Important Notice For Calibration Laboratories Serving
the Automotive Industry

Is your company a commercial or independent calibration facility providing calibration support to the automotive industry? If so, you have most likely heard about the new requirement in Clause 4.11.2.b.1 of QS-9000:1998 Third Edition that states "Commercial/independent calibration facilities shall be accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 25 or national equivalent or have evidence, e.g. assessment by an OEM customer or an OEM customer-approved second party, that they meet the intent of ISO/IEC Guide 25 or national equivalent."

The International Automotive Sector Group, IASG, included the following related information item on their January 22, 1999 posting at the ASQ web site (www.asq.org/standcert/qs-9000/sancl.html): "Due to a current lack of suppliers of accredited calibration services for calibration laboratories, compliance with QS-9000:1998 Third Edition laboratory requirements, 4.11.2.b.1, may be satisfied if the supplier has a documented plan to assure that, effective January 1, 2001, the supplier is fully in compliance with the QS-9000:1998 Third Edition cl. 4.11.2.b.1." In other words, calibration laboratories that intend to meet the clause by seeking accreditation must achieve accreditation by January 1, 2001.

A large number of calibration services are expected to seek compliance with the requirements stated above by applying for laboratory accreditation through A2LA. In anticipation of another spike in calibration applications, A2LA has hired additional staff and is currently training a number of new calibration assessors. It should be noted, however, that the average time for a well-prepared laboratory to achieve accreditation is seven (7) months. Due to the need to develop measurement uncertainty budgets and undergo artifact measurement audits, calibration laboratories can take longer. As such, A2LA is making the following announcement:

Calibration laboratories that intend to meet cl. 4.11.2.b.1 by obtaining A2LA accreditation to ISO/IEC Guide 25 by January 1, 2001 must submit a complete application by no later than December 31, 1999.

Incomplete applications or applications received after December 31, 1999 will continue to be processed in order of receipt. However, A2LA cannot ensure that late or incomplete applicants will be able to complete the accreditation process by the January 1, 2001 deadline noted in the IASG interpretations. Regardless of the date of application, any laboratory that is unable to demonstrate full compliance with the A2LA accreditation requirements will not achieve accreditation until all non-conformities are fully corrected.

If you have any questions related to this topic or wish to obtain an application package, please contact one of the following A2LA staff members:

Thomas Adams, A2LA Program Manager - Calibration - 301 644 3219 Joe Kane, A2LA Laboratory Services Officer - Calibration - 301 644 3220 Warren Merkel, A2LA Operations Manager - 301 644 3204 Ramona J. Saar, A2LA Quality Manager - 301 644 3201

Calibration Program Status
As of June 2, 1999, there are 53 A2LA-accredited calibration laboratories and an additional 83 calibration laboratories seeking accreditation. The list of A2LA's accredited calibration laboratories can be downloaded from our web site at www.a2la.org. For a copy of our Calibration Directory that includes the specific scopes of accreditation, please contact A2LA Headquarters at 301 644 3248.

Written by: Ramona J. Saar, A2LA Quality Manager

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