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First assessment of the Environmental Analysis Laboratory of the Polytechnic Faculty of the University of Lubumbashi

The Environmental Analysis Laboratory (LAE) is the first university laboratory in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be accredited by SADCAS according to the requirements of the ISO/CEI 17025:2017 standard since September 2021 (accreditation number: TEST- 50063). Its field of activity concerns environmental analyses: air, water, soil and waste.

The LAE’s mission is to provide scientific expertise and develop knowledge to know the quality of the environment in order to develop society in a sustainable way. As such, it offers in the field of the environment, management and sustainable exploitation of natural resources: training, research, professional supervision and expertise for the benefit of industrialists.

The first assessment of the LAE by SADCAS took place on Monday, September 12, 2022 in face-to-face. The LAE thus becomes the first SADC laboratory to undergo a post-COVID assessment by SADCAS.

a) Opening meeting with all LAE staff;

b) Working session: assessment of the LAE management system;

c) Working session: technical evaluation.

All chapters (management and technical) of the system have been assessed against the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the additional requirements of SADCAS/ILAC/IAF.

The vertical evaluation and the witnessing were the subject of the technical evaluation. At the end, two new technical signatories have been successfully assessed and their approvals are in progress. A few discrepancies were noted by the evaluation team and a corrective action plan was submitted for approval.

In view of the low number of non-conformities encountered, the LAE hopes to maintain its accreditation.

The head of the LAE, Prof. Arthur KANIKI particularly thanks the Rector of the University of Lubumbashi, Prof. Gilbert KISHIBA for his support as well as Dean Jean-Marie KANDA for his support. He commends the commitment of all his staff. He warmly thanks the CEO of ASCOLAB (NLA/DRC), Mr. Victor KANAMA Viki Mbuya for his coaching.

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RE-EVALUATION – MAURITAS BY AFRAC/SADCA (13-17 JUNE 2022)

The Re-Evaluation of MAURITAS by the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) and the Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Accreditation (SADCA) on behalf of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)  International Accreditation Forum (IAF) took place on 13 to 17 June 2022. The aim of the Re-Evaluation was to evaluate the continued international recognition of MAURITAS accreditation for Testing (ISO/IEC 17025), Calibration (ISO/IEC 17025) and Management System Certification (17021) in the sub-scopes Quality Management System (QMS – ISO 9001) and Food Safety Management System (FSMS – ISO 22000).

The composition of the Evaluation Team was as follows:

SN

Name

Organisation

Position in Evaluation Team

1

Ms. Susan Munyiri-Ochieng

Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS)

Team Leader

2

Mr. Shadrack Phophi

South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)

Deputy Team Leader and Team Member – Testing

3

Mr. Neville Tayler

South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)

Team Member – Calibration

4

Mr. Moslem Barrack

Tunisian Accreditation Council (TUNAC)

Team Member – Certification (QMS & FSMS)

5

Mr. Sam Thema

South African National Accreditation System (SANAS)

Trainee Team Member – Calibration

6

Mrs. Felista Nyakoe

Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS)

Trainee Team Member – Certification (QMS & FSMS)

7

Mr. Emanuele Riva

L’Ente Italiano di Accreditamento (ACCREDIA)

ILAC/IAF Observer – Certification

8

Mrs. Dana Leaman

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP)

ILAC/IAF Observer – Calibration

9

Mr. Rob Miller

American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA)

ILAC/IAF Observer – Testing

MAURITAS successfully cleared all the findings raised by the Evaluation Team and consequently its signatory status within AFRAC was approved during the AFRAC General Assembly on 30 September 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.

Mr. R.N. Gopee (Director, MAURITAS) and Mr. R. Miller (ILAC/IAF Observer – Testing)

Mr. S. Phophi (Deputy Team Leader and Team Member – Testing) and Mr. M. Koolwont (Accreditation Manager, MAURITAS)

Mrs. F. Nyakoe (Trainee Team Member – Certification for QMS & FSMS), Mr. M. Barrack (Team Member – Certification for QMS & FSMS) and Mrs. C. Matadeen-Domun (Assistant Accreditation Manager – MAURITAS)

Mr. S. Thema (Trainee Team Member – Calibration), Mr. N. Tayler (Team Member – Calibration) and Mrs. Y. Jafajul (Ag. Assistant Accreditation Manager – MAURITAS)

Closing meeting of the MAURITAS Re-Evaluation

The Evaluation Team members with staff of MAURITAS

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World Accreditation Day 2023 Poster Contest

Each year on 09 June, IAF and ILAC celebrate World Accreditation Day (WAD) with our members, partners, stakeholders and other organizations in the field of conformity assessment. We’re excited to announce the theme for WAD 2023 as Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade.

This theme will showcase how accreditation and accredited conformity assessment activities support the ongoing global supply chain restructuring that continues to be a source of trade normalization as firms seek new markets and investment opportunities to build resilient and flexible supply chains. This is likely to reinforce long-term growth in multilateral and bilateral trade relationships and augment the value of the ILAC/IAF mutual recognition arrangements in promoting greater supply chain efficiency and resilience.

The theme encompasses a wide variety of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1: No Poverty; SDG 2: Zero Hunger; SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being; SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities; SDG 14: Life Below Water; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Case studies and research on benefits that accreditation can provide in support of the SDGs are available on the Public Sector Assurance and Business Benefits websites.

The IAF and ILAC poster contest to develop the official WAD 2023 poster will commence 26 October 2022, with a submission deadline of 23:59 UTC on 22 November 2022. All interested parties are welcome to explore our theme of Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade with up to three entries. The contest winner will receive USD 1,500, while the two runners-up will receive USD 500 each.

The contest rules, including instructions for how to submit entries, are available here. Read about last year’s winner here and runners-up here.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

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2022 ISO Annual Meeting Virtual Session

Standards and conformity assessment provide the tools to deliver trust and confidence about the environment in which we live. But what happens when this environment changes? Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization has fundamentally altered the way we live, work and relate to each other. Conformity assessment actors have had to develop alternative ways of working based on AI, machine learning, remote auditing, constant data exchange and much more.

For this year’s ISO’s Annual Meeting being held from 19-23 September 2022, IAF, ILAC and ISO have collaborated to organize the virtual session ‘Has Covid launched the digital transformation of conformity assessment?’. The session will be moderated by Marcus Long (Chief Executive, Independent International Organisation for Certification and IAF Conformity Assessment Body Advisory Committee Chair), with panellists including Sheronda Jeffries (Technical Leader, Cisco Systems and IAF User Advisory Committee Vice-Chair), Amina Ahmed (Arab Accreditation Cooperation Chair and Chief Executive, Emirates International Accreditation Centre), Pavel Castka (Professor, University of Canterbury) and Eve Christine Gadzikwa (Chief Executive, Southern African Development Community Accreditation Services). H.E Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi (Under-Secretary, United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technologies) will deliver opening remarks.

The session will highlight topics such as how conformity assessment can help to enhance trust in ISO standards; how processes used during pandemic lockdowns have continued to deliver audits and assessments; how services such as accreditation, certification, testing, inspection, and validation and verification can continue to ensure trust is maintained during periods of accelerating change; key techniques and tools that will see digitalisation, data use and new technology play a more crucial role in conformity assessment; and the needs of conformity assessment users as the delivery of conformity assessment evolves.

The session will be held on 20 September from 18:00-19:00 GST (UTC+4). More information and registration are available here.

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ILAC welcomes O’ZAKK, Uzbekistan

We welcome Uzbek Center for Accreditation (O’ZAKK), Uzbekistan, as a Full Member of ILAC.

O’ZAKK joined ILAC as an Affiliate member on 19 March 2018 and then became an Associate Member on 15 April 2020.  As O’ZAKK is a signatory to the APAC MRA for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, O’ZAKK has also been granted signatory status to the ILAC MRA and therefore, Full membership of ILAC. 

We welcome O’ZAKK as a Full Member and look forward to working with our O’ZAKK colleagues.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.

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ITU-IAF-ILAC MoU re-signed!

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and ILAC have reviewed and re-signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The re-signing of the ITU-IAF-ILAC MoU continues to support and strengthen the three organizations’ commitment to cooperation and collaboration and the ongoing development of ITU-T’s Conformity and Interoperability (C&I) programme.

Further details and the MoU are available here.

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IAF and ILAC launch podcast series

IAF and ILAC are excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Accreditation Matters. This podcast series will feature discussions with international experts on important matters to the international quality infrastructure community and the way that accreditation supports regulators, global trade and consumers.

In our first episode, Brendon Moo of the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) interviews Kylie Sheehan of the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), IAF MLA Management Committee Chair, and Jennifer Evans of NATA, ILAC Arrangement Management Committee Chair, on the role of accreditation and accredited conformity assessment services within the quality infrastructure community.

Ms. Evans and Ms. Sheehan highlight the importance of accreditation and the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement/ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement, their contribution to sustainability, and the work of IAF, ILAC, NATA and JAS-ANZ. They also share their views on the IAF and ILAC project to create a single international organization for accreditation.

Listen to our first episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcasts

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Signatory status – ONA

The signatory status of Organismo Nacional de Acreditacion (ONA), Paraguay, to the ILAC MRA has been extended to include Calibration (ISO/IEC 17025).

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from https://ilac.org/signatory-search/ .

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Revised ILAC-G19 document published

ILAC-G19:06/2022 – Modules in a Forensic Science Process has been published and is now available from https://ilac.org/publications-and-resources/ilac-guidance-series/

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ILAC welcomes LATAK, Latvia

We welcome Latvian National Accreditation Bureau, Latvia, as a Full Member of ILAC.

As LATAK is a signatory to the EA MLA for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, medical testing laboratories using ISO 15189 and inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020, LATAK has been granted signatory status to the ILAC MRA and therefore, Full membership of ILAC. 

We welcome LATAK and look forward to working with our LATAK colleagues.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.

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