Introduction

 Whilst the National Laboratory Association (NLA), was formed in 1998; its origins began over 20 years ago when the National Calibration Service (NCS) was formed at the National Physical Research Laboratory (NPRL) of the CSIR.

 The NLA continued the rich heritage of both Calibration services and Accreditation in the country and these two organisations then brought South Africa to the point where accreditation was not only required for laboratories but it was also necessary to extend this capability into other areas such as Inspection and Certification. The NLA was then requested to develop a new company and established the South African National Accreditation System, SANAS.

 The accreditation activities were transferred into SANAS and the laboratory community decided that it would be advantageous that a new organisation be formed in order to be in a position to represent the interests of the laboratories.

 This new non-profit organisation felt that it should retain some continuity with the past and decided to retain the NLA acronym but renamed the organisation National Laboratory Association.

 Membership

 The membership of the Association comprises the following components.

·        Companies

·        Individuals

 1. Company membership

It was decided from the outset that the NLA would target as broad a base as possible in order to draw on potential members and therefore membership is open to laboratories that are either accredited or not accredited. The only proviso is that members subscribe to the ethical principles of the association. This “Code of Conduct” has been designed with the view that all members need to adhere to it and that it recognises that voluntary adherence is a very strong motivator when dealing with the market place. It does not do away with the need for accreditation but rather enhances and strengthens the laboratory’s position. The need for an ethically strong community is clear and forms the basis of South Africa’s strong international reputation. This approach is one that the Association via its members wishes to continue supporting.

  Membership fees are therefore broken into two categories

·        Companies with accredited laboratories:
R  500.00 per annum

·        Companies with non-accredited laboratories:
 R 1000.00 per annum

 It should be noted that there are no additional fees for companies who have multiple laboratory facilities.

 2.  Individuals

 In order to attract those members of the community who have either retired from active service and who wish to remain involved as well as those who operate as consultants an individual membership is available.

 ·        Fees for individual membership:     
       R 250.00 per annum

What does the NLA do?

 The association is active in the following major areas

         ·        Technical Training

·        Professional Recognition

·        Annual Workshop and Conferences

·        Representation Locally and Internationally

·        Annual Excellence Award

·        Special Interest Groups

1. Training

 Over the past more than 15 years the various organisations mentioned above actively provided and organised technical training for Calibration/Metrology laboratories. The new NLA via its training initiative, ‘The Centre for Skills Co-ordination’ Calibration Testing and Measurement SA (CMeTSA), continues to provide that service. CMeTSA is not only the co-ordinator and arranger of some 11 courses, but it is also actively pursuing new courses in order to meet the demands of the laboratories. Two examples of this are the new Sterilizer Course aimed at both Calibration as well as Testing laboratories which extensively use Autoclaves in their day to day operation. The other is a new “Introduction to Measurement” course, which is designed for those who are new to this environment.

 More recently we have designed and continue to run courses such as

    ·      Estimation of Uncertainty of Measurement (Introduction to the GUM)

Most of the more recent courses are aimed at Testing Laboratories and CMeTSA now has a more comprehensive suite of courses which address a much larger and diverse range of laboratories. We continue to expand this activity and members can look forward to further developments in this regard.

 2.     Professional Recognition

 The NLA is active on two fronts in this area. The one is the thrust to have the various courses mentioned above approved by SAQA, which is responsible for all educational standards in the country and the other which will follow on this initiative is to have a body such as the Engineering Council of SA (ECSA) establish and maintain a roll of registered persons. To begin with it is envisaged that Metrologists will be registered but it is hoped that ultimately all laboratory personnel can be incorporated at some point in the future.

 Whilst this activity has taken much longer to establish than was first envisaged as of the end of 2004 a number of Unit Standards have been submitted and it is expected that the Metrology Qualification will be registered with SAQA during 2005.

The next step is to obtain SAQA accreditation for the courses that CMeTSA offers and thereby close the loop on registration.

 3.  Annual Test and Measurement Conference

 This year, 2005, the NLA celebrates 25 years of having organised and co-ordinated the T&M Conference. 

 The emphasis on this event is to provide a practical and informative couple of days allowing Laboratory personnel the opportunity to both learn as well as network with those in industry.

 It has grown in size and stature substantially and many attendees, especially from outside the country have remarked on the fact that this is an extremely professional and well run conference, on a par with anything available elsewhere.

4. Representation – Locally and Internationally

 It is vital that the laboratory community is adequately represented at various fora both locally and internationally in order to, where necessary, provide a cohesive voice and input to matters which ultimately have a direct impact on the community.

 The NLA has therefore established a number of relationships in order to achieve this goal. Firstly members are favourably looked on for representation on the SANAS Board and equally importantly a direct involvement with the SANAS Specialist Technical Committees (STC), in terms of making recommendations has also been established. This has also been extended to providing the various working groups committees of the StanSA with technical input to Standards writing that affects measurements and quality.

 In addition a good working relationship with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) exists, giving the association the opportunity to make issues raised by members known to government.

 Internationally, the NLA is directly represented on the International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation, ILAC, via its committee known as the Laboratory Committee, LC.  Through this committee, the NLA is in a position to directly contribute to the technical issues being raised on an international level as well as Accreditation Policy and Arrangement level issues. This role ensures that the opinions of the NLA membership are directly communicated to ILAC and helps to influence the various decisions taken.

 In addition the NLA has over the past two years been an International Affiliate Member of the Eurolab Organisation and this will help to provide the South African Laboratory Community with vital information regarding developments in Europe, especially with regard to EU Legislation as it affects measurements.

 5.      Interlaboratory Comparisons (ILC) / Proficiency Testing (PT)

 As a natural progression of the earlier organised Excellence Award, the NLA has begun providing Calibration ILC programs and is investigating various PT programs.

 During 2004 both a DC LF and a Temperature ILC were successfully organised and for 2005 it is intended to run an ‘On-Site’ ILC.

Why become a member of the NLA?

 The reasons that companies and individuals have chosen to become members of the association are varied, however it is apparent that there are two major benefits to being a member.

 1.      The first is that by becoming active in the NLA and supporting its aims and goals, members are directly contributing to the continued success of this unique and rewarding industry. The measurement and testing laboratories collectively represent a very important and vital capability. It is essential that these skills are not lost and that members of the community at large are made aware of their importance. Whilst individual companies may not be able to communicate this message on their own, clearly an association such as the NLA can be effective in this role.

 In addition, a single voice speaking on behalf of the community is much more likely to gain the attention of other organisations than the lone voice in the wilderness which is often the case for individuals.

 2.      On a practical level, membership of this association will ensure that members are provided with a suitable financial incentive when attending or participating in any of the following activities.

·        Training courses

·        Annual Workshop

·        ILC / PT

The ‘discount’ for attending the Conference alone will virtually ensure that the annual membership fee is paid.

 So can there be any clearer reason why you and/or your organisation shouldn’t join the more than 80 current members, representing of the order of 200 laboratories, and become a member of the National Laboratory Association today?

 We look forward to welcoming you and printing your membership certificate.

 You can find us at http://www.nla.org.za where you can fill in the form electronically or you can post us the completed brochure that we sent with this letter back to the NLA office for processing.