services, Room 282 Building 820, NIST,
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4000, fax: (301) 963-2871,
e-mail: jbaker@nist.gov.
As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology
Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with
industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.
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EDITORS' NOTE: NIST administers the National Voluntary Laboratory
Accreditation Program that was established in 1976. NVLAP provides
third-party accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories.
Accreditation programs are established in response to mandates or
requests from private-sector organizations. NVLAP is in full conformance
with the standards of the International Organization for Standardization
and the International Electrotechnical Commission, including ISO Guides
25 and 58.
News and general information on the National Institute of Standards and
Technology is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov.