Sinterite renews ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation
April 20, 2016
Sinterite, a Gasbarre Furnace Group Company located in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, has announced the renewal of its ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, allowing the furnace maker to continue to perform certified calibrations for furnace users. The accreditation is with the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (LAB), headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. LAB specialises in the ISO Standard.
The ISO 17025 Accreditation is similar to the 9001 Standard, held by several other Gasbarre companies, but is more specific in requirements for competence. It applies directly to organisations that produce testing and calibration results and is the primary ISO Standard used by testing and calibration laboratories.
Laboratories use this standard to implement a quality system aimed at improving their ability to consistently produce valid results. Since the standard is about competence, accreditation is simply formal recognition of a demonstration of that competence.
Similar to the other standards, ISO 17025 allows accredited companies to carry out procedures in their own way, but an auditor may ask the company to justify its methods. Sinterite’s accreditation proves the methods are valid and acceptable, and the calibration technicians are competent. There is now a documented quality management system in place.
Sinterite designs, manufactures and services custom continuous belt and batch furnaces for sintering, brazing, annealing, steam treating, drying and heat treating applications. The installed base of equipment is in excess of 1,300 units in more than 47 countries. The company’s designs include alloy and ceramic muffle systems, powder-handling equipment, custom fabrications and the exclusively-manufactured HyperCooler sinter-hardening and rapid cooling system.
