FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1999-11-24

New Requirements for Calibration Labs Serving the Automotive Industry

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada is one of two accrediting bodies that will help calibration laboratories that work either directly or indirectly with the automotive industry to comply with new quality system requirements. The new specifications, which take effect on January 1, 2001, will require laboratories to be accredited by a recognized accreditation body.

The requirements are a result of QS-9000 through which labs now need to be accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 25 or national equivalent. The Standards Council of Canada and its Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN) is one of two bodies chosen by the Automotive Industry Sector Group (AISG) to accredit calibration laboratories under QS-9000.

Accreditation is the formal recognition of an organization's competence to carry out certain functions. Calibration laboratories are accredited by the Standards Council's PALCAN through partnership with the National Research Council of Canada's Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS). The program verifies that a suitable quality system is in place and carries out technical assessments and proficiency testing to assure competency to perform specific calibrations. Through such independent, third-party verification, PALCAN ensures that labs offer high-quality services that are traceable to national measurement standards.

Calibration laboratories verify the accuracy of measuring instruments and reference standards. These laboratories, through the National Research Council (NRC) and the Standards Council provide the basis for fair trade within Canada and abroad. Accredited calibration laboratories cover a wide spectrum of metrology - the system of weights and measures - from mass, length, force, pressure, time and frequency, to thermometry, humidity and electricity.

Quality System Requirements QS-9000 is the common supplier quality standard for the "Big Three" North American auto manufacturers which includes Daimler/Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation. QS-9000 is the oldest and best-known of the sector specific applications of ISO 9000. It applies only to the suppliers of production materials, production and service parts, heat treating, painting and plating and other finishing services.

The Standards Council of Canada is the federal Crown corporation that oversees Canada's National Standards System. It has accredited over 200 laboratories in a variety of general testing and specialty areas. The National Research Council of Canada is the federal Crown corporation that realizes, maintains and disseminates primary measurement standards. These primary measurement standards are accepted as equivalent to those of many national metrology institutes across the world including the United States of America.

- 30 -