The 2017 A2LA Assessor of the Year award was presented to Mr. John Knicely on April 1, 2017. Previously the Lab Manager for Banks Brothers Corporation, located in Hagerstown, MD, John has extensive background in testing of rubber, foam, plastic and adhesive for the automotive industry.

Since the New Year began, A2LA is pleased to welcome Four new staff members to the A2LA team!

CASCO ISO/IEC 17025 WG44 held its second drafting group (DG) meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on May 1 - 3, 2017 at the NRC office. 18 delegates were in attendance. A2LA was represented by Trace McInturff, Senior Director, Accreditation Services. The objective of this DG was to pre-scan the comments collected during the ballot on the ISO/IEC DIS 17025 and make observations and proposals to the entire working group (WG), to facilitate its work in the upcoming WG meeting 6. This meeting will take place 10 - 12 July 2017 at the ISO office in Geneva, Switzerland to complete the DIS comment review to produce ISO/IEC FDIS 17025. The illustration below displays where we are in the process:

A2LA is now recognized by the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections to provide ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Requirements for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection accreditation for Special Inspection Agencies conducting work for the City of Philadelphia. Beginning in October 2017, all agencies performing special inspections must be formally registered with the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Per the City of Philadelphia Licenses + Inspections Special Inspections Agencies and Inspectors Requirements Document, an agency may use accreditation from an established accreditation entity to ISO/IEC 17020 as an alternative to the Agency Experience Requirements.

June 9, 2017 marks World Accreditation Day as a global initiative, jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation.

ISO 17034:2016 General Requirements for the Competence of Reference Material Producers became publicly available on November 1, 2016, superseding ISO Guide 34:2009. The Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) has implemented a three-year transition period from the date of publication. As such, all APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatories, such as A2LA, must have all of their currently-accredited Reference Material Producers (RMPs) transitioned to accreditation to ISO 17034:2016 no later than November 1, 2019.

A2LA Today l December 2016 l Number 133 ~ Peter Unger, A2LA President Emeritus, has served on the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Executive Committee since 2001. His most recent position as ILAC Chair has spanned from 2011 until the close of 2016.

~ A2LA President Emeritus, Peter Unger, has been granted an Award of Merit and the honorary title of Fellow by ASTM International

A2LA Calibration Accreditation Manager, Pam Wright, was honored by NCSL International at their 2016 Workshop and Symposium. Ms. Wright was presented with the following awards by NCSLI President, Roger Burton:

Since the previous issue of A2LA Today, the following individuals have achieved the status of “Staff Approved Lead Assessor” and have begun performing assessments for A2LA: