Choosing a laboratory to be your partner in meeting environmental compliance is a major decision and one that should be thoroughly
investigated. What you should know before choosing a laboratory for microbiological or chemical analyses:
Independent laboratories
can be valued partners in meeting your performance objectives. They provide unbiased, third-party data, and offer services often not
available within a company or government agency.
Quality
Above all else, quality--defined as meeting your requirements--should be
your foremost consideration when choosing an independent laboratory. Evaluate a laboratory's services and determine its ability to
provide you with quality data.
Selection
Clearly define your requirements. Determine your standards and criteria regarding specific
detection limits, compliance with the FDA's guidelines for good manufacturing practices and Good Laboratory practices, turnaround
times, analytical methods used, a quality assurance program, and report formats. Quality data can only be provided by the laboratory
if you tell them exactly what you need.
Evaluate several candidates. Start with a number of laboratories which do the analytical chemistry
work you need. As you go through the selection process, you'll be able to narrow the list to a few finalists.
Quality Assurance/Quality
Control. The core of most laboratories is their quality assurance/quality control program. Ask for documentation on recent laboratory's
performance evaluation (PE) samples, internal check samples, standard operating procedure (SOPs), personnel training records, internal
audits, and the lab's system for tracking samples and results.
Experience. Make sure the laboratory has experience in your area of
interest and has managed similar projects. Determine whether the capacity of the laboratory is adequate to handle your project. Ask
for client references.
Copyright (C) 2007 Argus Analytical, Inc.
Last update:
Mon, 5 May 2005
