ASTM Announces New Laboratory Accreditations

ASTM International recently announced the addition of accreditation for the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for 17 of its proficiency testing programs. The new accreditations cover programs such as diesel exhaust fluid, octane, polyethylene plastics, thermoplastics, stainless steel, aluminum, woven fabrics and knit fabrics.

"Labs that turn to ASTM International to help monitor their strengths and weaknesses throughout their organizations can enjoy increased confidence in knowing that their programs meet strict competency standards," says Tim Brooke, vice president of laboratory services at ASTM.

The recent additions bring the total number of ASTM International programs that have achieved A2LA accreditation to 45, including cetane, engine coolants, biodiesel and others. More than 95 percent of ASTM’s proficiency testing programs have now been accredited.

ASTM proficiency testing programs are statistical quality-assurance programs that are designed to enable laboratories to evaluate and improve performance while maintaining and fulfilling mandatory accreditation requirements. Programs accredited through A2LA are assessed against criteria from a key standard: Conformity Assessment – General Requirements for Proficiency Testing (ISO/IEC 17043:2010).

More than 5,000 laboratories use ASTM’s statistical quality-assurance tools in the proficiency testing programs.

For more information or to see a full list of programs, visit www.astm.org/ptp.