What s Up With AASHTO and AMRL?

Transcription

1 What s Not New What s Up With AASHTO and AMRL? Time between on-site assessments ISO/IEC Robert A. Lutz AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL) Time Between On-Site Assessments Will the interval be lengthened? 18 to 24 months Set by AASHTO Subcommittee on Materials No. 24 months

2 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 General requirements for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories Optional part of the AASHTO Accreditation Program Requirements beyond AASHTO R18 and ASTM E329, C1077, D3666, D3740 Currently there are 5 laboratories accredited by AASHTO for ISO/IEC (2 commercial, 1 producer, 1 FHWA, 1 state DOT) Some of the requirements Quality policy statement and objectives Document control Contract review Corrective/preventive action Estimation of uncertainty of measurement Measurement traceability What s New

3 What s New Accreditation staff Changes to AAP Procedures Manual/R18 Combined assessments Website ( 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 clarified AMRL assessments combined Accreditation offered for Unit Masonry (approval pending) Combined Assessments Previously, 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.

4 New website (by the end of February) Future version will include laboratory login. Search by name or location. Real time accreditation information!

5 PSP data entry full functionality by December 2003

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7 Useful Test Method Information Useful Test Method Information (the website continued) Training technicians Preparing for an assessment Reviewing/revising AASHTO and ASTM test methods Check out the common assessment observations.

8 View and print worksheets. Room For Improvement

9 The Future AMRL proficiency samples Industry input to the AASHTO Accreditation Program Traceability Flexible calibration intervals AMRL Proficiency Samples AMRL 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 program AASHTO 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

10 The Traceability Triangle SI BIPM NMI Primary Lab Level I Level II Level III You Bureau International des Poids et Mesures NIST SI The SI is founded on seven SI base units for seven base quantities assumed to be mutually independent. 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) Why is traceability important? SI BIPM NMI Primary Lab Level I Level III 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? You

11 Traceable Measurements Measurements, 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.

12 An Example Finally, the end Time to recalibrate