FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1999-07-26

Innovative SCC Program Levels the International Field for Accredited Laboratories

Laboratories accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) are one step closer to having their accreditation recognized in countries like Australia, Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Accreditation bodies from those and other countries have signed the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC). The Standards Council could sign the MRA as early as this November, thanks to a favourable APLAC assessment.

Signing the arrangement will allow other countries to recognize accreditation by the Standards Council's Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN) as equivalent to their own. That means that tests performed by Standards Council-accredited laboratories will have greater acceptance in other countries, and, as a result, Canadian products may enjoy easier access to foreign markets. And that, says Art Kempthorne of the Canadian Plywood Association, could make a big difference.

"We've obtained independent recognition in a number of countries at a considerable cost," says Mr. Kempthorne. "Recognition by those countries of SCC accreditation should result in significant savings in cost and time associated with our current acceptances, and provide others we don't yet have."

Once the Standards Council has completed some required work, it will be ready to join such signatories as the National Institute of Standards and Technology National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NIST/NVLAP) in the United States and the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) in Australia.

During the assessment, APLAC auditors were so impressed by the Standards Council's innovative method of providing accreditation through partnerships that some even plan to bring the concept home. Under the partnerships, the Canadian Association for Environmental Analytical Laboratories and the National Research Council provide technical and quality system expertise in assessing laboratories and the Standards Council provides the accreditation.

The Standards Council of Canada is the federal Crown corporation that oversees the National Standards System. Its Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN) has accredited over 200 laboratories in a variety of general testing and specialty areas.

The Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation was initiated in 1992 to enable accreditation bodies to share information, harmonize procedures and develop Mutual Recognition Arrangements, which enable endorsed test and inspection results to be recognized across national borders.

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