ISO9001 Registration:
ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized standard for the quality management of businesses. It applies to the processes that create and control the products and services an organization supplies. It also prescribes systematic control of activities to ensure that the needs and expectations of customers are met.
Through this system of standardization, control, and verification, a consumer can be reasonably assured of a quality product and service from a company that is focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.
Atlantic Scale Company has been registered to ISO9000 since 1995, proving that we have developed and maintained a consistent and mature quality system that is focused on the needs and satisfaction of our customers.
ISO17025 Accreditation:
Fundamentally, ISO17025 is a quality system (like ISO9001) which is also structured to ensure the standard quality of a product or service business. ISO17025 differs in that it is specific for the testing and calibration activities of laboratories, requiring that the calibration of equipment has adequate control and calibration traceability. This is accomplished by defining a scope of accreditation (parameters that will be audited and verified), developing standard & validated procedures for the calibration of those parameters, maintaining competent staff, calculating calibration process uncertainties, and verification of performance proficiency.
The definition of calibration uncertainties is unique to ISO17025 and is fundamental to complete understanding, operation and report documentation of calibration. It is through the scope of accreditation and the provided uncertainties that educated customers can verify that a provider has the capability to perform the requested calibration and has a sufficiently low uncertainty to provide the proper calibration.
Proof of proficiency is also unique to ISO17025 and is something that all labs are required to perform. Proficiency testing or round robin testing is when the same test sensor is calibrated by multiple organizations. Each organization provides calibration data and uncertainties so that the results may be compared. Through this comparison, laboratories can analyze their measurement and calibration process and make improvements to the system.
As a leading provider of calibration weights, Atlantic Scale Company has been accredited since 1999 (known as Guide 25 back then), showing our commitment to providing not just a quality management system, but a quality calibration process well before most of our competitors.
Key Points:
Audits: ISO Registration and Accreditation requires yearly external and internal assessments/audits of the quality system to provide confirmation of conformation to the requirements.
ISO Registrar: Our ISO9001 Registrar (ABS-QE) is accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB). The ANAB is the US accreditation body for management systems. ANAB accredits certification bodies for ISO 9001 quality management systems as well as a number of industry-specific requirements.
ISO Accreditation: Our ISO17025 Accreditor (A2LA) is an International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) Signatory. Acceptance of an accreditation body into the ILAC MRA is dependent upon being successfully evaluated by peers from other accreditation bodies in accordance with relevant rules and procedures contained in ILAC publications. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has also formally listed A2LA as competent to accredit testing laboratories.
Traceability: Traceability is the fundamental basis of our service. All calibrations performed by Atlantic Scale Company are calibrated against reference standards that are directly traceable to SI units of measure through N.I.S.T., natural physical constants, or to other recognized national or international Metrology Institutes (NMI’s).
Scope of Accreditation: Atlantic Scale Company has one of the widest scopes in the industry, encompassing 30 parameters with uncertainties developed for over 480 Ranges. The scope of accreditation is very important to in determining the capabilities of a lab. Just because a laboratory is ISO17025 accredited does not mean they are accredited to perform the work you are requesting. The scope will let you know this information.
