A2LA Today l December 2016 l Number 133
By Ashly Carter, Reference Materials Producer Program Manager
ISO 17034:2016 General Requirements for the Competence of Reference Material Producers became publicly available on November 1, 2016, superseding ISO Guide 34:2009. The Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) has implemented a three-year transition period from the date of publication. As such, all APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatories, such as A2LA, must have all of their currently-accredited Reference Material Producers (RMPs) transitioned to accreditation to ISO 17034:2016 no later than November 1, 2019.
For A2LA to successfully assess and provide accreditation to each of its accredited and enrolled RMPs within our two-year assessment cycle, A2LA has published an official transition memorandum outlining target dates for implementation of the ISO 17034:2016 standard. The transition memo is available here <https://www.A2LA.org/requirements/R304_Transition_Memo.pdf>. Effective December 1, 2016, A2LA has begun accepting applications or requests for Scope expansion to ISO 17034:2016.
For more information, please contact Ashly Carter at 301 644 3238 or acarter@A2LA.org.