How to Become an Accredited Laboratory
Review the Flow Chart TNI has developed to help you. Review the list of recognized Accreditation Bodies.
If your laboratory is located within one of these 14 states, you must go to that state for accreditation.
If your laboratory is in another state or country, you can choose to apply to any state. But, be careful of these facts:
- Some states only offer accreditation in some areas, e.g., only drinking water.
- Some states will not accredit out-of-state laboratories.
Review the scope of the accreditation program of each state relative to your scope of services and select a state to apply to for primary accreditation.
Read the state-specific rules and regulations for how to apply within that state.
Read the 2003 NELAC Standard, especially Chapters 2-5 and implement a program to comply with the requirements. A good first step is to write your Quality Manual.
Do an internal gap analysis using the 2003 NELAC checklist (Word DOC, 2MB).
Note: For laboratories that have never been accredited, this is usually a 12-18 month process.
The TNI Quality Manual Template is a tool designed for laboratories to help craft a NELAC compliant Quality Manual from scratch. The prefabricated sections of the Manual basically follow the ISO 17025 outline, but are completely fluid so that you can put sections, subsections, examples, links, or references anywhere you'd like, Example Text is provided in each section, and notes are inserted where the laboratory should edit the text to match their particular circumstance. Much of the TNI provided text can be used without further editing for most environmental laboratories. Check out the example pages below. Save yourself tons of time with this template!
View sample pages from the Quality Manual Template:
Table of Contents
Section 3 - Introduction and Scope
Section 5 - Quality Systems
The template is available as a Microsoft Word document for $50 for members or $150 for non-members. If you are a TNI member, do not order the template from this page. Instead, use the purchase button on the members-only page to receive your discount.
The TNI Technical Assistance Committee has developed two template models to aid laboratories in implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for analytical methods used in their laboratory, and for implementing Administrative SOPs (such as data integrity, corrective actions, or handling customer complaints). This document addresses the laboratory method SOPs. The requirements for these SOPs are included in NELAC (2003) 5.5.4.1.2, “Laboratory Method Manual(s)”.
View sample page from the Method SOP Template
View sample page from the Administrative SOP Template
The templates are available as Microsoft Word documents for $5 each for members or $10 for non-members, and are free to anyone who purchases the Quality Manual template. If you are a TNI member, do not order template from this page. Instead, use the purchase button on the members-only page to receive your discount.
The organizations listed below are all organizational members of TNI in good standing and have indicated to TNI that they perform training and consulting services to laboratories seeking accreditation. TNI receives no fees or revenue from these services. TNI has not evaluated the services, materials offered or technical knowledge of these individuals or companies. TNI does not endorse or warrant any of the services and a laboratory should do its own appropriate due diligence in selecting the service provider that is needed. TNI suggests that references be gathered to assist in the evaluation of these or any provider's services and client satisfaction. If you need further information, please contact the providers directly.
Marlene Moore
Advanced Systems, Inc.
Newark, Delaware
302-368-1211
mmoore@advancedsys.com
John Farrell
Analytical Excellence
Altamonte Springs, FL
407-331-5040
aex@ix.netcom.com
Ed Askew
Askew Scientific Consulting
Muscatine, IA
563-263-3884
efaskew@hotmail.com
Linda DeWitt
Business Owner Support Services
Prairieville, LA
225-938-2148
ldewitt@qmstools.com
John Gumpper
ChemVal Consulting
Salt Lake City, UT
801-274-8480
jgumpper@chemval.com
Mitzi Miller
Dade Moeller & Associates
Oak Ridge, TN
865-927-3102
Mitzi.miller@moellerinc.com
Melanie Myers
Dade Moeller & Associates
Richland, WA
509-946-0410
melanie.myers@moellerinc.com
Rock Vitale
Environmental Standards
Valley Forge, PA
610-935-5577
rvitale@envsci.com
www.envsci.com
Tom McAninch
Laboratory Consulting Services
Longview, Texas
903-757-4269
mcaninch@cablelynx.com
Gary Dechant
Laboratory Quality Systems LLC
862 Grand Vista Way
Grand Junction CO 81506
970-434-4875
gldechant@aol.com
Jarrett Thomas
LabServe LLC
Aurora, Illinois
708-906-4214
jthomas@labserve.org
Diane J Lawver
Quality Assurance Solutions, LLC
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-772-0077
Quality-Assurance-Solutions@comcast.net
Michael Shepherd
Shepherd Technical Services
Austin, TX
512-335-0906
Mike@sheptechserv.com