eurolab annual report 2014

EUROLAB ANNUAL REPORT

2014

EUROLAB ANNUAL REPORT

2014

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Active members

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Italy

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

UK

Associated members

FYROM

Turkey

Lebanon

International affilates

South Africa

USA

Observer members

Croatia

EUROLAB is a not-for-profit organisation composed of 21 Active Members, 3 Associated

Members, 1 Observer Member and 2 International Affiliates from Europe and beyond.

Grouping over 2,000 laboratories and conformity assessment bodies and representing over

100,000 technical experts and laboratory practitioners.

EUROLAB General Objective

To promote cost-effective testing, calibration and measurement services, for which the

accuracy and quality assurance requirements were adjusted to the actual needs.

Key Objectives:* Representation by formulating and voicing the opinion of laboratories regarding eco-

nomic, political and technical issues having a direct impact on laboratories’ activities

both on the European scene and world-wide.

* Co-ordination by interfacing with organisations having activities of interest to the la-

boratory community, and striving to avoid duplication of efforts and activities.

* EUROLAB should be the major multisectorial and horizontal forum for the circulation

and exchange of information and experience in development of:

* Test, measurement and analytical methods

* The use of test and analytical results in the implementation of legislation and

directives, in product certification and acceptance, and in technical evaluations

* New measurement and testing techniques for example within the EC framework

programmes, as well as

* Quality assurance measures

AIMS AND ACTIVITIES

5

6TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by the PresidentEUROLAB in BriefEUROLAB – Highlights 2014* Political update

* Revision of ISO / IEC 17025

* 2014 CEOC – EUROLAB – IFIA Safety Seminar

EUROLAB and its partners* EUROLAB and CEOC International

* EUROLAB and UILI

* EUROLAB and EURAMET

* EUROLAB and NCSLI

* EUROLAB and IFIA

EUROLAB National Members’ news / activitiesAccreditationEUROLAB Committees and Events* TCQA

* JTC PTC

* COMMs

* EUROLAB General Secretariat

* EUROLAB General Assembly

* EUROLAB National Members’ Meeting

* EUROLAB structure

List of members and contact persons

56 - 9

10 - 19

20 - 23

24 - 3536 - 4142 - 53

54 - 55

FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT

7FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT

EUROLAB – the European Federation of National Associations of Measu-

rement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories – was set up in Brussels on

27 April 1990 as a network for the laboratory community and in response

to the evolution of the European Union. It has been since 1998 registered

as a legal entity in the form of an international association under Belgian

law (aisbl – association internationale sans but lucratif). In 2013 EURO-

LAB comprised more than 20 national associations from the EU and EFTA.

EUROLAB groups over 2,000 conformity assessment bodies representing

over 100,000 technical experts and laboratory practitioners. The Federati-

on represents and voices the opinion of measurement, testing and analyti-

cal laboratories regarding economic, political and technical issues having a

direct impact on laboratories’ activities both on the European scene and

worldwide.

This Annual Report 2014 is the successor to our successful Annual Report

2013 providing you with an overview of EUROLAB activities. In addition

to regular quarterly issued and more detailed EUROLAB Newsletters you

received eight EUROLAB Special Briefings covering (in that time) current

issues of interest such as: counterfeited food reports and food safety,

harmonisation of EU Safety rules, legislation on Medical Devices as well

as information on the latest developments in the medical devices field and

regarding the Product Safety and Market Surveillance package.

EUROLAB’s role as a main stakeholder is providing feedback to the Euro-

pean Commission (EC), European Accreditation (EA), ISO CASCO and the

International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). For this we

needed information from our members related to the following topics:

* Inquiry Concerning Reissuance of test reports

* Opinions and Interpretations as part of the accreditation scope – call

for examples

* Inquiry on the top 5 ISO / IEC 17025 items to be addressed in the revi-

sion of ISO /IEC 17025

* Overlap of testing and inspection activities - call for examples

* Inquiry Concerning the Profile of Applied Metrology Laboratories

* MarketWatch Campaign – call for interest

The data received was carefully processed and whenever possible resul-

ted in the following key documents presented either by EUROLAB or jointly

with other European organisations.

* The issue of reissuance test repots was more or less closed. Reissu-

ance of original test reports is not possible but a new test report or

another document can be issued with reference to and full recognition

of the original one.

* The issue of opinions and interpretations is being resolved at both EA

and ILAC levels. However, ILAC is waiting for an EA solution.

* The Enquiry on ISO / IEC 17025 resulted in a EUROLAB White Paper

which was presented to ILAC, EA and to ISO CASCO in particular, whe-

re EUROLAB representatives are taking an active part in WG 44.

* Overlap of testing and inspection activities is still an issue to be solved

at ILAC level with active representation from EUROLAB. More examp-

les from members are still welcome as it appears that approaches and

solutions will be product family specific.

* Frequency of surveillance and reassessment of laboratories by ABs is

being discussed at ILAC level with active contributions from EURO-

LAB (Position Paper)

Systematic research of opinions of the laboratory community on subjects of

general interest using structured questionnaires will continue. The evaluati-

on and consolidated presentation of results at EC, EA, ILAC and ISO CASCO

levels has been highly appreciated. EUROLAB aisbl. is dedicated to conti-

nue serving as a hub which provides National Members with up to date

information from European and global sources and at the same time coll-

ects members’ opinions to provide qualified feedback to relevant parties.

EUROLAB aisbl is fully aware that testing is the main source of added value

for TIC sector, well established laboratories form a key part of the business

environment in each country, facilitate competitiveness of industry and last

but not least play an important role in protection of citizens and users.

EUROLAB aisbl thanks all experts and collaborators who contributed to the

success of EUROLAB aisbl in 2014 believing that even more effort will be

required in 2015 as there are many topics, some mentioned above, still to

be resolved.

As my presidency will finish in April 2015 I wish to say that since the year

2000 it has always been my great pleasure to work for EUROLAB aisbl. I am

grateful to all my colleagues and collaborators and I wish the new president,

EUROLAB aisbl. and all of you, great successes and many excellent achie-

vements in the future. I will be standing by to ensure continuity, ready to

assist as the need might arise.

Jiří Sobola

EUROLAB President

EUROLAB IN BRIEF

10EUROLAB IN BRIEF

EUROLAB‘s general objective is to promote cost-effective testing, calibration and measurement services, for which the accuracy and quality assurance requirements are adjusted to the actual needs.

EUROLAB aisbl PROFILE

EUROLAB is a European federation of national associations, grouping together accredi-

ted laboratories which represents and voices the opinion of measurement, testing and

analytical laboratories regarding economic, political and technical issues having a direct

impact on laboratories’ activities both on the European scene and worldwide. Any labo-

ratory may join and become a member of this European community that EUROLAB

represents by subscribing to its national association.

WHAT WE DO

* identification of areas of priority for the development of scientific

and technical cooperation and exchange of information in the field of

testing, measurement, analytical and calibration activities

* cooperation for the development and interpretation of test methods,

especially those relevant to EU Directives, Agreements or European

product certification schemes, as a contribution to the development

and implementation of EN standards

* implementation and improvement of quality standards and systems

for laboratories

* cooperation between laboratories and accreditation bodies on mat-

ters of common interest relating to laboratory accreditation and co-

operation on the training of staff.

EUROLAB - INFLUENCING THE REGULATORY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

EUROLAB has grown from originally 17 members to currently 21 Active

Members, 3 Associated Members, 1 Observer Member and 2 Internatio-

nal Affiliates, which are all national associations of laboratories involved

in research and development, technical evaluation and conformity assess-

ment services based on measurements, testing and analysis of materials,

products and equipment. EUROLAB has proved very effective in influenci-

ng policies and regulations at the European level. Its voice on behalf of the

measurement and testing laboratory community in Europe is one which is

heard and respected. It works with EA and ILAC and played a major part

in developing, inter alia, a sensible policy on cross border accreditation

under the EU Regulation on Accreditation. It is currently engaged in influ-

EUROLAB has produced a number of ‘cookbooks’ on laboratory operations and procedures. They offer straightforward guidance and are excellent training materi-als for metrologists and laboratory practitioners at the start of their careers or for newly starting businesses.

encing EU policies including those on conformity assessment and accredi-

tation of notified bodies. EUROLAB cooperates with EURACHEM (A Focus

for Analytical Chemistry in Europe) and EFNDT (European Federation

for Non-Destructive Testing) and has Memoranda of Understanding with

CEOC International, EURAMET (European Association of National Metro-

logy Institutes) and UILI (The Union Internationale des Laboratoires Indé-

pendants). It is a member of NCSLI (The National Conference of Standards

Laboratories International) in the USA. EUROLAB represents its members’

interests in influencing the development of international standards

through its engagement with ISO CASCO and CEN CLC TC 1 and their cons-

tituent working groups.

Over 75% of regulations in EU countries now originate from the EU, imple-

menting Directives which impact on businesses. Accreditation, certification

and conformity assessment in general likewise are now largely determined

by European (and global) bodies. Small and medium sized businesses find

it very difficult, if not impossible to influence these matters.

The EUROLAB General Secretariat in Brussels first provides a platform for

our members to discuss their issues of concern and to exchange informati-

on and viewpoints, and, secondly acts as a facilitator of members’ interests

to the EU institutions. The General Secretariat supports also the Technical

Committees which provide expert input on key legislative or standardisati-

on initiatives.

11EUROLAB IN BRIEF

Membership of EUROLAB brings many benefits to your laboratory and helps it to thrive in the European and global business environment of the 21st century.

MEMBERSHIP

EUROLAB federates the national associations of laboratories involved in research and development, technical evaluation and conformity assessment servi-

ces based on measurements, testing and analyses of materials, products or equipment, in order to provide an organized interface at the European level

between this community of laboratories and all other parties having an interest in these fields.

CriteriaActive membersAdmission as an active member is open to: one legal not-for-profit entity per member of the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Associati-

on (EFTA) which must have been constituted under the laws and regulations of its country of origin and which must have demonstrated its representative

character concerning public or private measurement, testing and analytical laboratories within its national community,

Associated membersAdmission as an associated member is open to: one legal not-for-profit entity per country from countries eligible for membership to the European Union or

EFTA, or which country is a participating member of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The legal entity must have been constituted under the laws and

regulations of its country of origin and must have demonstrated its representative character of public or private measurement, testing and analytical labo-

ratories within its national community,

Observer membersAdmission as an observer member is open to legal entities or associations or groups of organisations not eligible for active or associated membership. The

legal entity or association must have been constituted under the laws and regulations of its country of origin and must have demonstrated its representati-

ve character of public or private measurement, testing and analytical laboratories within its national community.

International affiliatesAdmission as an international affiliate is open to : legal entities or associations or groups of organisations constituted under the laws and regulations of

their country of origin who do not wish to seek active, associated or observer membership and being interested in measurement, testing and analytical acti-

vities.

EUROLAB's key objectives – members’ benefits

* Creating awareness among public and political authorities, industry

and other business partners of the work of the measuring, calibration,

testing, inspection and certification sector.

* Representation by formulating and voicing the opinion of European

laboratories regarding political and technical issues having a direct

impact on laboratories‘ activities both on the European scene and

worldwide

* Coordination by interfacing with all European organisations having

activities of interest to the laboratory community, and striving to avoid

duplication of efforts and activities.

* Action by providing adequate means for exchange of information and

experience, such as the publication of Position Papers, Technical Re-

ports, Newsletters; Seminars, and Working Groups and through our

website.

* Promoting cost-effective testing, calibration and measurement servi-

ces, for which the accuracy and quality assurance requirements are

adjusted to the actual needs.

EUROLAB HIGHLIGHTS

14EUROLAB HIGHLIGHTS

EUROLAB HIGHLIGHTSPolitical update

2014 - A year of changes in the Institutional Triangle

The new European Parliament

…the first elections held under the Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty gave the European Parliament (EP) a number of impor-

tant new powers – e.g. for the first time, Member States were obliged to take

account of the EP election results when nominating the new President of

the Commission.

…the results of the 2014 European elections

At the elections held on 22nd-25th May 2014, a total of 751 Members of the

European Parliament (MEPs) were elected for the next five years. Each

Member State has a fixed number of MEPs, which, under the Lisbon Treaty,

ranges from six for Malta to 96 for Germany.

The first plenary session on the 1st July 2014 was dedicated to the formal

constitution of the EP. The newly-elected MEPs re-elected Martin Schulz as

President of the European Parliament for a second two and a half year term.

They also elected their 14 Vice-Presidents and 6 Quaestors. In the following

week, the EP’s standing committees elected their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

During the second plenary session, MEPs elected Jean-Claude Junker as

President of the European Commission.

The hearings of the Commissioners-designate kept the new MEPs busy in

September. On 22nd October 2014 the EP gave its consent to the new Euro-

pean Commission.

…contacts established

EUROLAB had an introductory meeting with Vicky Ford, the new Chair of

the EP’s IMCO committee, and with other relevant MEPs.

Consumer Product Safety Regulation (CPSR)

…background

The proposal for a Regulation on consumer product safety (CPSR) is part

of the package adopted by the European Commission (EC) on 13th February

2013, which also includes a proposal for a regulation on market surveillance

(MSR).

On 17th October 2013 the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer

Protection (IMCO) adopted its report on CPSR drafted by Christel Schal-

demose by an overwhelming majority. The members of IMCO Committee

amended the EC proposal by introducing a mandatory country of origin

marking for non-food products (‘made in clause’ in Article 7). They also

introduced a new CE marking certifying that the product had been tested

and found safe by an independent third party (which was later replaced by

the idea of the ‘EU Safety Tested Mark’ in Article 6).

Since the ‘EU Safety Tested’ mark was not included in the original EC

Impact Assessment accompanying the proposal for a CPSR, the IMCO

Committee requested on 5th November 2013 an impact assessment to be

carried out on the subject. The objective of this study was to provide an

assessment of the probable costs and benefits related to the introduction

of an ‘EU Safety Tested’ mark (in general, and more in particular for SMEs),

and to assess the feasibility of its introduction.

…2014 – still not quite there

The issue of the ‘made in clause’ provoked lively discussions in the Council.

Member States were divided into two camps. A number of them together

with the EC supported the mandatory origin marking by stressing its posi-

tive effect on traceability of products. However, another group of Member

States argued that this provision would not increase product safety and

could generate unnecessary burdens on economic operators. Although the

IMCO Committee unanimously approved the mandate to enter trialogue

negotiations (EP, EC and Council) on the draft report no progress has been

achieved since the beginning of 2014.

The IMCO report was adopted by the EP Plenary on 15th April 2014. The

Rapporteur’s proposal to introduce a voluntary ‘EU Safety Tested’ making

was rejected.

After the EP elections in May 2014, Rapporteur Christel Schaldemose has

been re-elected and she has been reappointed as Rapporteur on CPSR.

Despite continued efforts, the Italian Presidency did not reach an agree-

ment on the proposed provision for establishing a mandatory country of

origin marking. The EC announced that it would conduct a technical study,

with the aim of gathering further information and evidence to overcome the

current deadlock over Article 7.

…EUROLAB’s position

With regard to the CPSR EUROLAB, together with IFIA and CEOC Internati-

onal, published two joint position papers:

CEOC International, IFIA and EUROLAB Position on Product Safety and

Market Surveillance Package adopted by European Commission on 13th


The new European Commission (2014-2019) © European Union, 1995-2015

February 2013 CEOC International, IFIA and EUROLAB, Position Paper –

European Parliament seeks to enhance product safety in Europe

Also, EUROLAB has had meetings with the Rapporteur Christel Schaldemo-

se and with members of DG ENTR to discuss its position.

The new European Commission

…the first democratically elected President of the European Commission

Jean-Claude Junker, the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the lead

candidate of the European People’s Party for President of the European

Commission was elected on 15th July 2014 by the European Parliament with

422 votes in favour. For the first time in the history of the EU, the European

Parliament elected – and not merely approved – the President of the EC

following a proposal by the European Council, according to the rules laid

down in the Lisbon Treaty.

…the process

On 10th September 2014 President Junker presented his team and the

allocation of portfolios. This was followed by individual hearings of the

Commissioners-designate in the relevant committees of the EP which star-

ted on 29th September 2014.

On 22nd October 2014, following some adjustments in Juncker‘s team,

the EP gave its consent to the entire College. The European Council then

appointed the new Commission which started its term of office on 1st

November 2014.

…changes to the structure of the new EC were made and a number of portfo-

lios were reshaped and streamlined.

President Juncker unveiled his team and the new shape of the new Commis-

sion on 10th September 2014. The changes to the structure of the College

included seven Vice-Presidents – six in addition to the High Representati-

ve of the Union for Foreign Policy and Security Policy. Each of them should

lead a project team of Commissioners and should steer and coordinate

their work. Also, a number of portfolios were reshaped and streamlined.

* The old DG MARKT and DG ENTR were merged to form the new

DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG

GROWTH) including Health Technology and Cosmetics.

* The old DG SANCO was reorganised. The new DG Health and Food

Safety (SANTE) no longer comprises Directorate SANCO B (Consumer

Affairs) which moves from DG SANCO to DG JUST, except for Unit

SANCO B2 (Health Technology and Cosmetics), which moves from DG

SANCO to DG ENTR.

* Consumer policy is no longer scattered across different portfolios.

Consumer affairs were moved to the new DG Justice, Consumer and

Gender Equality (DG JUST).

…the European Commission Work Programme

The EC adopted its Work Programme for 2015 on 16th December 2014. It

consists of a political Communication and four annexes. Annex I lists 23

new initiatives which the Commission commits to adopting in 2015. Out of

452 proposals currently awaiting decision by the European Parliament and

the Council, the Commission proposes to withdraw or modify 80 pending

pieces of legislation in Annex II. Annex III identifies 79 proposals and exis-

ting legislations, which will be reviewed and amended in 2015. Annex IV lists

legislation that becomes applicable in 2015.

…boosting the transparency of meetings held by EC senior officials

In November 2014, the Commission adopted two decisions that will apply to

Commissioners, their Cabinets, and the Directors-General of the Commis-

sion services. From 1 December 2014, the Commission should, within two

weeks of each meeting, publish on its website the dates, locations, names

of the organisations and self-employed individuals met and the topics of

discussion of its bilateral meetings. It was also clarified that they should

only meet organisations and self-employed individuals which feature in the

new EU Transparency Register.

The new rules represent the required implementation of the revised Inter-

institutional Agreement signed between the EP and the EC in April 2014.

The Juncker Commission intends to make its own proposal in 2015 for a

mandatory register of lobbyists covering the EC, the EP and the Council.

…contacts established

EUROLAB has established contacts with the new relevant Commissioners

and introductory meetings are scheduled for 2015.

The ISO/IEC 17025 Standard is an instrument for laboratories to improve

their competence. This standard is intended to be used by laboratories to

demonstrate their competence and it is considered vital to achieve stable

and fruitful relationships among all the actors involved, and for laborato-

ries to provide competent services to their customers.

Standard ISO/IEC 17025:1998 changed into ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and EURO-

LAB sees no need to revise the standard since any change will imply high

costs and efforts for Standardization bodies, for Accreditation bodies, and

for Laboratories and other conformity assessment bodies to get adopted.

The revision of the ISO/IEC 17025 has been launched however.

EUROLAB will be fully involved and proactive during the revision process

by participating in several forums such as EA, ILAC and ISO CASCO where

discussion on this item is open.

In order to define EUROLAB’s position on the revision of the standard, a

survey was undertaken in April 2014 among EUROLAB’s active members

over a 50 days period. The results have been collected, presented and

discussed within the Technical Committee for Quality Assurance in Testing

and Calibration (TCQA).

57% of the Active Members responded to the survey.

THE REVISION OF STANDARD ISO/IEC 17025:2005

The outcomes of the survey show that the Top 5 most commented clauses

were:

* Clause 5.10 „Reporting Results“

* Clause 5.4 „Test and calibration methods and method validation“

* Clause 4.2 „Management System“

* Clause 4.1 „Organization“

* Clause 5.9 „Assuring the quality of tests and calibration reports“

If the standard is divided into two parts, Management and Technical, the

following frequency charts are generated by the results of the survey:


Management Part:Most commented clauses were:

* Clause 4.2 „Management system“

* Clause 4.1 „Organization“

* Clause 4.3 „Document Control“

Technical Part:Most commented clauses were:

* Clause 5.10 „Reporting“

* Clause 5.4 “Test and calibration methods, and method validation”

* Clause 5.9 “Assuring the quality of tests and calibration results“

* Clause 5.6 “Measurement traceability”

Although members had comments on several Clauses of the Standard, the main impression was that a revi-

sion was not needed. This conclusion however did not change the decision to revise the standard.

EUROLAB member and TCQA Vice-chair Irache Visiers (EUROLAB España) has drafted, together with the

support of the members, a EUROLAB White Paper on the revision of the Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005. This

paper was written in order to make EUROLAB’s view on the revision of the Standard explicit.

ISO/CASCO WG44 is the ISO Working Group in charge of the revision of Standard ISO/IEC 17025 and

EUROLAB’s official representatives in this ISO CASCO WG are Carol Stewart (EUROLAB UK) and Peter

Blinksbjerg (EUROLAB Denmark). Additionally, EUROLAB has also created a WG inside the TCQA to close-

ly monitor the activities of ISO/CASCO WG44. The participants of this WG are EUROLAB members that will

attend WG 44 either on behalf of their national standardisation bodies or different kind of organizations

such as international / European associations.The idea of this WG is for it to be used as a forum where all

views and ideas can be discussed and if possible, to harmonize and have a common view on the issues that

will be raised during the revision process.

The CASCO secretariat has developed a work plan, and according to it, the first working draft of the revised standard will be available in May 2015. The draft

should be ready as a Committee Draft (CD) for ballot in August 2015. Furthermore the Draft International Standard (DIS) should then be out for ballot in

February, 2016. Finally the standard is planned to be published in December 2016.


CEOC – EUROLAB – IFIA INTERNATIONAL SAFETY SEMINARHow safe do you think you are? Why independent testing is important

On 5th November 2014 CEOC International, IFIA and EUROLAB organised

the 5th International Safety Seminar at the Residence Palace in Brussels.

This years’ focus was on the importance of independent testing in the field

of consumer testing. The event brought together more than 100 partici-

pants from the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) sector, EU institu-

tions and consumer and industry associations.

During his opening speech CEOC International President Simo Hassi high-

lighted the importance of working together with different stakeholders to

achieve a common goal. One example of this is the excellent cooperation

between CEOC International, EUROLAB and IFIA, who have not only orga-

nised this event together for many years now but who also regularly work

together in committees and publish joint position papers.

The first session, which was chaired by Roger Brockway (IFIA Director

General), focused on consumer safety, and included panellists coming from

market surveillance authorities, the TIC sector and industry.

Richard van Buuren (PROSAFE/ NVWA) outlined the weaknesses of the

systems that are currently in place for ensuring consumer product safety.

He pointed out that the different actors involved, e.g. market surveillance

authorities, testing laboratories, manufacturers, importers and standards

setting bodies, need to work closer together in order to address these weak-

nesses.

The dangers of counterfeit products and which measures can be taken to

avoid such products on the market were explained by Terry Hunter (CSA

Group / CIAC), who is in charge of anti-counterfeiting and I.P. enforcement

in his company and who is also involved in CIAC. CIAC is an international

network of certification organizations, co-ordinated by INTERPOL, commit-

ted to stopping the worldwide proliferation of products bearing counterfeit

certification marks that may endanger public health and safety.

The final speaker of the session, Annette Dragsdahl (BUSINESSEUROPE/

DI), stressed that three things should be kept in mind when talking about

product safety: proportionality, enforcement and fairness. While a high

level of product safety is undisputable the measures to achieve this high

level need to be proportionate and fair. Instead of adding additional requi-

rements the already existing ones should be better enforced. Additionally,

mutual recognition of test reports should be strengthened and a global

certification system be developed.

CEOC International President Simo Hassi opening the 2014 Safety SeminarThe first session was chaired by Roger Brockway (IFIA Director General)

Panellists of the first session


Session two, which was chaired by Jiří Sobola (EUROLAB President),

focused on the role of independent testing, especially in light of the

currently on-going Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

negotiations.

Jörg Mähler (TÜV Rheinland LGA Products) explained the differences in

the conformity assessment systems in the EU and the US, using the current

legal requirements for machinery, toys and medical devices as examples.

While it cannot be said that the safety levels on one side of the Atlantic are

higher than on the other, it has to be acknowledged that there are consi-

derable differences in the two systems, which will not be easily overcome.

Thus mutual recognition of standards and conformity assessment procedu-

res used should be encouraged, while at the same time a high level of safety

needs to be ensured.

František Vaculík and Jiří Boudnik (PSJ) described the experiences they had

made as a construction company active both in Europe and the US. The

main differences of the two markets were related to legal requirements,

working conditions, the influence of trade unions, the level of quality and

the role that testing, inspection and certification play during the construc-

tion process.

The second session was concluded by the presentation of the 2014 IFIA –

CEOC market study results by Marcello Manca (UL). The aim of the study,

which has been carried out for three consecutive years now, is to gauge

the effectiveness of securing safety of consumer products, comparing

self-declaration system and 3rd party testing and certification. In 2012, the

first year of the study, typical electrical consumer products were bought

that only carried the CE mark. In 2013 the same type of electrical consu-

mer products were bought but this time the products were certified by an

independent third party body. In 2014 it was again self-declared CE marked

products that were bought in the EU and in addition the same types of

products were purchased in the US (certified by an independent third party

body). The 2014 results showed that of the CE market products purchased

in the EU 78% were non-compliant, with 38 instances of safety critical failu-

res. Only 26% of the products taken from the US market were non-compli-

ant, with no instance of safety critical failures. If the data of all three studies

is applied to one example, household appliances, then this means that

in 3 out every 4 households in Europe there is an appliance that is not in

compliance with EU standards and regulations. One in every 8 household

has an appliance with a ‘major’, potentially dangerous, issue. This is surely

a level of safety that is not acceptable.

Panellists of the second session

EUROLAB President Jiří Sobola chairing the second session


EUROLAB AND ITS PARTNERS

24EUROLAB AND ITS PARTNERS

EUROLAB and CEOC International

EUROLAB and UILI

CEOC International – the International Confederation of Inspection and Certification Organisations – was

founded in 1961 and acts as the voice of the inspection and certification sector at EU and international

levels. Its headquarters are based in Brussels. The confederation represents the joint interests of many of

the world’s leading inspection and certification companies, employing more than 111,000 highly qualified

persons, of which over 60,000 are graduate engineers and technicians. CEOC International members are

involved worldwide in the periodical inspection of technical installations as well as the certification of new

products and services to protect the workers and citizens of Europe against unsafe products and technical

installations.

A closer cooperation between the two organisations was officially established by the Memorandum of

Understanding, which was signed in April 2010. A second and most recent Memorandum of Understan-

ding was signed in April 2014. As of 1st January 2011, the EUROLAB Secretariat has been transferred to the

CEOC International office, followed by the Technical Committee on Quality Assurance in Testing and Calib-

ration (1st January 2012). CEOC International and EUROLAB would now work together in the Joint Technical

Committee on Product Testing and Certification, chaired by EUROLAB (Carol Stewart, EUROLAB UK) and

CEOC International (Christian Priller, TÜV SÜD). Both associations had already been working together on

the various issues arising from the political agenda of the European institutions. Our cooperation has led

to the publication of common position papers in the field of medical devices, product safety and market

surveillance.

UILI (The Union Internationale des Laboratoires Indépendants) was founded on 13th March 1959 in Paris

and it is the worldwide organisation for testing and calibration laboratories, and for scientific consultants.

UILI represents their professional and commercial interests on an international basis.

In order to develop ties of cooperation, avoid duplication of activities and to organise regular consultation

on policy matters, EUROLAB and UILI agreed to start collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Under-

standing during the EUROLAB General Assembly on 09 April 2013 in Woerden. EUROLAB and UILI will

work closely together in during the revision process of ISO / IEC 17025.

EUROLAB AND ITS PARTNERS

Simo Hassi, CEOC President, Jiří Sobola, EUROLAB President

Manahen Fernandez Alonso, UILI Presiden, at the EUROLAB General Assembly 2015 in Warsaw

25EUROLAB AND ITS PARTNERS

EUROLAB and NCSLI

EUROLAB and IFIA

EUROLAB and EURAMET

NCSLI (The National Conference of Standards Laboratories

International) was established in 1961 in order to accom-

modate the need for an organization of standards laborato-

ries to promote cooperative efforts for solving the common

problems faced by measurement and testing laboratories.

From the beginning, the goal of NCSLI has been to bring

together those engaged in metrology to solve common

problems and set standards. To this end, the primary focal

point of the organization‘s activities involves meeting

together, gathering consensus and disseminating informa-

tion, standards, and practices amongst all of its members.

A closer cooperation between EUROLAB and NCSLI was

officially established by the Memorandum of Understan-

ding, which was signed in August 2011.

IFIA (International Federation of Inspection Agencies) was founded in 1982, IFIA is a trade association that

represents more than 40 of the world’s leading international testing, inspection and certification compa-

nies. These have a combined turnover of over €14 billion and over 220,000 employees. IFIA aims to impro-

ve the methods, standards, safety procedures and rules used by its members for the benefit of both them

and their stakeholders. IFIA members’ activities encompass every aspect of inspection, certification and

related testing. IFIA members agree to uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity by applying

appropriate technical and professional standards for all aspects of their work, implementing quality assu-

rances programmes throughout their organisations, implementing appropriate methods of technical trai-

ning and assessment, adhering to all applicable safety conventions and IFIA’s guidelines and adhering to

IFIA’s Compliance Code. Please see www.ifia-federation.org for further information about the wide range of

IFIA activities.

EUROLABs cooperation with IFIA and CEOC International has led to the publication of common position

papers in the field of medical devices, product safety and market surveillance.

The European Association of National Metrology Institutes

(EURAMET) is a Regional Metrology Organisation (RMO) of

Europe. It coordinates the cooperation of National Metro-

logy Institutes (NMI) of Europe in fields like research in

metrology, traceability of measurements to the SI units,

international recognition of national measurement stan-

dards and related Calibration and Measurement Capabili-

ties (CMC) of its members.

A closer cooperation between EUROLAB and EURAMET

was officially established by the Memorandum of Under-

standing, which was signed in July 2014.

Letters from Europe informing NCSLI about EUROLAB’s latest activities

EUROLAB NATIONAL MEMBERS´ NEWS

28EUROLAB NATIONAL MEMBERS´NEWS

CZECH REPUBLICAAAO MoU with Technology AgencyThe association of Accredited and Authorised Bodies (AAAO)

– a member of EUROLAB – CZ, has signed a Memorandum

of Understanding with the Technology Agency of the Czech

Republic. The co-operation between the Association and the

governmental agency is oriented to assess research and innova-

tion material results which are intended to be launched on the

market.

BELGIUMBELAB, the Belgian Eurolab National member, has organized a large survey in Belgium in 2012. Through a questionnaire of

about 60 questions, we tried to have a better overview about the accreditation process in general, and about BELAC, the Belgian

accreditation body, especially.

The first surprise was the number of participants: 219 answers on 350 contacted accredited laboratories! This means that that

topic is a very important one. We have analysed all the answers and comments, and published a detailed report. The results of

this study were also presented to our General Assembly and to the National Accreditation Council during the spring 2013.

The second surprise was the quite good opinions about the accreditation body, even if everything is not perfect. For example,

96% of the participants found that the auditors are competent!

Finally a list of important issues has been established, and we are now working on these topics.

Therefore we organized a first workshop (March 2014) on “non-conformities, flexible scope and uncertainties”. Speakers were

Nicole Van Laethem, Head of BELAC, and Peter Vermaercke, auditor and trainer at BELAC. With more than 120 participants, it

was a great success. It was also a nice opportunity to meet our members, and for many other labs to discover and join our asso-

ciation.

The 2015 edition “international development of the accreditation and internal audits” is now ready and we are expecting a lot of

participants.

Finally, we will host the Eurachem General Assembly and its International Workshop in 2016. A nice challenge for our small asso-

ciation!

More information on www.belab.be

DENMARKDedicated effort on the revision of ISO / IEC 17025ILAC has submitted a New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) to ISO CASCO suggesting an early revision of ISO / IEC 17025. The TCQA

members and the EUROLAB Board of Administrators have come to the conclusion that, even though a (early) revision was not

desirable, it was to be assumed that ISO CASCO would accept the NWIP. As part of the revision EUROLAB has mailed out a

questionnaire to all its members. They have sent their 5 most important ISO / IEC 17025 items which represent the main focus of

EUROLAB regarding the ISO /IEC 17025 revision.

As a follow-up on the answers to the Danish version of the TCQA questionnaire on the top 5 subjects of main concern in the revi-

sion process, EUROLAB Denmark arranged on 26th August a members` meeting (also inviting non-members from accredited

laboratories and from DANAK – the Danish NAB) to discuss the upcoming revision process from different angles.

EUROLAB Denmark has also had the following meetings:

* Network for Analytical Chemistry: “Selection of methods – are we doing it well enough?” (25th September)

* Network for QA & Accreditation: “Assessment of quality – quality of assessments!” (1st October)

* Network for Calibration: (no specific subject – but discussion of latest ILCs) (22nd October)

* Network for Microbiology: “References for microbiological tests – RMs and ILCs, are they useful?” (3rd November)

EUROLAB NATIONAL MEMBERS´

NEWS ACTIVITIES


FRANCEEUROLAB France has prepared a document on the revision of the ISO / IEC 17025 standardEUROLAB France has also started an action plan for preparing the revision of ISO / IEC 17025 in two directions: the federation of

industry (electrical and mechanics in priority) the French Ministry of Industry

EUROLAB France considers that federations of industries must be alert to the fact that the framework must remain appropriate

to their needs and not to become too „conceptual“. For the competitiveness of the industry it is important that this standard

remains targeted on key issues. EUROLAB France alerted its federation to ensure that EA, the European co-operation of accredi-

tation bodies, opens an efficient work to create a common reference framework for laboratory accreditation.

EUROLAB France organised a technical day in October focused on the major non-conformity during the accreditation audits.

GERMANYOn the 1 January 2014 the transfer of the EUROLAB-D Secretariat from the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and

Testing to the VMPA (Verband der Materialprüfungsanstalten e.V.) (Association of materials testing institutes), which was prepa-

red in the year before, became effective. The new postal address is as follows: EUROLAB-D, Littenstr.10, 10179 Berlin. Additio-

nally a new website was launched: www.eurolab-d.de.

During last year‟s Annual Meeting EUROLAB-D had to elect a new chairman since the previous chairman Professor Manfred

Hennecke did not stand for re-election as he had retired. Therefore Professor Kurt Ziegler has been elected for the next two

years. He is a retired civil servant who has been in his previous professional career, among others, the president of a public

materials testing institute and until 2009 the CEO of DAP, one of the previous German accreditation bodies, which is now part

of the German National Accreditation Body. Besides the chairmanship of EUROLAB-D, Kurt Ziegler is still active as a professor

at the university, as chairman of three German standardisation committees and as expert in publicly funded projects supporting

developing countries in establishing their modern quality infrastructures.

In connection with the Annual Meeting EUROLAB-D arranged a colloquium with four lectures. Among the lecturers was Heri-

bert Schorn, who later in the year was appointed by IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) as one of the co-conveners

of the ISO CASCO Working Group 44 for the revision of ISO/IEC 17025. He talked about the latest developments in conformity

assessment standardisation. Other subjects were:

* Risk assessment of equipment and products by laboratories by Süleyman Berber, VDE Testing and Certification Institute,

* Certification of products and quality systems – common features and differences by Tilman Denkler, BAM,

* Terminology problems – greetings from Babylon by Volker Czabon.

8th International Workshop on Proficiency Testing in Analytical Chemistry, Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine

EUROLAB-D chairmanProf. Dr. Kurt Ziegler

At 3 year intervals Eurachem organises workshops on Proficiency Testing in Analytical Chemistry, Microbiology and Laboratory

Medicine in co-operation with CITAC (Cooperation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry) and EQALM (European

Organisation for External Quality Assurance Providers in Laboratory Medicine). The eighth event of this series of workshops took

place on 6 – 9 October 2014 in Berlin. This time the local organiser was EUROLAB-Deutschland, the German member of the

European Federations EUROLAB aisbl and Eurachem.

The workshop commenced on 6 October 2014 with a training course on ISO 13528 and beyond. Two groups with in total 100 parti-

cipants were trained in a morning and afternoon session. The subject of this training was the revised Draft International Stan-

dard ISO 13528-2 Statistical methods for use in proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons.

This draft standard and the accreditation of PT providers against ISO/IEC 17043 Conformity assessment -- General requirements

for proficiency testing were also main topics of the following days together with

* PT on sampling,

* evaluation of qualitative PT,

* PT activities in developing countries.

These topics were addressed in keynote lectures and intensively discussed in working group sessions. The programme was

complemented by the presentation of 77 scientific posters. Many of the lectures and posters as well as the summaries of the

working group sessions are available from the workshop website (http://www.eurachempt2014.de).

With some 250 participants from 64 countries the series of Eurachem workshops has obviously developed to one of the most

important events on proficiency testing globally and will hopefully continue being successful in 2017.

Dr. Michael Nitsche at the workshop on Proficiency Testing in Analyti-cal Chemistry, Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine, 2014

Heribert Schorn, Colloquium organised during the Annual Meeting EUROLAB-D 2013


THE NETHERLANDSCalibration Event 2014After the successful Fenelab Calibration Event for auditors in September, DARE!! and Kalibra International B.V. organized in

November a new, two-day Calibration Event. The event was a great success and both days were fully booked. The presentations

and discussions led to an enormous exchange of information. Companies from all major markets visited the event to learn about

the latest developments in the calibration world and to sharpen their knowledge in regard to measurement uncertainty and

traceability. During the different lectures, it was made clear what the value is of an accredited service supplier for calibration,

inspection and testing, as these companies deliver guaranteed certainty and quality.

The importance of this subject is growing because of the growing importance of documented traceability of measurement, but

also in regard to growing quality demands of complete and complex core processes. This in combination with process control

will become even more important in the future. The use of accredited suppliers is the first step to support any manufacturer in

safeguarding the quality of the process and thereby (eventually) lowering costs.

The many questions asked during the event, is a good indication that many companies acknowledge that this subject is high on

their agenda and that the impact of the quality of calibrations is regarded as a vital part of their business. Not only are compa-

nies working to sustain their calibration process, but they are looking to optimize this process to achieve maximum efficiency

and quality whereby minimizing costs.

The event was a success and based on the comments received from the visitors, the event is likely to become a yearly event! (for

more information about the event see www.kalibratie-event.nl).

Participants in the Calibration event

PORTUGALRELACRE (Eurolab Portugal) has organised the 3rd Natio-

nal Conference on NDT, joining the NDT Sectorial Forum

(FSEND-RELACRE) in partnership with the Portuguese Air

Force. It has also had the support of CANEND – Natio-

nal Aerospace Non Destructive Testing Board and OGMA

(Portuguese Aeronautic Material Laboratory). More than

30 papers were presented and there were 10 partners for

technical exhibition and 5 sponsors. Among others, interna-

tional entities like ICNDT, EFNDT, ABENDI (Brazil), AEND

(Spain), Siemens, TÜV Rheinland, Karl Deutsch attended

the event.

Further information can be found on RELACRE website:

www.relacre.pt


ROMANIADuring the last two years, ROLAB-CIC –Center for Training and Consulting had organised a 60 trainings events in the following

fields: General Metrology, Legal Metrology, Laboratory Management System, Dimensional, Mechanics, Electricity, Physical-

Chemistry, Thermometry, Force and Hardness, in which more than 400 persons were trained. In the period 2013-2014, 52 labora-

tories intercomparisons had been organised by the ROLAB-IC – Proficiency Testing Body.

ROLAB Romania together with BRML (Romanian Bureau of Legal Metrology) organised a well-attended event entitled ´Metrolo-

gy Day in Romania`.

This was an occasion to celebrate:

* 150 years from the promulgation of the Law for adoption of Metric System in Romania by A. I. Cuza Prince

* 125 years from the foundation of the ´Central Office of Weights and Measures` (Serviciul Central de Măsuri şi Greutăţi).

* 60 years from the publication of the first issue of the journal ´Applied Metrology`.

Participants in the ‘Metrology Day in Romania’ Fănel Iacobescu at the 'Metrology Day in Romania'


R O L A B

Q uality is a state of mind

SPAINAt the elections held on 8th May 2014 Mr. Javier Moles Gomez was elected as President and Mr. José Luis Sánchez Álvarez-

Campana as Vice-President.

EUROLAB-Spain held a workshop in January 2014 to generate ideas in view of the revision of the current strategic plan. Thus, the

new President can submit a new plan for the coming years at the General Assembly 2015.

EUROLAB-Spain developed a program with 21 courses to highlight topics related to uncertainty testing, microbiology, intercom-

parisons, ..., that is, on the main technical aspects affecting the laboratories regarding ISO / IEC 17025.

Mr. Pedro Pablo Morillas Bravo, representative of EUROLAB-Spain, was elected in the Spanish Association of Standardization

and Certification, AENOR, in ISO CASCO committee regarding the revision of ISO / IEC 17025.

EUROLAB-Spain is represented in the EUROLAB Board of Administrators by the Board member Mr. José Luis Sánchez Álvarez-

Campana and by Ms. Irache Visiers as Vice-President of the TCQA.

Participants at the XI Symposium organised by FELAB Speakers at the XI Symposium organised by FELAB

During the last two years EUROLAB-Spain has become active again in EURACHEM through the participation of Mr. Alfonso del

Rey Estévez and Mr. Pedro Pablo Morillas Bravo in EURACHEM working groups. EURACHEM guides have been translated into

Spanish.

On Thursday, 27 November, 2014, FELAB organised the XI Symposium entitled ‘Situation and Prospects of National and Inter-

national Markets - Monitoring and Technical Legal Issues in the Scope of Laboratories. EUROLAB-Spain also participated in the

event which was well attended and stirred up discussions on topics such as: the latest laboratory legislative news and trends at

the national, European and international level; the development of standardization and accreditation; the market environment

and the internationalization; the markets outlook.


SWITZERLANDEUROLAB-CH/SNV organised a Seminar on 19 November 2014. The event was well attended and focused on Internal Audits and

Recipes for Maximum Benefit. The same day EUROLAB-CH held its General Assembly.

UNITED KINGDOMMedical Laboratory Accreditation Workshops Teddington 4 June 2014, Edinburgh, Scotland 20th June 2014BMTA in conjunction with UKAS, held its 2nd and 3rd medical laboratory accreditation workshops in June to help medical labo-

ratories with the transition from CPA accreditation to accreditation by UKAS to ISO 15189:2012. At each event, after an opening

lecture, delegates were split into groups to attend 3 workshops covering the issues that laboratories need to address to obtain

accredited status (Measurement Uncertainty, Verification and Validation, and Traceability). Each workshop was preceded by an

introductory talk on the subject, and then run by our expert speakers. Over 120 delegates in total attended these two events.

More information can be found at bmta.co.uk/news.htm.

Construction Products Regulations: Emission of Chemicals from Products and Materials, Markes International, Llantrisant, South Wales, 21st October 2014BMTA, in conjunction with its member company, Markes International, organised a seminar on the topic of the Construction

Products Regulations following its conference held at BRE in 2010. In addition to a range of presentations from well-regarded

speakers in their field, delegates benefited from afternoon workshops and the opportunity to visit some of Markes‟ laboratories.

BMTA Conference: Accreditation, Communication and Innovation WWEM, Telford on 6th November 2014This BMTA Conference was aimed primarily at managers and senior staff in environmental laboratories but the techniques and

quality procedures discussed were of interest to staff in other types of laboratory. The presentations dealt with the methods of

achieving quality and consistency in sampling and in laboratory measurements. The speakers represented the national accredi-

tation body, UKAS, large water companies and commercial laboratory based organisations.


FYROM2014 Annual Assembly of Macedonian Association of Labora-tories and Inspection bodies – MAKLABOn 12th February 2014 the Annual Assembly of the Macedonian Association of

Laboratories and Inspection bodies – MAKLAB was conducted. In the presence

of representatives of Maklab members and representatives from the Institu-

te for Accreditation of the Republic of Macedonia - IARM, the President Ms.

Magdalena Trajkovska Trpevska presented the activities of Maklab in 2013. The

representatives agreed that the undertaken activities were very successful. Also,

the working program for 2014 and the plan of activities in 2014 were presented,

discussed and approved by the Assembly.

All presentations and introducing papers debated during the event are available

online at www.maklab.org.mk.

Ms. Magdalena Trajkovska Trpevska at the MAKLAB Annual Assembly 2014


TURKEY15th March 2014 TURKLAB National Members’ MeetingTurklab members discussed different sectorial problems and possible solutions for remedy. Five major improvement areas were

determined. Strategies were decided: high cost of AB inspections; unfair competition; public laboratories vs private labora-

tories; unfair price competition in private testing sector; problem with supplier companies; non-harmonized practice of AB

inspectors.

13 -14th June 2014 “1st National Workshop for Testing & Inspection”The two-day workshop was performed by the sponsorship of Science, Technology and Industry Ministry (STI). The Deputy Minis-

ter Prof. Dr. Davut Kavrano‟lu chaired the opening session. The President of Turklab, Dr. Ömer Güzel had a presentation entitled

“Conformity Assessment activities in the framework of 10th Improvement Plan”. The Board members of Turklab, Mehmet

Hüsrev, Ne‟e Güne‟, Hakan Tan, Numan Çakır and members Derya Turgay, Aliye Kıyıcı, Serkan Çelebi participated in the meeting

and working group activities. The Ministry of STI published the results of the workshop as a strategy paper.

Turkish Accreditation Body – TÜRKAK, Turklab, Eurolab and UDDER organized two-day workshop on the Construction Products RegulationThe workshop was held in Istanbul on 19-20th September at the Renaissance Hotel. During the first day TÜRKAK inspectors

attended the meeting. During the second day the Notified Body representatives and different ministry and public authority

representatives attended the workshop. The very positive outcome of this workshop satisfied all parties. Mr Jiří Sobola, EURO-

LAB President, was the keynote speaker of the two days. All participants had the chance to ask questions on the debated topics.

It was a successful collaboration between Turklab, EUROLAB and TÜRKAK.

13 -14th June 2014 “1st National Workshop for Testing & Inspection” President of EUROLAB Mr. Jiří Sobola invited by Turklab as key note speaker and expert in the field.

Dr. Mehmet Karabay, Ms. Ayfer Adıgüzel, Mr. Simo Hassi, Dr. Ömer Güzel


KALDER 23rd Quality Congress” 17-19th November 2014 Istanbul TurkeyTURKLAB, UDDER and CEOC International participated in the session that was chaired by the Ministry of Economy and was

entitled: “Safe Life, Safe Products and Services: Conformity Assessment”. Emerging new technologies, new products, consu-

mer protection, increasing social awareness bring a new era to the Testing, Inspection and Certification sector. The TIC Sector

is becoming more and more important in every field of our social life. Attendants of the Quality congress showed high interest

in this session. Dr. Mehmet Karabay, General Director for Product Safety and Inspection in the Ministry of Economy, chaired the

meeting and presented the importance of TIC sector for the Turkish economy. Mr. Simo Hassi, President of CEOC International,

presented data for the importance of TIC sector in the European trade activities and the future of the sector. The President of

UDDER, Ms. Ayfer Adıgüzel, made a presentation, entitled “Importance of Conformity assessment in Product safety”. National

structure of TIC sector, importance of certification, results of Market surveillance activities, market share of TIC sector in Turkey

and future perspectives were covered. The President of TURKLAB, Dr. Ömer Güzel, made a contribution to the national struc-

ture of Market Surveillance activities, statistical and research results from EU Market Surveillance projects.

Ankara Chamber of Industry, UDDER and TURKLAB organized a full day PRODUCT SAFETY SEMINAR on 23th September 2014 in AnkaraThe General Secretary of the Chamber of Industry, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Cabbar, made the opening speech. Mr. Jiří Sobola,

EUROLAB President, Dr. Mehmet Karabay, General Director of Product safety and inspection, Ministry of Economy, Mr. Muhsin

Dere, Industrial Products Safety and Inspection General Director, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ms. Ayfer Adıgüzel,

President of UDDER, Dr. Ömer Güzel, President of TURKLAB were keynote speakers. “Product Safety and Legal regulations”,

“Market Surveillance and unsafe products”, “products safety for producers and consumers” were the three main topics of the

presentations. Turkish National Accreditation Body, TÜRKAK, Turkish Consumer Protection Associations TÜDEF, Turkish Const-

ruction Materials Producers Association, IMSAD also made presentations.

Participants in the Product Safety Seminar on 23th September 2014 in Ankara


ACCREDITATION

40ACCREDITATION

EA General Assembly (EA GA)EUROLAB President Jiří Sobola (EUROLAB – CZ) attended the EA General

Assemblies, which took place in Prague on 27 and 28 May 2014 and in The

Hague on 19-20 November 2014. During the meetings the reports of all EA

committees were presented.

The issues which were mainly discussed were:

* Higher need for cooperation between the Regions as well as more

cooperation between EA and the Americas

* Content of the Multilateral Agreement (MLA); Discrepancies between

the Blue Guide and EA 2/17 Document on Accreditation for Notifica-

tion Purposes

* Surveillance and reassessment

* Benchmarking

EA Laboratory Committee (EA LC)EUROLAB representatives and members of the TCQA committee Irache

Visiers (EUROLAB España) and Manfred Golze (EUROLAB Deutschland)

attended the meetings of EA LC, which took place in Malta on 12 and 13

March 2014 and in Windsor on 10 – 11 September 2014.

Main points of discussion were:

* Reissuance of test reports:

This issue has been discussed for three years at the EA-LC meetings.

During the last meeting, it was decided to send a resolution to EA-EX

and EA-GA: Reissuance of test reports when the trade name / trademark

of the tested product has changed (§ 5.10.9 of ISO/IEC 17025)

* Opinions and Interpretations

It was agreed to continue with the document, and some points were

discussed as e.g.: how the ability to perform opinions and interpreta-

tions should be remarked at the accreditation scope, or the need to

set boundaries to opinions and interpretations.

* Task Force Group on RMP and PTP MLA

Future Multilateral Agreement (MLA) for the accreditation of Profici-

ency Test Providers (PTP) and Reference Material Producers (RMP):

This TFG met twice and proposed the withdrawal of the document:

EA-2/09 on EA Policy on the Accreditation of Proficiency Testing

Schemes

EA Certification Committee (EA CC)EUROLAB representative Wilfried Hinrichs (EUROLAB Deutschland) atten-

ded the EA CC meeting which took place on 26 and 27 March 2014 in Oslo.

A strategic discussion on the future of the EA CC was held during the

meeting. This was done against the background of newly defined strategic

positions both of ILAC and IAF. Consequently it has been decided that the

Committee shall mainly remain a discussion forum and, if possible, a decis-

ion making instrument.

EA Inspection Committee (EA IC)EUROLAB representative Wilfried Hinrichs (EUROLAB Deutschland) atten-

ded the EA IC meeting which took place on 26 and 27 March 2014 in Oslo.

Main topics on the agenda were the difference between testing and inspec-

tion, and sampling as a standalone activity. The majority of the IC members

were against sampling as a stand-alone activity.

There were other discussions on approaches to type approval/examina-

tion/testing (according to ISO/IEC 17065:2012 on Conformity assessment -

Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services; ISO/IEC

17020:2012 on Conformity assessment - Requirements for the operation of vari-

ous types of bodies performing inspection; ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General requi-

rements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) as well as

on prototype testing or inspection and the possibility to issue approvals on

the basis of ISO / IEC 17065.

EA 5/02 TA: 2007 EA Guidance on the application of EN 45004 in recur-

rent inspection of motor vehicles has been concluded and distributed for

comments.

EA Horizontal Harmonization Committee (EA HHC)The EUROLAB representative Magnus Holmgren (EUROLAB Sverige) atten-

ded the EA HHC in Brussels on 16 - 17 September 2014.

The following points were mainly highlighted in the meeting:

* Recognition of accreditation issued outside of the regional framework

of Regulation 765/2008 regarding which the EA HHC approved the

draft policy paper and agreed to fine-tune it based on the comments

made during the meeting. The EA GA has decided to publish this do-

cument only as an informative document (see GA resolutions). Revi-

sion of EA-2/17: HHC endorsed the final draft which was presented at

the meeting and it was circulated for voting.

* Revision of EA-1/22 EA Procedure and Criteria for the Evaluation of Con-

formity Assessment Schemes by EA Accreditation Body Members: HHC

endorsed the final draft of the document. The draft has been finalized

considering the editorial suggestions made during the meeting and

then circulated for voting

ACCREDITATION

EAABP. Blinksbjerg

EAAB CAP. Blinksbjerg

J. Sanchez

EA GAJ. Sobolda

EUROLAB GALAXY

2015BoA

J. Sobola, J. Llewellyn, R. Zantman, J. Sanchez,

O. Guzel, P. Launey, A. S. Ribeiro, P. Blinksbjerg, M. Golze, I. Visiers, C. Steward

JTC PTCC. Priller, C. Stewart, S. Aretz,

M. Böttcher, E. C. Amell, P. Dewolfs,D. Dichtel, H. Eberhardt, H. Egolf, H. Falster,

A. Gerymska, M. Giumelli, T. Hruska,R. Hulmes, D. Konický, M. Manca,

F. M. Sánchez, D. Pflumm, A. Šafařík-Pštrosz, H. G. Schaub,

A. Schmidt, B. Siegemund, O. Talbot, P. van Breugel, A.-F. Vollema, S. Waldner-Sander, M. Weigel-Hafner,

H. Wessel-Segebade, N. Wronski

4E + CChairpersons

PLGM. Golze

EEE-PTJ. v. de Kreeke,

U. Leist, P. Rosario,

Braun

ILAC LCJ. Sobola

ILAC GAJ. Sobola

ILAC ARCJ. Sobola

ILAC IC

EA LCI. VisiersM. Golze

ILC Testing

J. v. de Kreeke

ILC Calibr.

J. v. de Kreeke

ISO CASCO WG 43V. Catalan

ISO CASCO WG 42K. ZieglerC. Stewart

CEN TC 1

CEN CCB

EA HHCM. Holmgren

EA CCW. Hinrichs

EA ICW. Hinrichs

ISO CASCO

P. Blinksbjerg

ISO CASCO WG 32E. Redondo

ISO CASCO

CPCP. Blinksbjerg

ISO CASCO WG 44

P. BlinksbjergC. Stewart

TC QAM. Golze, I. Visiers,

P. Agathonos, M. Avraam, P. Blinksbjerg, A. Brzyski, E. Bulska, H. Eberhardt,

B. Frenn, Ö. Güzel, M. Holmgren,P. Jackson, P. Launey, J. Llewellyn,

W. A. J. Mandersloot, J. Matta, C. Raponi, A. S. Ribeiro, R. Robinson, J. L. Sanchez, M. Schwaiger, L. P. Sibbesen, J. Sobola,

G. Todorov, I. Urdea,U. von Känel, R. Zantman

EA CPC

41ACCREDITATION

EUROLAB President Jiří Sobola (EUROLAB CZ) represented EUROLAB at

the following ILAC meetings from 07 to 10 April 2014 in Oslo and from 08 to

18 October 2014 in Vancouver:

* ILAC General Assembly

* ILAC Laboratory Committee (ILAC LC)

* ILAC Inspection Committee (ILAC IC)

* ILAC Accreditation Issues Committee (ILAC AIC)

* ILAC Arrangement Committee (ILAC ARC)

* ILAC Proficiency Testing Working Group (ILAC WG PT)

ILAC Laboratory Committee (ILAC LC)In addition to the revision of ISO/IEC 17025:2008 General requirements for the

competence of testing and calibration laboratories, the topics which were on

the agenda of the meeting were: ILAC R3:12/2014 ILAC Strategic Plan 2015-

2020, the report on revision of the ILAC P9:06/2014 – ILAC Policy for Parti-

cipation in Proficiency Testing Activities and ILAC P13:10/2010 Application of

ISO/IEC 17011 for the Accreditation of Proficiency Testing Providers.

ILAC Inspection Committee (ILAC IC)Differences between testing and inspection activities was the main topic

on the ILAC IC agenda. Apart from this, APLAC did a research on sampling

as a standalone activity: results showed that only one Accreditation Body

is accrediting sampling against ISO EN 17020 as standalone activity. ILAC

P9:06/2014 ILAC Policy for Participation in Proficiency Testing Activities was

published.

ILAC Arrangement Committee (ILAC ARC)The ILAC Arrangement Committee is responsible for harmonized imple-

mentation and continual improvement of the ILAC Arrangement. As such

it looks after the revisions / reviews of both ISO CASCO standards and ILAC

documents.

In 2014 the committee dealt with the following issues:

* how regulators are using accreditation

* ILAC G21:09/2012 Cross Frontier Accreditation - Principles for Co-

operation

* WG 10 ILAC rules for termination and suspension of member-

ship

* WG11 comments for revision of ISO/IEC 17011:2004 on Confor-

mity assessment - General requirements for accreditation bodies

accrediting conformity assessment bodies

* Regulatory use of accreditation, resolution on PT and RM

ILAC Accreditation Issues Committee (ILAC AIC)The Revision of ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of

testing and calibration laboratories, was on the agenda of the 2014 meeting

of the ILAC AIC.

The main discussions centred as well on the following issues:

* Measurement uncertainty (MU) in testing

* ILAC P10:01/2013 ILAC Policy on Traceability of Measurement Results

* Good practice in using RMs

ILAC G12:2000 Guidelines for the Requirements for the Competence of Refe-

rence Materials Producers and ILAC G9:2005 Guidelines for the Selection and

Use of Reference Materials are documents which have been withdrawn and

at the same time new documents have been drafted as ILAC G19:08/2014

Modules in a Forensic Science Process. Documents which will be updated

are ILAC G26:07/2012 Guidance for the Implementation of a Medical Labora-

tory Accreditation System, ILAC G18:04/2010 Guideline for the Formulation of

Scopes of Accreditation for Laboratories and G11:07/2006 ILAC Guidelines on

Qualifications & Competence of Assessors and Technical Experts.

EAABP. Blinksbjerg

EAAB CAP. Blinksbjerg

J. Sanchez

EA GAJ. Sobolda

EUROLAB GALAXY

2015BoA

J. Sobola, J. Llewellyn, R. Zantman, J. Sanchez,

O. Guzel, P. Launey, A. S. Ribeiro, P. Blinksbjerg, M. Golze, I. Visiers, C. Steward

JTC PTCC. Priller, C. Stewart, S. Aretz,

M. Böttcher, E. C. Amell, P. Dewolfs,D. Dichtel, H. Eberhardt, H. Egolf, H. Falster,

A. Gerymska, M. Giumelli, T. Hruska,R. Hulmes, D. Konický, M. Manca,

F. M. Sánchez, D. Pflumm, A. Šafařík-Pštrosz, H. G. Schaub,

A. Schmidt, B. Siegemund, O. Talbot, P. van Breugel, A.-F. Vollema, S. Waldner-Sander, M. Weigel-Hafner,

H. Wessel-Segebade, N. Wronski

4E + CChairpersons

PLGM. Golze

EEE-PTJ. v. de Kreeke,

U. Leist, P. Rosario,

Braun

ILAC LCJ. Sobola

ILAC GAJ. Sobola

ILAC ARCJ. Sobola

ILAC IC

EA LCI. VisiersM. Golze

ILC Testing

J. v. de Kreeke

ILC Calibr.

J. v. de Kreeke

ISO CASCO WG 43V. Catalan

ISO CASCO WG 42K. ZieglerC. Stewart

CEN TC 1

CEN CCB

EA HHCM. Holmgren

EA CCW. Hinrichs

EA ICW. Hinrichs

ISO CASCO

P. Blinksbjerg

ISO CASCO WG 32E. Redondo

ISO CASCO

CPCP. Blinksbjerg

ISO CASCO WG 44

P. BlinksbjergC. Stewart

TC QAM. Golze, I. Visiers,

P. Agathonos, M. Avraam, P. Blinksbjerg, A. Brzyski, E. Bulska, H. Eberhardt,

B. Frenn, Ö. Güzel, M. Holmgren,P. Jackson, P. Launey, J. Llewellyn,

W. A. J. Mandersloot, J. Matta, C. Raponi, A. S. Ribeiro, R. Robinson, J. L. Sanchez, M. Schwaiger, L. P. Sibbesen, J. Sobola,

G. Todorov, I. Urdea,U. von Känel, R. Zantman

EA CPC

EUROLAB GALAXY

42ACCREDITATION

43ACCREDITATION

EUROLAB COMMITEES AND EVENTS

46COMMITEES & EVENTS

MembersThe committee currently comprises 32 members from 20 countries. In 2014

two meetings were held, one on 31st March 2014 in Warsaw, Poland, and the

other one on 06th October 2014 in Lisbon, Portugal.

OrganizationEUROLAB has revised its procedure for nominating delegates to European

and international committees and working groups. In the future TCQA will

play an important role in the nomination of EUROLAB representatives.

Guides / Technical Reports

During the Warsaw meeting the TCQA members approved the Draft guideli-

ne for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Method Development and Vali-

dation as a Technical Report The document had been prepared by a group

of NMR experts from the German Federal Police Forensics Department and

has been made available to EUROLAB. The TCQA members agreed that

this is a very useful document.

It was also decided to draft a guidance document on continuous impro-

vements. The aim of this document will be to make laboratory staff more

aware of which

Position PapersA position paper on surveillance and reassessment was approved. This

paper was a response to an ILAC discussion paper on the application of

clauses 7.11.3 and 7.11.4 of ISO/IEC 17011. EUROLAB felt that the recommen-

dations given in this discussion paper were a misinterpretation of ISO / IEC

17011’s intention. Based on our members’ experiences EUROLAB sugges-

ted to extend the intervals after a first satisfactory surveillance visit to 18

months as a rule (instead of twelve) with extensions or reductions in cases

of respective evidence.

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON QUALITY ASSURANCE IN TESTING AND CALIBRATION (TCQA)

Inquiries Topics for metrology laboratoriesA 2012 inquiry into the membership structure of EUROLAB showed that a signifi-

cant number of EUROLAB members are metrology laboratories. EUROLAB consi-

ders that the development of the relationship between metrology, testing and

industry is strongly related to the success of R&D. In fact, the EU’s new frame-

work programme for research and innovation (Horizon2020) states its concern to

promote the development of these bonds to build a roadmap for future compe-

titiveness and to “bridge the gap between research and the market”. TCQA there-

fore drafted a questionnaire explicitly for metrology laboratories in order to find

out how EUROLAB can better support their positions and views on both a Euro-

pean and an international level. The preliminary results of the inquiry were presen-

ted during the TCQA meeting in Warsaw. More than seventy replies were received.

Calibration laboratories generally seem to have a positive view of EUROLAB, even

though EUROLAB is not providing specific services to them. Their main working

fields are the industry, energy and environmental sector. Most of the laboratories

are accredited. 29% of the respondents were EUROLAB members.

Reissuance of test reportsThe question of whether or not a reissuance of test reports is allowed has been

discussed both within the TCQA and the EA Advisory Board (EAAB). EUROLAB

has conducted an inquiry among its members in order to find out more about the

common practice. The inquiry had been prepared and carried out by the TCQA.

The results were presented during the 2014 EAAB spring meeting and also during

the TCQA meeting held in Warsaw. The results showed that only 11 replies were

received and thus the results are not representative. Generally there seems to be a

lack of information among the laboratories and a lack of harmonization among and

even within the member states.

It was concluded that this topic did not seem to be of great importance to the

members and thus there will be no further follow-up.

TCQA Chair Manfred Golze EUROLAB Deutschland

TCQA Vice-Chair Irache Visiers EUROLAB España


Reports from the EUROLAB representatives

The TCQA is EUROLAB’s platform for technical discussions on accreditati-

on and standardisation as well as related issues. For this reason the EURO-

LAB representatives in EA, ILAC, ISO and CEN committees report back to

the TCQA and discuss with the other members the joint EUROLAB position

on the various guides, standards and other documents that are of the labo-

ratory community’s concern. Additionally the TCQA members also discuss

topics that are being dealt with by other associations, joint committees and

/ or working groups (e.g. EURACHEM, UILI, EEE-PT, JTC PTC) in order to

define areas in which they can work together. Thanks to this approach and

the expert input provided by the members, TCQA, and therefore EUROLAB

as a whole, is always in a position to provide comments and feedback on

current technical issues.

Task Force Group on Interlaboratory Com-parisons and Proficiency TestingThe EUROLAB Task Force Group on Interlaboratory Comparisons and

Proficiency Testing met once in April after the General Assembly. The TFG

has been active in commenting on important documents for ILC/PT stake-

holders (including accreditation of Reference Material Producers). It also

elaborated one draft EUROLAB Position Paper which it might include the

risk of the ”Closed shop” which means that in the future only accredited

RM-producers can be used.

Additionally, the TFG is dealing with two draft documents:

* How to deal with a single questionable or unsatisfactory PT score?

Guidance for users of laboratory PT results

* Guidelines for the assessment of interlaboratory comparisons with

few participants in the process of laboratory accreditation

A Working Group has been created to draft a Guidance document on

harmonisation of assessors. This Guidance will use as a basis, the result of

a 2 days’ workshop held in Turkey. The Convenor of the WG on Harmonisa-

tion is Ömer Güzel (TURKLAB).

Main focus areasIn addition to the general work of the European and international accredita-

tion and standardisation organisations, the TCQA followed and discussed

in particular:

* The creation of a EUROLAB White Paper on the revision of ISO/IEC

17025 (see Highlights section)

* ILAC-P10 :01/2013 ILAC Policy on Traceability of Measurement Results

* ILAC Position Paper on frequency of surveillance audits

* Revision of ILAC G17 on Measurement uncertainty in testing

* Overlap of testing and inspection activities

* Opinions and interpretations in test reports

* Sampling as a standalone activity

* EA 2/17 EA Guidance on the horizontal requirements for the accre-

ditation of conformity assessment bodies for notification purposes

* Revision of ISO / IEC 17011 General requirements for accreditation

bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies

* Revision of ISO Guide 34 General requirements for the competence of

reference material producers

Meetings08/04/2014 TCQA meeting in Warsaw, Poland hosted by POLAB

06/10/2014 TCQA meeting in Lisbon, Portugal hosted by RELACRE

TCQA Chair Manfred Golze, EUROLAB Deutschland, and TCQA Vice –Chair Irache Visiers, EUROLAB España

TCQA Meeting in Warsaw

TCQA Meeting in Lisbon

EUROLAB co-chair:(since April 2014)Carol StewartExova, UK

CEOC International co-chair: Christian Piller TÜV SÜD

EUROLAB co-chair:(until April 2014) Philippe Dewolfs BELAB

The main issue on the JTC PTC’s agenda continued to be the Product Safe-

ty and Market Surveillance Package. EUROLAB, CEOC International and

IFIA published two joint position papers on the Product Safety and Market

Surveillance Package, in which they advocate the role of third party testing,

inspection and certification for enhancing consumer safety, the involve-

ment of laboratories and conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the

proposed Market Surveillance Forum and a clearer differentiation between

CABs and European Union reference laboratories. The second positi-

on paper mainly focused on the idea of an ‘EU Safety Tested’ marking. All

three associations agree that if such a marking is to be introduced at some

point certain criteria will have to be fulfilled in order to ensure a robust

system. CEOC International and EUROLAB, together with IFIA, are develo-

ping a strategy how such a safety marking could be introduced on the Euro-

pean market.

Other significant EU policies for the committee were:

* the revision of the Medical Devices Directive

* the New Legislative Framework and the Alignment Package

* the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

* the revision of the Blue Guide

* the European Commission’ Communication on an Industrial Renais-

sance in Europe

JOINT EUROLAB – CEOC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON PRODUCT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION (JTC PTC)

Main focus areas:EU Policies


AccreditationThe JTC PTC members have been actively following and participating in the

work of the following EA committees:

* the Horizontal Harmonisation Committee (HHC)

* the Inspection Committee (IC)

* the Certification Committee (CC)

* the EA Advisory Board (EAAB) and the Conformity Assessment bo-

dies’ College (CAB College)

Also of special interest to the JTC PTC is the work of IAF and ILAC.

StandardisationThe JTC PTC has been closely following the work of ISO, in particular the

ISO / IEC 17011 Requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting confor-

mity assessment bodies, ISO/ IEC 17021 Requirements for bodies providing

audit and certification of management systems, ISO/ IEC 17026 Guidance

on a third-party certification system for products and ISO/ IEC 17067 Funda-

mentals of product certification and standards.

Of particular interest was the decision to revise ISO/IEC 17025. While both

EUROLAB and CEOC International where against an early revision of

the standard the two associations will now be actively involved in WG 44

dealing with the revision. Both JTC PTC co-chairs will be participating in

WG 44 and they will work closely with together other CEOC International

and EUROLAB representatives in this group. JTC PTC will also coordinate

its action with EUROLAB’s TCQA.

New co-chairAt the 2014 EUROLAB General Assembly in Warsaw, Carol Stewart (Exova)

was elected as the new EUROLAB co-chair of the JTC PTC, succeeding Phil-

ippe Dewolfs (Vinçotte), who had been the co-chair of the committee for

the past three years.

Meetings07-08/04/2014 JTC PTC meeting in Vienna (with IFIA participation), hosted

by TÜV Austria and Austrolab

06/11/2014 JTC PTC meeting in Brussels (with IFIA participation)

JTC PTC meeting in Vienna


EUROLAB website: www.eurolab.org

What is EUROLAB doing for the European Laboratory Community?

How my Laboratory can profit from such activities?

In the nineties, leaders of major multi-disciplinary laboratories created a European federation of national associations, grouping together accredited laboratories. This federation, named EUROLAB, represents and voices the opinion of measurement, testing and analytical laboratories regarding economic, political and technical issues having a direct impact on laboratories’ activities both on the European scene and worldwide. Any laboratory may join and become a member of this European community that EUROLAB represents by subscribing to its national association.

European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories

Modern Laboratories do not operate in isolation. There are many European and international influences, which will affect how they are run.

AustriaBelgiumBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceIcelandItalyNetherlandsPolandPortugalRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUK

Active members

Associated members

International affiliates

LebanonSouth AfricaUSA

FYROMTurkey

EUROLAB Communication Activities

EUROLAB Special Briefing EUROLAB Newsbriefing EUROLAB leaflet

EUROLAB LinkedIn Group

COMMS

The Communication committee promotes effective, appropriate and

innovative communication and aims at strengthening relationships with

sector-oriented organisations and supporting the coherence of action in

the laboratory community. The main objectives of the Communication

committee are : to promote cost-effective testing, calibration and measu-

rement services, to demonstrate the added value of the laboratory commu-

nity work, to identify possible target group(s) decision-makers, technical

representatives and press, to develop the EUROLAB key messages deli-

vered to the identified target groups and further increase the understan-

ding of the industry.

The committee contributes to the development and constant updates of

the main EUROLAB communication channels: Website, publications,

LinkedIn group. The LinkedIn group was created in order to get closer to

the members and to provide them with a new platform for exchanging

information and publishing EUROLAB position papers as well as other

communication materials.

The communication activities are made in conjunction with the EUROLAB

Board and in close cooperation with the EUROLAB General Secretariat.

In order to meet the key objectives and to further strengthen its voice

on the European scene and worldwide, EUROLAB needs an innovative

communication strategy. Thus an important project for 2015 will be the

strengthening of the existing communication committee and the imple-

mentation of an innovative communication strategy.

Co-ChairÖmer Güzel EUROLAB Board member for Associate Members

Co-ChairJeff Llewellyn EUROLAB Vice-President


The EUROLAB General Secretariat in Brussels first provides a platform for

our members to discuss their issues of concern and to exchange informati-

on and viewpoints, and, secondly acts as a facilitator of members’ interests

to the EU institutions. The General Secretariat supports also the Technical

Committees which provide expert input on key legislative or standardisati-

on initiatives.

Services provided by the EUROLAB General Secretariat:* representation in the EU Institutions;

* monitoring selected EU legislation;

* organising meetings / events

* publication of quarterly newsletter / position papers

The priority areas of focus for 2014 were:* the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package

* Revision of ISO / IEC 17025

EUROLAB GENERAL SECRETARIAT IN BRUSSELS

Laura Martin, Drewin Nieuwenhuis, Franziska Kassler, Zlatina Zheleva, Diana Popa


EUROLAB elected new Board members and approved new Articles of Asso-

ciation at the General Assembly in Warsaw, on 1st April 2014.

The EUROLAB members elected Mr Pascal Launey, EUROLAB France, who

joined the Board as a new member, running for a term of two years. Mr Álva-

ro Silva Ribeiro, RELACRE, and Mr Peter Blinksbjerg, EUROLAB Denmark,

defended successfully their position in the Board by their re-election.

Mr Ruud Zantman, FENELAB, was elected as the new Treasurer following

the retirement of Mr Jan Basten. The Board members and Treasurer were

officially announced after the confidential ballot which took place during

the meeting.

Around 40 delegates representing 18 different countries attended the

EUROLAB General Assembly in Warsaw on 1st April 2014, kindly hosted by

POLLAB.

New Articles of AssociationDr Jeff Llewellyn, EUROLAB Vice-President, presented the new Articles of

Associations which, among others, revise Article 5 - membership categories.

Dr Jeff Llewellyn underlined the positive impact of this provision to attract a

wider variety of members who wish to be represented by EUROLAB.

New Associated MemberEUROLAB was pleased to welcome LEBLAB (The Lebanese Laboratories

Association), represented by Mr Joseph Matta, as a new associated member.

Memorandum of Understanding & Service Agreement with CEOC Interna-

tional

The long-term fruitful collaboration between EUROLAB and CEOC Inter-

national was reconfirmed by renewing the Memorandum of Understanding

and Service Agreement, signed by Mr Jiří Sobola, EUROLAB President and

Participants EUROLAB General Assembly, Warsaw

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2014

Mr Jan Basten, previous EUROLAB Treasurer and Mr Jiří Sobola EUROLAB President Mr Joseph Matta, LEBLAB and Mr Jiří Sobola EUROLAB President


The EUROLAB National Members’ Meeting, which followed the Extraordi-

nary EUROLAB General Assembly, on 7th October 2014, which was hosted

by RELACRE in Lisbon, gathered delegates from 18 countries to discuss

current developments within the Federation and the laboratory area.

Mr Jiří Sobola, EUROLAB President, outlined the main activities and achie-

vements in the last period with reference to the EUROLAB European

cooperation and its participation in various technical committees and

working groups. In addition a substantial part of the meeting was dedicated

to the discussions on the EUROLAB political strategy for the next five years

and the importance of establishing a proactive approach.

NATIONAL MEMBERS MEETING

Participants EUROLAB National Members’ meeting, 7th October, National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), Lisbon, Portugal

Mr Jiří Sobola, EUROLAB President and Mrs Visnja Gasljevic, HMD

Mr Simo Hassi, CEOC International President.

An Extraordinary EUROLAB General Assembly took place on 7th October

2014 at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) Lisbon, Portu-

gal and was well attended with around 40 delegates representing 18 diffe-

rent countries. During the Extraordinary GA, Dr Jeff Llewellyn, EUROLAB

Vice - President, presented the new Articles of Association, among which

were the revised Articles 15.1 / 15.2: Board extension. Dr Jeff Llewellyn

underlined the added value of the Board extension, namely to get better

representation of all EUROLAB members and to have more human resour-

ces. The EUROLAB members approved the new Articles of Association and

the revised Internal Rules.

During the Extraordinary EUROLAB General Assembly HMD (the Croati-

an Metrology Society) was welcomed as an Observer Member. HMD was a

EUROLAB Associated Member from 2004 to 2013. The membership certi-

ficate was ceremonially signed during the General Assembly by EUROLAB

President, Mr Jiří Sobola and Mrs Visnja Gasljevic, HMD.


EUROLAB STRUCTURE

EUROLAB BOARD OF ADMINISTRATORS

ADVISOR TO THE BOARD / DELEGATE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES

Prof. Dr. H

orst Czichos

EUROLAB-Deutschland

1. Jiří Sobola, EUROLAB CZ, President

2. Jeff Llewellyn, BMTA, Vice-President

3. Ruud Zantmann, Fenelab, Treasurer

4. José Luis Sanchez Alvarez-Campana. EUROLAB España, Member

5. Ewa Bulska, POLLAB, Member

6. Pascal Launey, EUROLAB France, Member

7. Peter Blinksbjerg, EUROLAB Denmark, Member

8. Álvaro Silva Ribeiro, RELACRE, Member

9. Ömer Güzel, TURKLAB, Representative of Associated Members

10. Manfred Golze, EUROLAB Deutschland, TCQA Chair

11. Carol Stewart, BMTA, JTC PTC Co-Chair

10

9

7

5

3

1

11 864 2


8

EUROLAB TECHNICAL COMMITTEES

EUROLAB GENERAL SECRETARIAT

TCQA Chair

Manfred Golze

EUROLAB-Deutschland

TCQA Vice-Chair

Irache Visiers

EUROLAB-España

JTC PTC Co-Chair

Carol Stewart

BMTA

Drewin Nieuwenhuis

CEOC International

Secretary General

Zlatina Zheleva

Junior International

Affairs Manager

Dagmar Kotová

International Affairs

Manager (until

30.06.2014) Franziska Kassler

International Affairs

Manager Laura Martin


Affairs Manager

Diana Popa


Affairs Manager


CZECH REPUPLICEUROLAB – CZwww.eurolabcz.czPražská 16CZ-102 00 Praha 10Tel.: +420 28 101 7382Email.: [email protected] Person: Ms. Libuše Futerová

DENMARK EUROLAB – Denmarkwww.eurolabdanmark.dkSkjoldborgsvej 1 stDK-5270 Odense NTel.: + 45 47 72 17 07Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Lorens P. Sibbesen

FINLAND EUROLAB – Finlandwww.finntesting.fiA.I. Virtasen Aukio 1P.O. Box 55, University of HelsinkiFI-00014 HelsinkiTel.: +358 9 191 50 409Email.:[email protected] Person: Ms. Marja-Leena Kuitunen

FRANCE EUROLAB – Francewww.eurolab-france.asso.frEurolab France c/o SopemeaZone Aéronautique Louis BréguetB.P. 48FR-78142 Vélizy-Villacoublay, CedexTel.: +33 1 40 43 37 40Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Jean-Luc Laurent

GERMANYEUROLAB - Deutschlandwww.eurolab-d.deLittensraße 10DE-10179 BerlinTel.: +49 30 27908330Email: [email protected] Person: Mrs. Susanne Feist

GREECEHellasLabwww.hellaslab.grThesi StefaniGR-19300 Aspropyrgos, AttikiTel.: +30 210 558 27 20Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Agathonos Pericles

ICELAND EUROLAB - Icelandwww.nmi.isInnovation Centre IcelandKeldnaholt 112IS-112 ReykjavikTel.: +354 522 9000Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Arnbjörnsson Aðalsteinn

ITALY ALPI – Associazione Laboratoridi Prova e Organismi diCerfificazione e Ispezionewww.alpiassociazione.itVia Lapidari 12, IT-40129 Bologna Tel.: +390 516 12 16 98Email.:[email protected] Person: Mr. Claudio Raponi

NETHERLANDS Fenelabwww.fenelab.nlPostbus 64NL-2260 AB LEIDSCHENDAMTel.: +31 70 3378760Email.: [email protected] Person: Ms Mariandl van den Andel

POLANDPOLLABwww.pollab.plKlobucka Str. 23 APL-02-699 WarsawTel.: +48 22 4645 503Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Andrzej Brzyski

PORTUGALRELACREwww.relacre.ptRua Filipe Folque, 2-6° Dto.PT-1050-113 LisboaTel.: +351 21313 98 40Email: [email protected] Person: Mr. José Manuel dos Santos Duarte

ROMANIA EUROLAB – Romaniawww.eurolabrom.roStr. Polona N°16, Sector 1RO-023692 BucharestTel.: +40 21 242 16 43Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Titus Anghelescu ROLABwww.rolab.roUnirii Avenue, n° 61, F3-building,TR 2 entrance, 3rd floor, 301 door,3rd sectorRO-030828 BucharestTel.: +4021 320 33 05Email: [email protected] Person: Mrs. Mirela Adelaida Anghel

Active Members

AUSTRIAAUSTROLABwww.austrolab.atStadlauerstrasse 39/6AT-1220 WienTel.: 0664/20 23 778Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Norbert GlantschniggEmail: [email protected]: Ms. Irene Zirbs

BELGIUMBELABwww.belab.beMastellestraat 57BE-3020 HerentTel.: +32 474 397800Email: [email protected] Person: Mr. Pascale Laevens

BULGARIABULLAB34 General Totleben, Blvd.Building 6, Floor 2PO BOX 290BG-1606 SofiaTel.:+359 889 508812Email:[email protected] Person: Eng. Alexander Petrov

CROATIA CROLABwww.crolab.hrBerislavićeva 6HR-10000 ZagrebTel.: +385 1611 1570Email: [email protected] Person: Ms. Štefica Cerjan Stefanovic

CYPRUS CyprusLabPO Box 27415CY-1645 NicosiaTel. : +357 224 582 60Email.: [email protected] Person: Dr. Marios Avraam

MEMBER CONTACT LIST

56LIST OF MEMBERS AND CONTACT PERSONS

R O L A B

Q uality is a state of mind

SPAINEUROLAB – Españawww.eurolab.org.esC/Alenza, 1ES-28003 MadridTel.: +34 9 13 99 01 74Email: [email protected] Person: Dr. Miguel Sánchez

SWEDENEUROLAB – Sverigewww.eurolab-sverige.orgP.O. Box 857SE-50115 BorasTel.: +46 105 16 50 07Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Magnus Holmgren

SWITZERLANDEUROLAB – CHwww.eurolab.chc/o SNV Swiss Association forStandardizationBürglistrasse 29CH-8400 WinterthurTel.: +41 52 224 54 03Email: [email protected] Person: Ms. Monika Di Michele

UNITED KINGDOMBMTA - British Measurementand Testing Associationwww.bmta.co.ukEast Malling Enterprise CentreNew Road, East MallingKent, ME19 6BJ, United KingdomTel.: +44 (0)1723 897453Email.: [email protected] Person: Dr. Jeff Llewellyn

Associated Members

FYROMMAKLABwww.maklab.org.mkbul. Kuzman Jositovski Pitubr.28/3lok.13MK-1000 SkopjeTel.: +389 2 2448 058Email: [email protected] Contact Person: Mrs. Magdalena Trajkovska Trpevska

LEBANONIRI – Industrial Research Institutewww.iri.org.lbLebanse University CampusHadath (Baabda)P.O. Box 11 LB-2806 BeirutTel.: + 961 5 467 831Email.: [email protected] Person: Mr. Bassam Frenn

TURKEYTURKLABwww.turklab.orgBuyukdere Cad. Gokfiliz IshaniK:3 No: 8 34387 MecidiyekoyIstanbul / TurkeyTel.: +90 212 217 41 41Email.: [email protected], [email protected]

Contact Person: Mr. Ömer Güzel

International Affiliates

SOUTH AFRICA NLAwww.nla.org.zaP.O. Box 298Perseqour Park, Pretoria, 0020South AfricaTel.: +27 12 349 1500Email.: [email protected]

Contact Person: Mr. Steve Sidney

USANCSLIThe national conference of Standards Laboratories Internationalwww.ncsli.org2995 Wilderness Place, Suite 107Boulder, Colorado 80301-5404, USA+0013 303 44 033 39Email: [email protected] Person: Ms. Roxanne M. Robinson

Observer Members

CROATIA HMD-Hrvatsko mjeriteljskodruštvowww.hmd.hrBerislavićeva 8HR-10000 ZagrebTel.: +02 16 517 66 90Email: [email protected] Person: Ms. Visnja Gasljevic

57LIST OF MEMBERS AND CONTACT PERSONS

58

EUROLABEUROLAB aisbl - The European Federation of National Associations of Measurement, Testing and Analytical Laboratories

EUROLAB aisbl was set up in Brussels on 27 April 1990 as a network of the laboratory community and in

response to the evolution of the European Union and is since 1998 registered as a legal entity in the form

of an international association under Belgian law (aisbl – association internationale sans but lucratif).

Composed of 21 Active Members, 3 Associated Members, 1 Observer Member and 2 International Affilia-

tes from Europe and beyond, EUROLAB is grouping over 2,000 conformity assessment bodies represen-

ting over 100,000 technical experts and laboratory practitioners. Associated and Observer membership

is open world-wide and includes representatives from the European Neighbourhood Countries, East

and Middle East, South Africa and America. Besides formulating and voicing the opinion of laboratories

regarding economic, political and technical issues, EUROLAB aims at promoting cost-effective testing,

calibration and measurement services, for which the accuracy and quality assurance requirements were

adjusted to the actual needs. These are particularly addressing European legislation, consumer protec-

tion, product and occupational safety.