FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Anna Williams
Phone: 240.575.7494
awilliams@A2LA.org
A2LA Announces Stand-Alone Sampling Organization Accreditation Program and Sampling Field of Accreditation
September 19, 2019, Frederick, MD – A2LA is pleased to announce the creation of a sampling field of accreditation. Laboratories currently accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for testing will be able to establish an additional scope of accreditation in the sampling field. In addition, A2LA will be able to accredit stand-alone sampling organizations (SASOs) to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. A2LA is the first Accreditation Body in the United States to offer accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for SASOs, as well as the option for laboratories to get accredited in the sampling field of accreditation in addition to their respective field(s) of testing.
In addition to other changes made in the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025, the definition of a laboratory was expanded to cover organizations that sample for subsequent testing. Accreditation Bodies throughout the world have been looking into accreditation of SASOs, and A2LA decided to put together this program in order to fill several needs in the various industries that they work in.
“A2LA has been contemplating a standalone sampling program for a number of years and we felt the time was right to put this together to aid those markets in need of standalone sampling.” said Trace McInturff, A2LA Vice President, Accreditation Services.
About A2LA
A2LA is a non-profit, non-governmental, third-party accreditation body, offering internationally-recognized accreditation services and training to testing and calibration laboratories, stand-alone sampling organizations, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, reference material producers, and product certifiers.