Re: HPS Lab Accreditation

[lommler <lommler@idns.state.il.us>]

HPS and NVLAP are not the only accredited secondary laboratory programs 
for instruments.  There is also AAPM (5 labs?) and CRCPD (3 labs, 
South Carolina, Illinois, and California).  As chairperson of the CRCPD 
Ionizing Measurements Committee (CRCPD's accrediting body), I can 
understand what you feel is a lack of response/interest in traceability.  
Once you get in a few lawsuits, people start to understand a few 
reasons why the uncertainty back to a national standard in your instrument 
calibration should be known and should be appropriate for its intended use.  
What most people can't understand is the effort and cost an accredited lab 
must go through to attain and maintain traceability.  That makes potential 
customers very unwilling to pay the additional cost because they can't see 
the value of the accredited calibration over an unaccredited calibration.

Bob Lommler
lommler@idns.state.il.us