ABSTRACT
The assumed, and sometimes stated, goal of laboratory accreditation is to assure data users that a laboratory produces quality results. It can safely be stated that there are as many programs to determine competence of testing laboratories as there are managers that take their decision making responsibility seriously and can afford their own laboratory accreditation or certification systems. In order to understand how the stated goals of laboratory accreditation may be achieved, it is necessary to study the goals of laboratory accreditation and certification by briefly contrasting the process inspection and product inspection attributes of the current systems. The current accreditation, registration, licensing and certification systems have grown out of the need to determine actual capabilities and performance of testing laboratories. Private certification companies have been developed to meet a perceived need by the public and industry alike. The goal of all accreditation, certification, licensing, or registration programs is to assure data users that a laboratory is producing quality data.
