Seasonal best wishes
Our best wishes to you for a joyous and peaceful Christmas period;
and for a prosperous year ahead.
~From everyone at International Accreditation New Zealand~

Office Closure
The IANZ office will close on Friday 22 December and re-open on Monday 8 January

• Major agreements were finalised with the Ministry of Health and with the Department of Building and Housing to provide accreditation assessments for the National Screening Unit (MoH) and of Building Consent Authorities (DBH)
• Seven new staff positions were established to help manage the increased accreditation work load
• 1,714 assessment units were accredited in the year (1,676 in 2004-2005)
• New Zealand Quality College increased training days in New Zealand by 23%
• The ninth annual joint general assembly of the International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation and the International Accreditation Forum was hosted by IANZ in Auckland in September 2005, attracting 221 delegates
• IANZ was evaluated by the European co-operation for Accreditation for acceptance as a signatory to the EA Mutual Recognition Arrangement for inspection body accreditation
• The Council record a deficit of $162,180 for the year ($97,219 surplus 2004-2005) due, in the main, to the recruitment and training of additional accreditation staff
• IANZ has Mutual Recognition Arrangements with 59 accreditation bodies in 46 economies, an increase of six accreditation bodies

The published annual report is available on www.ianz.govt.nz/About/annual reports, or contact IANZ to be posted a hardcopy.

A new function has been introduced to section 12, namely to develop and maintain international recognition and acceptance of conformity assessment in New Zealand; and maintain appropriate international relationships. This recognises the importance of IANZ participation in ensuring harmony between accreditation bodies worldwide; and assisting New Zealand businesses by removing barriers to trade through international and regional accreditation mutual recognition arrangements.

The Council’s function of providing accreditation of inspection bodies is confirmed in the amended Act, which also confirms that accreditation of certification bodies is not part of the Council's function.

The function in respect to the provision of certification services – undertaken by the Council’s subsidiary, Telarc Limited – has become discretionary rather than mandatory.

The Council’s function and powers in relation to industrial design, introduced in 1984 but never activated, has been repealed.

The amendments were drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development in consultation with the Council and presented to Parliament by then Minister of Commerce, Hon Margaret Wilson.

This means that test reports, calibration certificates and now inspection reports from organisations accredited by IANZ will be accepted by European (signatory) accreditation bodies on exactly the same basis as if they had been accredited in Europe.

Many local authorities have formed regional cluster groups to assist them to develop their systems in line with the requirements of the Regulations detailing the criteria and standards for accreditation. Those in Nelson, Hurunui and Westland are participating in the first round of the pilot programme, in December, with others from the lower North Island taking part in January. The outcomes from the pilot assessments will be disseminated to all local authorities to help better the understanding of what is required in order to become accredited.

As a means of increasing participation, APLAC ran a two day workshop in Singapore in September. Led by Geoff Hallam, IANZ and Julian Wilson, NATA, practitioners and senior managers from twelve accreditation bodies from twelve economies in the region participated. The workshop addressed the challenges of running an inspection body programme and provided practical guides to assessing competence, providing effective supervision, scoping issues and overlapping with other conformity assessment systems. The workshop went a long way to accelerating the development of inspection body accreditation programmes and ensuring that inspection body accreditation is harmonised throughout the region.

The Council, through its operational arm, International Accreditation New Zealand is responsible for the accreditation of testing laboratories, radiology services and inspection services. The Council also owns Telarc Limited, which undertakes management system certification activities, and runs the New Zealand Quality College, which offers short courses on accreditation and management systems.

To be considered for appointment, candidates should have knowledge of, and experience in, management, and the testing of products and materials, and quality assurance. In particular, applicants for Chair and Deputy Chair should have a general understanding of the role of a Crown entity in a public policy framework, while applicants for the member position should have experience in, or an understanding of, local body issues given the Council’s increasing involvement with district health boards and local authorities. All three positions require that applicants have business governance skills.

Confidential enquiries may be made to Yvonne Lucas, Director, Ministry of Economic Development on 04-474 2938.

Position descriptions and an application pack are available at www.med.govt.nz/board-appts/ or by contacting Patricia Canlas on 04-474 2864 or by emailing board.appointment@med.govt.nz.

Applications may be posted to Patricia Canlas, Competition, Trade and Investment Branch, Ministry of Economic Development, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6011, or faxed to 04-499 8508, or sent to the above email with “TELARC Application” in the subject line.

Applications should include an up-to-date CV, a completed declaration form and a covering letter addressing how the candidate meets the required skills.

Applications close on 18 December 2006.

For staff new to the laboratory environment or staff at laboratories preparing for IANZ accreditation to NZS ISO/IEC 17025, the three-day Laboratory Quality Management course will be run twice in Auckland and once in Christchurch. Participants receive guidance and training in the skills needed to develop and implement an effective laboratory management system.

For the analysts who will be required to estimate the uncertainties of their test results and for those responsible for technical management of testing laboratories, the course covering Traceability and Uncertainty in Measurement will be held in Auckland in May.

All courses for the year are posted on the NZQC website www.nzqc.co.nz or you can phone 0800 9000 99 for guidance on courses suitable for yourself or your organisation.

Accreditation bodies in Australasia, Italy, and the United States of America were added to IA 5: Accreditation Worldwide in November, as well as the two accreditation bodies in Belgium being replaced by a single body.

The development of accreditation
The development of accreditation from its beginnings in Australia in the early 1940’s to the global co-operation that exists today was presented in a keynote address by the chief executive of International Accreditation New Zealand, Dr Llew Richards to the Civil Engineering Laboratories Conference, Auckland September 2006. From the outset, the intention of an accreditation scheme was to increase the reliability and confidence in testing laboratories. In the 1960s, several government departments in New Zealand carried out studies to determine what industries in this country required. The (then) DSIR studied the work of the Australian National Association of Testing Authorities and recommended a similar service be established in New Zealand. Since then, accreditation processes have expanded and are now fully international and embracing testing and calibration laboratories and inspection bodies.

> Read article in full

Accreditation and Mutual Recognition Arrangements
In August this year, Dr Richards addressed the NCSL International Workshop and Symposium in Augustus, USA as representative of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation. The subject was Laboratory Accreditation and the APLAC MRA and provided measurement industry regulators and practitioners with an insight into the mutual recognition of test results among participating economies throughout the Asia Pacific region.

> Read article in full

Linking metrology and standardisation with laboratory accreditation
In an article published in the October 2006 issue of ISO Focus, Alan Squirrell, Secretary of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, outlines recent developments between ILAC and ISO focusing on the four main pillars underpinning all measurements. These are: traceability (and related measurement uncertainty), calibration, method validation and quality assurance/control.
This article first appeared in the October 2006 issue of ISO Focus - The magazine of the International Organization for Standardization - and is now reproduced here with the permission of ISO Central Secretariat (www.iso.org). Editorial enquiries: gasiorowski@iso.org.
A one-year subscription costs 158 Swiss francs. Subscription enquiries: sales@iso.org

> Read article in full

These articles are available in full on www.ianz.govt.nz/articles.

Surveys of the Accreditation of Providers of Proficiency Testing and External Quality Assessment Schemes.
Two surveys among providers of proficiency testing and external quality assessment schemes in 32 countries were carried out during 2004 and 2005. The surveys revealed a strong tendency towards accreditation and a lack of harmonisation of national accreditation bodies.

Accreditation of PT providers – is it Worth the Money?
This topic is presented from two perspectives, namely the views of an accreditation body – NATA, Australia - and those of an accredited provider – EQUALIS, the national quality assurance organisation for laboratory medicine in Sweden.

Experiences from the assessment of proficiency testing providers
This article explores some of the key aspects of a pilot project conducted by the UK accreditation body, UKAS in assessing organisations against ISO/IEC Guide 43-1:1997 and ILAC Guide 13:2000.

Hardcopies of these articles are available free from the IANZ Librarian. Email library@ianz.govt.nz or phone 09 525 6655 to obtain a copy. Please provide a mailing address as we are prevented by copyright from emailing them to you.