Taken from the introductory remarks of Dr Robin Pratt, Chair of the Testing Laboratory Registration Council, in the 2008-2011 Statement of Intent to Parliament. A full transcript of this document is available on http://www.ianz.govt.nz/about2/reports.htm.

While IANZ accreditation began as a domestic quality improvement initiative for laboratories in the early 1970’s, there is now an increasing global demand for independent accreditation and certification services. Regulators in many countries, including New Zealand, now require products to be tested in accredited laboratories, as a requirement for overseas market access, and as part of global supply chains. Overall, there are increasing requirements for both laboratory accreditation and systems certification.

As more than two thirds of New Zealand’s exports are now subject to regulations or specifications that require accredited test reports by globally recognised accreditation bodies, it is essential that New Zealand maintains its globally recognised world class accreditation system that meets the demands of other first world economies. This has led to a growing synergy between IANZ and New Zealand regulators, to ensure that New Zealand has appropriate systems in place to meet the ever increasing technical specifications demanded by overseas markets.

In addition, the global drive toward environmental sustainability will put pressure on the testing requirements for air and water discharges, as well as on business practices in terms of environmental management system requirements and greenhouse gas emissions.

Standards and Conformance Infrastructure
The importance of a sound standards and conformance infrastructure in supporting the Government’s Economic Transformation was highlighted in the review of New Zealand’s infrastructure completed by the Ministry of Economic Development in 2007. It identified the infrastructure as being world class and can be used:

Regulators’ Recognition
Awareness and appreciation of IANZ accreditation among industry, policy agencies and regulators made good growth last year and we plan one new programme (food safety inspection accreditation) in 2008/2009 and two new programmes in the following three years.

In some instances, policy agencies and regulators are adopting accreditation and certification standards to fit the agency’s own specific requirements. Continuing engagement with regulatory agencies will ensure the rigorous and universal structure of these standards is maintained. This is an important action area for the Council this year and in the future.

Finance
In line with its role as a not-for-profit Autonomous Crown Entity, the Council is planning a small surplus this year, reflecting the cyclical nature of introducing new accreditation and certification programmes. While the 2007/2008 year saw considerable growth in revenue for both accreditation and certification services, this was a result of investment in new programmes in previous years. As revenue and work-load are not necessarily aligned, lower revenue is expected in new programmes in alternating years.

Considerable investment in the new food safety inspection accreditation programme is planned this year, with the bulk of the revenue expected in 2009/2010. With the introduction of new programmes in coming years, this pattern will continue, with investment in one year and revenue flow in subsequent years.

Twelve month blitz

In the space of a year, all 79 applicants for building consent authority accreditation have gone through a full International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) assessment to meet the requirements of the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006. This is the first time that such a large number of organisations have completed the IANZ assessment process in less than twelve months.

IANZ Chief Executive, Llew Richards, said that a dedicated team of seven IANZ assessors has worked non-stop since May last year to complete this project and so ensured that building consent authorities throughout the country are capable of meeting the required twelve of fourteen standards and criteria contained in the Act.

By 31 May this year, 63 applicants have been accredited or are working through the final clearances to this first stage of the accreditation process for the Department of Building and Housing. The remaining two standards are required to be met in two further stages before 1 December 2010 and 1 December 2013 respectively.

Considerable consultation with the applicants early in the process was necessary to ensure they understood the standards and requirements in addition to the accreditation process. Dr Richards said that understanding accreditation is not easy for a new sector. “It is not just about complying with new requirements it is also a matter of ensuring that new processes are fully implemented and working effectively. This requires ongoing commitment and resources from each building consent authority to ensure they continually meet the accreditation requirements”.

For many applicants, it was a challenging but rewarding experience. Alison Geddes, North Shore City Council General Manager Environmental Services, said the accreditation was very beneficial in that it has introduced more structure and discipline into their building control activities. “The IANZ audit has given councillors and customers confidence that the Council is operating to a high standard and now has independently proven and appropriate competency systems”.

The consensus among Taupo District Council staff is that a much better product is being produced consistently. According to Manager of Building and Regulatory Services, Jamie Dale, the process has achieved the intended outcomes. “Staff have more ownership and better understanding of the consenting process, and are better able to explain it to our customers. We have a much more professional approach, which is proving popular with designers and builders, who are providing positive feedback”.

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We made the news in Taiwan

Dr Llew Richards, Chief Executive, IANZ featured in this article published in the Taiwan Commercial Times on 10 June. The occasion was an address on international developments of global accreditation Dr Richards gave to a seminar of government, research and industry representatives celebrating Accreditation Day.

The seminar was organised by the national accreditation body Taiwan Accreditation Foundation, with whom IANZ has mutual recognition arrangements under the auspices of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.

With Dr Richards are Mr Fadah Hsieh, Vice Minister, Ministry of Economic Affairs;
Dr Chen Shu-gong, Director General, Bureau of Food and Drugs; and
Dr Lin, past Director General, Bureau of Food and Drugs.

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OECD GLP appointment

Barry Ashcroft, General Manager – Accreditation Services was appointed Vice Chair of the OECD Working Group on Good Laboratory Practice at the annual meeting of delegates in March. Barry, who has been New Zealand’s representative on the working group since 1998, will become Chair in 2010. Last year, IANZ hosted the working group meeting in Auckland, which was attended by representatives from 27 countries.

The focus of the Working Group is on the GLP Compliance Monitoring programme, based on laboratory inspections and study audits, operating in 35 countries. The OECD Principles of GLP set out managerial concepts that assure the integrity of data used by regulatory authorities in decisions relating to chemicals for human health and the environment. It also ensures the acceptance of scientific data by these authorities among member countries.

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APLAC growing

Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc. (PJLA) USA has become the 28th signatory to the APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) and a new Full member. It was accepted as a signatory to the MRA for testing on 6 June 2008.

Also accepted as a Full member was Indecopi, Peru. Indecopi is the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and for the Protection of Intellectual Property, and is Peru's government-authorised accreditation body.

APLAC membership now covers all APEC economies except Chile. In addition APLAC also covers the economies of Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The MRA forms a regional network of laboratories, inspection bodies and reference material producers accredited by accreditation bodies that have been peer-evaluated and recognised as being competent. This network facilitates the acceptance of endorsed reports and certificates in the region, thus contributing to the facilitation of trade and the free-trade goal of ‘tested/calibrated/inspected once, accepted everywhere’.

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Registrations up in 2008

The number of registrations recorded by IANZ in the twelve months to 30 June was up by 28 across all programmes when compared with the same period last year. More testing laboratories, radiology services and building consent authorities were accredited, while the number of medical testing laboratories available for accreditation was reduced.
Data for each programme is given in the table below.

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Endorsement statements now electronic

In response to requests, the IANZ endorsements statements (see samples below) are now available in electronic format. Accredited organisations are encouraged to make reference to their accreditation in reports, certificates or other documents and. as long as they meet the criteria, these statements allow accredited and non-accredited results to appear together. In all instances, the rules for the endorsement of reports contained in the IANZ Procedures and Conditions of Accreditation must be followed.

These electronic files and the printed label versions may be obtained free of charge to IANZ accredited bodies by contacting the Accreditation Services administration team on (09) 525 6655 or by emailing info@ianz.govt.nz.

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Civil Engineering Testing Conference
Auckland 24-26 September 2008

This conference is the New Zealand forum for civil testing and follows a successful first such conference last year. The theme this year is “The Road Ahead…” and abstracts from all areas of civil testing, including roading, concrete, geotechnical and soils and aggregates are being accepted. Some key presenters from New Zealand and overseas have been invited to speak to provide greater insight into the civil engineering industry.

To see the conference programme and to register your interest, go to the conference website: http://www.cetc2008.org.nz/cetanz/
or email John Walker, Conference Organiser: cetanz2008@auckland.ac.nz.

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New accreditations
Congratulations to these organisations for achieving IANZ accreditation.

Laboratories
Taupo Pathology, Taupo

Inspection Bodies
Independent Verification Services Limited, Hamilton
SGS New Zealand Ltd, Auckland

Building Consent Authorities
Compass Building Consultants Limited, Auckland
Environment Waikato
Far North District Council
Gisborne District Council
Hastings District Council
Hauraki District Council
Hutt City Council
Kaikoura District Council
Kaipara District Council
Kapiti Coast District Council
Kawerau District Council
Masterton District Council
Nelson City Council
Otago Regional Council
Rangitikei District Council
Ruapehu District Council
Selwyn District Council
South Waikato District Council
Tararua District Council
Waimate District Council
Wellington City Council
Westland District Council

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Articles of interest

Education and training of laboratory staff as a part of laboratory competence
Accreditation and Quality Assurance v13 p267-270
Aims to give some practical advice and solutions on how to organize and manage staff competence.

The importance of proper sampling
Inside laboratory Management M/A 2008 p9
If samples are not collected correctly and sub sampled properly, data obtained will not be indicative of the true concentration no matter how well the laboratory performs.

The subtleties of proficiency testing
Inside Laboratory Management Nov/Dec 2007
Proficiency testing is intended to help laboratories monitor their own performance on specific analytes and matrixes, normally using their own methods of analysis. This article looks at how the system works and why it has become a business essential.

Mind your meetings:
Improve your organization's effectiveness one meeting at a time
Quality Progress April 2008 p48-53
Presents a three step process for more effective meeting management.

Photocopies of these articles are available on request from Rosemary Apperley, our IANZ Librarian free of charge. 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.

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Training courses of interest

Laboratory Management
Laboratory Quality Management
Introduces quality management to staff new to a laboratory environment.

Christchurch
13-15 August

Auckland
15-17 October

Auditing
Internal Auditing
Provides knowledge and confidence needed to complete effective internal audits.

Auckland
31 July-1 August
22-23 September
4-5 December

Wellington
3-4 September

Christchurch
18-19 September

Environmental
Environmental Management Systems Implementation
Introduces the requirements of ISO 14001 and the core competencies to implement environmental management systems.

Auckland
3-5 November

Implementing and Auditing Environmental Management Systems
Combines the implementation course (see above) with training in the skills needed to audit environmental management systems

Auckland
3-7 November

Details of all courses and booking forms are available from www.nzqc.co.nz, by phoning 0800 9000 99 or emailing info@nzqc.co.nz.

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To contact IANZ call 09 525 6655 or email info@ianz.govt.nz
Private Bag 28908, Remuera, Auckland 1541
626 Great South Road, Ellerslie 1051

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