ORYX GTL is proud to announce that it has received Laboratory accreditation (ISO 17025) for its plant lab at Ras Laffan by the Dutch Accreditation Council.
The Chief Executive of the Dutch Accreditation Council, RvA – Raad voor Accreditatie, awarded the accreditation to ORYX GTL for the successfully demonstrated competence of testing in compliance to the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
ORYX GTL Laboratory is now listed in the RvA website with the registration RvA L525 and is one of the 229 testing Laboratories in the world permitted to use the RvA accreditation mark. In Qatar there are only three testing Laboratories that are ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited, ORYX GTL is one of them.
Laboratory Accreditation is defined as a procedure by which an authoritative body such as the Dutch Accreditation Council, RvA – Raad voor Accreditatie, gives formal recognition that a laboratory is competent to perform specific tasks. Laboratory accreditation recognizes a Laboratory's technical capability and is usually specific for tests of the systems, products, components, or materials for which the Laboratory claims proficiency. Accreditation allows a Laboratory to determine whether it is performing its work correctly and according to appropriate standards. Accreditation establishes that standards are met and a framework approach to detect nonconformities when they occur. Laboratories with good practices will have defensible results, but accreditation means that the results are defensible to a recognized standard that does not change when lab personnel or circumstances change.
The aims of ISO 17025 are to:
- Provide a basis for use by accreditation bodies in assessing the competence of Laboratories.
- Establish general requirements for demonstrating Laboratory compliance to perform specific tests or calibrations.
- Assist in the development and implementation of a Laboratory's quality system.
ISO 17025 accreditation is a customer’s assurance of a laboratory's quality and technical competence. Technical assessors relevant to the lab's technical operations have assessed the lab against the requirements of ISO 17025 and relevant industry standards.
Using an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory has the potential to:
- Convince customers that the products meet quality requirements
- Give the best data to promote products in export markets
- Cut costs by reducing or eliminating the need for retesting in other countries
- Give the accredited organization a competitive edge
The five test methods that have been accredited are at ORYX GTL are:
- Flash Point – Conforming to ASTM D 93
- Total Sulphur – Conforming to ASTM D 5453
- pH – Conforming to ASTM D 1293
- Chemical Oxygen Demand – Conforming to APHA 5220
- Turbidity – Conforming to APHA 2130
Flash Point and Total Sulphur were chosen for accreditation because they are critical tests for a premium product like GTL Diesel, which has a sulphur concentration in the range of 1 ppm. Incorrect reporting of Flash Point can severely damage the reputation of the company in the export market not to mention the huge financial losses associated with selling an off spec product.
pH, Turbidity and Chemical Oxygen Demand were chosen due to their importance in determining the quality of the treated effluent water (Irrigation Water) which is exported from the company for irrigation purpose. By including Treated Effluent Water under the scope of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, ORYX GTL has further demonstrated its commitment to protect the environment by not only producing a clean almost sulfur free fuel but by also ensuring that the effluent discharged from the company is also clean and fit for use as irrigation water.
The path to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation of the Laboratory has not been an easy one and there were numerous hurdles to overcome but the entire company came together and more ways than can be mentioned and with top management’s commitment and support all these hurdles were overcome. One of the first hurdles Laboratory faced was in selecting an authoritative body, A2LA (The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) was dropped as a possible accreditation body after A2LA decided to terminate Bilateral Agreement with European Co-operation for Accreditation and was later used as consultants. RvA was approached by ORYX GTL Laboratory with much trepidation because of their reputation for being the toughest accreditation body in the world. Having said that, it is indeed a remarkable achievement by ORYX GTL Laboratory when the Lead Assessor of RvA, Dr. Cor De Ruiter commented, to quote, “The way you have been dealing with these nonconformities, i.e. root cause analysis, the corrective actions taken and the supporting documentation in order to demonstrate implementation and effectiveness, were outstanding! Compliments”
In the process of achieving ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, Laboratory personnel had to undergo several training sessions like ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Implementation, Internal Audit, Measurement of Uncertainty, Incident Management, Integrated Management System to name a few. The Quality Systems in the Laboratory were completely revamped and new systems were introduced as a result of the trainings undergone and recommendations from consultation with experts from A2LA. The Laboratory Quality Manual in the Integrated Management System was very well received by the Lead Assessor and Technical Expert of RvA which was the result of a close cooperation between Laboratory-Technical Department and Quality Department with the help of an external consultant. Above all it was the team spirit amply demonstrated in the Laboratory by all personnel under the able leadership of the Laboratory Quality Manager (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 context) that resulted in the Laboratory achieving ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.
For the future, with the approval of top management, ORYX GTL Laboratory plans to include all the methods currently used in the Laboratory under the scope of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation
The Chief Executive of the Dutch Accreditation Council, RvA – Raad voor Accreditatie, awarded the accreditation to ORYX GTL for the successfully demonstrated competence of testing in compliance to the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
ORYX GTL Laboratory is now listed in the RvA website with the registration RvA L525 and is one of the 229 testing Laboratories in the world permitted to use the RvA accreditation mark. In Qatar there are only three testing Laboratories that are ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited, ORYX GTL is one of them.
Laboratory Accreditation is defined as a procedure by which an authoritative body such as the Dutch Accreditation Council, RvA – Raad voor Accreditatie, gives formal recognition that a laboratory is competent to perform specific tasks. Laboratory accreditation recognizes a Laboratory's technical capability and is usually specific for tests of the systems, products, components, or materials for which the Laboratory claims proficiency. Accreditation allows a Laboratory to determine whether it is performing its work correctly and according to appropriate standards. Accreditation establishes that standards are met and a framework approach to detect nonconformities when they occur. Laboratories with good practices will have defensible results, but accreditation means that the results are defensible to a recognized standard that does not change when lab personnel or circumstances change.
The aims of ISO 17025 are to:
- Provide a basis for use by accreditation bodies in assessing the competence of Laboratories.
- Establish general requirements for demonstrating Laboratory compliance to perform specific tests or calibrations.
- Assist in the development and implementation of a Laboratory's quality system.
ISO 17025 accreditation is a customer’s assurance of a laboratory's quality and technical competence. Technical assessors relevant to the lab's technical operations have assessed the lab against the requirements of ISO 17025 and relevant industry standards.
Using an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory has the potential to:
- Convince customers that the products meet quality requirements
- Give the best data to promote products in export markets
- Cut costs by reducing or eliminating the need for retesting in other countries
- Give the accredited organization a competitive edge
The five test methods that have been accredited are at ORYX GTL are:
- Flash Point – Conforming to ASTM D 93
- Total Sulphur – Conforming to ASTM D 5453
- pH – Conforming to ASTM D 1293
- Chemical Oxygen Demand – Conforming to APHA 5220
- Turbidity – Conforming to APHA 2130
Flash Point and Total Sulphur were chosen for accreditation because they are critical tests for a premium product like GTL Diesel, which has a sulphur concentration in the range of 1 ppm. Incorrect reporting of Flash Point can severely damage the reputation of the company in the export market not to mention the huge financial losses associated with selling an off spec product.
pH, Turbidity and Chemical Oxygen Demand were chosen due to their importance in determining the quality of the treated effluent water (Irrigation Water) which is exported from the company for irrigation purpose. By including Treated Effluent Water under the scope of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, ORYX GTL has further demonstrated its commitment to protect the environment by not only producing a clean almost sulfur free fuel but by also ensuring that the effluent discharged from the company is also clean and fit for use as irrigation water.
The path to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation of the Laboratory has not been an easy one and there were numerous hurdles to overcome but the entire company came together and more ways than can be mentioned and with top management’s commitment and support all these hurdles were overcome. One of the first hurdles Laboratory faced was in selecting an authoritative body, A2LA (The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) was dropped as a possible accreditation body after A2LA decided to terminate Bilateral Agreement with European Co-operation for Accreditation and was later used as consultants. RvA was approached by ORYX GTL Laboratory with much trepidation because of their reputation for being the toughest accreditation body in the world. Having said that, it is indeed a remarkable achievement by ORYX GTL Laboratory when the Lead Assessor of RvA, Dr. Cor De Ruiter commented, to quote, “The way you have been dealing with these nonconformities, i.e. root cause analysis, the corrective actions taken and the supporting documentation in order to demonstrate implementation and effectiveness, were outstanding! Compliments”
In the process of achieving ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, Laboratory personnel had to undergo several training sessions like ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Implementation, Internal Audit, Measurement of Uncertainty, Incident Management, Integrated Management System to name a few. The Quality Systems in the Laboratory were completely revamped and new systems were introduced as a result of the trainings undergone and recommendations from consultation with experts from A2LA. The Laboratory Quality Manual in the Integrated Management System was very well received by the Lead Assessor and Technical Expert of RvA which was the result of a close cooperation between Laboratory-Technical Department and Quality Department with the help of an external consultant. Above all it was the team spirit amply demonstrated in the Laboratory by all personnel under the able leadership of the Laboratory Quality Manager (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 context) that resulted in the Laboratory achieving ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.
For the future, with the approval of top management, ORYX GTL Laboratory plans to include all the methods currently used in the Laboratory under the scope of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation
