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What’s Up With AASHTO and AMRL?
Robert A. LutzAASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory
(AMRL)
What’s Not New
Time between on-site assessmentsISO/IEC 17025
Time BetweenOn-Site Assessments
18 to 24 monthsSet by AASHTO Subcommittee on Materials
Will the interval be lengthened?
No.
24 months
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Frequency Guidelines
National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) guidelines: full assessment every 2 years or full assessment every 5 years with annual surveillance assessments.International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) guidelines: full assessments every 4 years with annual surveillance assessments.
ISO/IEC 17025General requirements for the competence of
calibration and testing laboratories
Optional part of the AASHTO Accreditation ProgramRequirements beyond AASHTO R18 and ASTM E329, C1077, D3666, D3740Currently there are 5 laboratories accredited by AASHTO for ISO/IEC 17025 (2 commercial, 1 producer, 1 FHWA, 1 state DOT)
Some of the 17025 requirements
Quality policy statement and objectivesDocument controlContract reviewCorrective/preventive actionEstimation of uncertainty of measurementMeasurement traceability
What’s New
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What’s New
Accreditation staffChanges to AAP Procedures Manual/R18Combined assessmentsWebsite (www.nist.gov/amrl)
Accreditation Staff
4 full-time Quality Analysts to provide support to the AASHTO Accreditation Program.Every lab now has just one point of contact.
AAP Procedures Manual/R18
Management reviews clarifiedAMRL assessments combinedAccreditation offered for Unit Masonry (approval pending)
Combined AssessmentsPreviously, laboratories received separate visits for assessments of soil and aggregate testing and bituminous testing.Combining the services allows laboratories to receive one visit.In some cases, two assessors will simultaneously visit laboratories which present many test methods.
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New website (by the end of February)
Future version will include laboratory
login.
Real time accreditation information!
Search by name or location.
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PSP data entry –full functionality by
December 2003
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Useful Test Method Information
(the website continued)
Useful Test Method Information
Training techniciansPreparing for an assessmentReviewing/revising AASHTO and ASTM test methods
Check out the common assessment
observations.
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View and print
worksheets.
Room For Improvement
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The Future
AMRL proficiency samplesIndustry input to the AASHTO Accreditation ProgramTraceabilityFlexible calibration intervals
AMRL Proficiency SamplesAMRL will prepare and store extra proficiency samples.Samples will be available for customer use.Could be used for technician training, test method development, verifying equipment, etc.Could be used for timely resolution of accreditation issues.
Industry Input
AASHTO may seek more formal input from industry for the accreditation programAASHTO would seek input from key industry groups like ACIL.
What is traceability?
The property of the result of a measurement (or the value of a standard) whereby it can be related to stated references, usually national or international standards, through an unbroken chain of comparisons all having stated uncertainties.
VIM (1993), Section 6.10
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The Traceability Triangle
BIPM
NMI
Primary Lab
Level I
Level II
Level III
You
SIBureau International des Poids et Mesures
NIST
SI
Length – meter (m)Mass – kilogram (kg)Time – second (s)Electric current – ampere (A)Thermodynamic temperature - kelvin (K)Amount of substance – mole (mol)Luminous intensity – candela (cd)
The SI is founded on seven SI base units for seven base quantities assumed to be mutually independent.
Why is traceability important?
BIPM
NMI
Primary Lab
Level I
Level III
You
SI
Why is traceability important?
PROOF: It is the only way to prove that measurements are right.PURPOSE: It is the only way to determine whether the uncertainty is small enough to allow the desired conclusions to be drawn from the results. Is the instrument fit for that purpose?
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Traceable MeasurementsMeasurements, not an instrument, can be traceable.Measurement traceability is established through calibration.The uncertainty estimates obtained during calibration are used to judge whether the instrument is suitable for its intended purpose.Measurement traceability is maintained through verification of calibration (a regular check of instrument output using a control standard).There is a need to re-establish traceability or recalibrate only when measurement instruments drift out of control.
Flexible Calibration Intervals
Calibration Intervals(the way it is)
Most quality systems standards prescribe maximum calibration intervals for test equipment.Most laboratories adopt these intervals.
Calibration Intervals(the way it should be)
Calibrate equipment.Verify calibration periodically (should be based on usage) – collect data.Calibration intervals should be flexible and should be based on verification data.
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An Example
Time to recalibrate
Finally, the end
www.nist.gov/amrl
