Letter from the President.

As I pen this note just prior to the celebration of Labor Day, it would be appropriate for us to pay tribute to all of our loyal clients, the IAS staff and the wonderful volunteers that serve on our board of directors, committees and councils working countless hours for the organization and what it stands for. Read more.

Kennesaw is first city in Georgia to earn IAS Building Department Accreditation.

The city of Kennesaw, Georgia, Building Services Department is the first in the state to achieve accreditation of its building department from the International Accreditation Service (IAS). To earn the accreditation, the department demonstrated industry-best practices in its permitting, plan review and inspection services.

"We pursued accreditation with IAS to get an independent verification that the department is operating at acceptable standards and not imposing excessive processes and procedures on the property owners and contractors working in Kennesaw," said Kennesaw Building Official Mark Rice. "We also wanted to improve our services to meet the needs of the community."

Easton is first building department in Maryland to achieve IAS accreditation.

The town of Easton Building Inspection Division and Code Enforcement Office is the first jurisdiction in Maryland to achieve building department accreditation through IAS.

Easton Building Code Official Donald Richardson says the town opted to go through the accreditation process for several reasons. "We wanted an independent verification that we are operating at acceptable standards and not imposing excessive processes and procedures on the property owners and contractors working in the town of Easton. We also wanted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our organization so that we can continually improve our services to meet the needs of the community."

IAS training scheduled for ICC Annual Conference.

IAS will present two educational sessions during the Code Council's Annual Conference in Long Beach, Calif. Special Inspections of Building Departments will be held from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, and Best Practices: Lessons Learned from the Building Department Accreditation Program will be held from 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. on Sept. 29.

IAS assessment activities and insights discussed at Assessor Forum.

IAS hosted its assessor forum July 29-31, in Brea, Calif. IAS technical staff and lead and technical assessors gathered at the forum to discuss the various challenges and insights resulting from IAS assessment activities. IAS staff updated assessors on current conformity assessment practices, IAS policies and programs, and best-practice scenarios within the standards used in IAS accreditation programs. The forum primarily covered ISO/IEC Standard 17065, ISO/IEC Standard 17025 and ISO/IEC Standard 17020 issues.

IAS presents at the 3rd Gulf Cooperation Council's Laboratory Proficiency Conference.

IAS International Programs Manager Dr. George Anastasopoulos participated as an invited speaker at the 3rd GCC Laboratory Proficiency Conference held in the World Trade Center, Dubai. He presented a paper entitled, "New Qatar Policy on the Accreditation of Public Works Related Testing Laboratories: A Significant Step towards Achieving Testing Excellence" that described the requirements of the new regional accreditation regulation and discussed the initial implementation outcomes and experiences.

Register for IAS NYC SIA accreditation training Oct. 21-22.

IAS is offering an updated two-day training program that provides an overview of the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Special Inspection Agencies (SIA) AC291, ISO/IEC Standard 17020 and 2014 New York City (NYC) Department of Buildings (DOB) requirements and rules that govern the accreditation of SIAs, Oct. 20-21, at the Club Quarters in New York City. The program will offer participants insight into effectively implementing a management system that meets the IAS special inspection requirements and guidance on how to comply with the requirements of NYC DOB.

Anastasopoulos awarded the 2015 EOQ Presidential Georges Borel Award.

The European Organization for Quality (EOQ) celebrated Dr. George Anastasopoulos as the winner of the EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements at the EOQ Presidential Meeting in Athens, Greece. The award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding accomplishment through successful promotion and deployment of quality at international level through their professional activities and efforts creating a visible impact in the field of quality at the international level in their own countries or at European level.

NCHEC awarded IAS Personnel Certification Body Accreditation.

The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) was awarded IAS accreditation as a Personnel Certification Body. NCHEC offers accreditation for adult education professionals in two levels: Certified Health Education Specialist and Master Certified Health Education Specialist.

IAS Personnel Certification Body Accreditation meets NIBS Better Building Workforce Guidelines.

IAS is offering required accreditation for Personnel Certification Bodies that provide certification to the Better Building Workforce Guidelines (BBWG) published by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

The IAS accreditation program for Personnel Certification Bodies is based on ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2012 Conformity Assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. Accreditation provides a global benchmark for personnel certification programs to ensure they operate in a consistent, competent, and reliable manner worldwide.

Accreditation of calibration laboratories displayed at NCSLI Annual Conference.

IAS exhibited at the 2015 NCSLI Annual Conference, July 19-23, in Grapevine, Texas, to provide information for attendees about IAS accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories and related organizations in the calibration field. The conference brought together calibration professionals from around the world to present tutorials, papers, panels, plenary sessions and workshops, and to discuss shared problems and solutions in sessions and informal settings at all levels of instruction. NCSL International was formed in 1961 to promote cooperative efforts for solving the common problems faced by measurement laboratories. Today, NCSL International has over 1,000 member organizations from academic, scientific, industrial, commercial and government facilities around the world.

IAS sponsors and exhibits at BOAT annual meeting.

IAS was a sponsor and exhibitor at the Building Officials Association of Texas (BOAT) Annual Conference in Texarkana, Texas. In the IAS exhibit booth, information was provided for attendees about all IAS accreditation programs that can assist building departments in their work enforcing the building codes. BOAT is a Chapter of the International Code Council and an affiliate organization of the Texas Municipal League that represents 98 percent of Texas' urban population through its 1,090-plus member cities and towns.

IAS Metal Building Erector Accreditation training presented at MBCEA San Joaquin Valley Chapter meeting.

A presentation on IAS's new accreditation program for the inspection practices of metal building assemblers will be given at the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association San Joaquin Valley Chapter kickoff meeting, Sept. 22, in Fresno, Calif. The IAS AC478 offers accreditation to qualified inspection programs operated by assemblers of metal building systems based on the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Inspection Practices of Metal Building Assemblers AC478. For information about attending the meeting, click here.

IAS Technical Advisory Committees meet in Brea.

The IAS Technical Advisory Councils (TACs) for Laboratories and Inspection/Special Inspection Agencies met on July 27-28 at IAS Headquarters in Brea, Calif. These TACs are two of seven IAS TACs that have been formed to act in an advisory capacity on matters regarding accreditation protocol, conformity assessment, testing, calibration, inspection, certification and other subjects relating to IAS accreditation activities. Read more.

New IAS Food Task Group discusses reducing food risks, improving food safety.

The IAS Food Safety Task Group (FSTG) — formed at the request of the Laboratory Technical Advisory Council — met July 28 at the IAS headquarters in Brea, Calif. The meeting was well attended by seven members and three observers. The Chair, Dr. Udo Lampe had a clear objective to bring together industry, retailers and stakeholders to assist IAS in developing guidance and policies for reducing risks and improving food safety for consumers through enhancing accreditation related to food testing and other associated certification and inspection conformity assessment activities.

The goal of the FSTG is to develop technical guidance and policy documents for the accreditation of food-safety-related programs and to engage government and private stakeholders on the development and promotion of the IAS accreditation programs related to food safety. Currently, the FSTG is an adhoc-group and will be disbanded upon completion of its stated objectives. The nominated members are from accredited organizations selected from specific industries, retailers and stakeholders. IAS is currently moving ahead with the action items arising from the meeting to participate in national and global forums where selected FSTG experts will participate to provide presentations and articles on food testing, inspection and certification.

New and updated IAS accreditations.

A complete list of companies and organizations that became accredited or renewed their accreditation with IAS between June 1, 2015, and August 18, 2015, is now available.

Look for the IAS accreditation mark.

When you see the IAS Accreditation mark associated with a company or organization, you know IAS has evaluated it for competence and quality.

Seeking contract technical assessors and experts.

IAS is seeking contract technical assessors and experts with experience in assessing the management and technical processes of laboratories, inspection agencies, building departments and product certification agencies.

Let us know what you are thinking.

IAS strives to continually improve our services and solicits feedback, positive or negative, which we will use to provide better service to our clients and stakeholders. Visit the Contact Us page of the IAS website to share your comments.

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