You Know the Importance of Rigorous Testing. So Do Your Clients

2005-09-27

Knowing whether or not products and industrial processes meet industry standards can make or break a business. Whether testing raw or waste materials, environmental managers rely on competent laboratory tests to analyze the chemical and physical characteristics of environmental samples. To get the results they need, many are choosing a laboratory that is accredited under the Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories–Canada (PALCAN).

Under the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), PALCAN provides formal recognition of the competence of a calibration or testing laboratory to manage and perform many types of specific tests, both environmental and non-environmental. Accreditation is available for tests in the following fields: acoustics and vibration, agricultural, biological, chemical, electrical/electronic, fasteners, forensic, information technology, ionizing radiation, mechanical, nondestructive evaluation, optics and optical radiation, physical, and thermal and fire. Accreditation may also be obtained for proficiency testing and for calibration in the following fields: acoustical, dimensional, electrical and frequency, photometric as well as radiation and thermodynamics.

The demand for accredited labs is not only coming from industry, it’s also being requested by governments and the public. In many cases, the pressure for change has come as a result of large-scale public injury. A better known example is the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act which requires labs that conduct drinking water tests to be accredited by the SCC. This is a direct result of the Walkerton Inquiry recommendations. Another case in point is the 1997 Bre-X gold scam that saw thousands of investors in Canada and around the world lose millions of dollars. The investigation that followed resulted in new requirements that all labs testing gold mining samples for companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange be SCC accredited.

Your assurance of quality and technical competence

Accreditation under the SCC PALCAN program provides assurance that a given laboratory is competent to carry out specific environmental tests.  It enables Canadian laboratories to better meet their obligations to Canadian regulators and to comply with international trade agreements that rely on environmental assessment and monitoring.

The Environmental Testing program is designed for environmental laboratories that measure the chemical, radio-chemical, biological, microbiological, toxicological and related physical characteristics of environmental samples.

Experts assess the lab against internationally recognized requirements. They meet senior management, examine the facility, witness tests, review procedures, inspect calibration records and check the capability of the organization both in terms of technical staff competence and equipment maintenance. The full assessment is repeated every two years.

The SCC has been providing accreditation to testing laboratories for over twenty years.  It is a world leader in accreditation and has national and international acceptance and recognition.  SCC-accredited laboratories benefit not only from the credibility and confidence of SCC's established reputation within Canada but also from its internationally recognized credentials.

Competitive advantage through SCC

Among the business benefits of using a SCC-accredited lab are, the ability to:

• Have confidence in the data produced by testing;
• Reassure clients that products and industrial processes meet national and international technical standards; and
• Cut costs by reducing or eliminating the need for expensive testing in new markets by virtue of SCC’s membership in international Mutual Recognition Arrangements.

Global endorsement through PALCAN

The SCC has taken a number of steps to ensure that its lab accreditation is recognized by as many foreign countries as possible. Important examples of these efforts are the Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (APLAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) MRA, as well as the InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA). These agreements, which formally recognize the lab accreditation capabilities of all signatories, reduce the need for re-testing of products, saving both time and money.

PALCAN is Canada’s national voluntary program using ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for technical competence and quality in all areas of testing and calibration. SCC accreditation to this international standard is recognized in a growing number of key foreign markets through the above MRAs.

"Demand for accredited labs has increased steadily over the past few years," says SCC Conformity Assessment Director Pat Paladino. "Some of the demand reflects a growing number of companies that recognize that SCC accreditation is transportable across borders because it is based on international standards. In other cases it is due to local requirements such as those introduced by the Ministry of the Environment of Ontario, requiring all environmental labs that conduct drinking water tests to be accredited by the SCC."

There is also evidence that the accreditation process has improved quality in laboratories. Studies examining the results of lab proficiency tests have found that accredited labs consistently scored higher. They provide better quality information than their non-accredited counterparts and had fewer unsatisfactory results. Indeed, not all testing labs are alike. In and of itself, choosing a lab that is SCC–accredited, affords a certain level of assurance in the quality testing and calibration results.

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