ANAB expands to offer calibration and lab accreditation

The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has acquired Assured Calibration and Laboratory Accreditation Select Services LLC (ACLASS), expanding ANAB’s range of conformity assessment services to include accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories. ANAB is the U.S. accreditation body for management systems and is located in Milwaukee. ACLASS is located in Arlington, Va.

ANSI is the American National Standards Institute. ASQ is the American Society for Quality.

With the acquisition of ACLASS, ANAB adds to its existing programs accreditation of laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025, inspection bodies to ISO/IEC 17020, and reference material producers using ISO Guide 34. ANAB accredits certification bodies (CBs) for ISO 9001 quality management systems (QMS) and ISO 14001 environmental management systems (EMS), as well as numerous industry-specific requirements.

“The added expertise of ACLASS allows ANAB to further our mission to be a value-added, cost-effective provider of accreditation of conformity assessment services,” said Robert H. King, president of ANAB. “Expanding our services puts ANAB in a position to increase the recognition of accreditation nationally and worldwide.”

“Combining ANAB and ACLASS programs adds value to conformity assessment services not only to our customers, but also to U.S. industry in general,” said Keith

Greenaway, president of ACLASS. “The united resources strengthen our commitment to customer service.”

ACLASS is internationally recognized by ILAC, APLAC and IAAC through the signing of multilateral recognition arrangements. These arrangements facilitate the acceptance of test and calibration data between ACLASS-accredited laboratories and the international community.

ANAB is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and a signatory of the IAF multilateral cooperative arrangements (MLAs) for QMS and EMS. Through the IAF MLAs and the Multilateral Cooperative Accreditation Arrangement, ANAB cooperates with other accreditation bodies around the world to provide value to its accredited CBs and their clients, ensuring that accredited certificates are recognized nationally and internationally. The global conformity assessment system ensures confidence and reduces risk for customers engaging in trade worldwide.

Under terms of the acquisition, the two ACLASS principals and current staff and experts will be employed by ANAB and current ACLASS assessors are expected to provide ongoing service to existing and new clients. There will be no change to the ILAC recognition process.

“The ACLASS principals and assessors will continue to provide the same high level of service valued by existing clients,” said King. “Although these lab accreditations are now under the same ANSI and ASQ parentage as the management systems services already in the ANAB portfolio, we will retain the strong customer service and experience that make ACLASS the No. 1 choice for ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.”

As the U.S. accreditation body for management systems, ANAB accredits certification bodies for ISO 9001 quality management systems (QMS) and ISO 14001 environmental management systems (EMS) as well as numerous industry-specific requirements.

For more information about ANAB, visit www.anab.org.

For more information about ACLASS accreditation, visit www.aclasscorp.com.