POLICIES
&
ACCREDITATION

The laboratory is committed to providing clients with professional inspection and testing services in a timely manner. To achieve this the team focus on four key areas which are:

• Friendly and efficient customer service
• Safe and accurate testing practices
• Impartiality and sound judgement
• Maintaining best practice for quality management and test standards

The inspection and testing techniques employed by technicians are often dictated by the design and construction standards of the product under inspection, but where options are available the laboratory will always advise clients which is the best method of inspection or testing for their requirements.

The laboratory aims to ensure that the accuracy of test measurements and the sensitivity of inspection techniques always exceeds the minimum required by the applicable standards.

The laboratory upholds the principle that ‘quality must be built into a product, and cannot be inspected in’. A more intensive inspection regime is never a remedy for any failure to employ best practice in production. Products must be designed, selected and produced as ‘fit for purpose’ and inspected or tested to ensure they comply with the design standard specification.

Design and construction standards will specify the sampling intensity required for inspection or testing, unless further testing is required to confirm marginal results, or the client specifically requests a more intensive inspection and testing regime, these recommendations will always be followed. Any inspection or testing regime provided by the laboratory does not make it unnecessary for clients to employ best practice in design and construction. Most particularly in cases where a sampling scheme is used for testing and inspection. Rather, for the laboratory to provide the client with the most accurate findings, the proper inspection protocols and representative sampling must be in place.

Some customers, particularly Classification Societies such as Lloyds, ABS, BV etc… require that their testing is witnessed. This is to be encouraged, because although the costs rise when testing times and output are slowed by additional preparation and co-ordination, there is an advantage to be gained from immediate approval of testing work, and unexpected issues can be addressed before committing a specimen to a destructive test. When this type of testing work is carried out, the test area is cleared of other testing work or data to ensure the confidentiality of our work for other clients. If during testing it becomes obvious the specimens will fail before the completion of testing, the test technician is to inform the senior technician, who will inform the client to receive further instructions.

Any advice given to a client, whether formal or informal (other than a Test Report), is to be qualified as being a statement of opinion. X-Ray Laboratories Ltd is not a design consultant and although a client may appreciate input from our technicians with experience in an area, they must get independent professional verification.

All information supplied by or obtained for a client is confidential to the client, except for information obtained by our laboratory which could affect public safety, and such information can only be released by the Manager to the appropriate authority, after advising the client of their intentions.

In a service industry where we work for a number of competing companies, and where it is possible that we may compete with our own clients, very definite rules are applied to avoid a conflict of interest.

The laboratory is not part of, or linked in any way to, an entity engaged in design, manufacture, supply, installation, purchase, ownership, use or maintenance of, the items inspected and does not engage in any other activities that may conflict with independence, judgement, or integrity in relation to inspection activities.

The nature of the business (as a mechanical testing body) means that impartiality needs to be maintained at all times. The laboratory’s processes, training and staff culture helps ensure any potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed. By encouraging independence, fairness, and open-minded investigation the laboratory reinforces the importance of impartiality and professionalism to all staff.

To ensure staff disclose any potential conflict of interest so it can be identified as a risk, they are required to sign a disclosure statement. The statement requests all business or personal interests that could result in a conflict of interest be detailed. The staff member also agrees to advise the manager of any change in circumstances that may affect this disclosure.

The formal quality assurance policy statement for X-Ray Laboratories Ltd, located at 43A Leonard Rd, Mt Wellington, Auckland, is prescribed in the Laboratory Manual which has been written to meet the ISO 17025 standard. It is the decision of the Company Director’s that X-Ray Laboratories Ltd shall supply to our customers the most cost effective service possible. Levels of inspection, as well as methods and forms of inspection, are to be dictated by the relevant design/construction code. Accuracy is to exceed wherever possible, the necessary minimums prescribed by the applicable codes.

Quality must be built into a product, not inspected in. Higher accuracy or higher levels of inspection will not increase product quality. Products must be designed or selected fit for purpose and inspected to ensure they meet the design parameters. Extra inspection outside or above code requirements are only justified if they resolve ambiguities or “grey area” results, or when they are on the direct instruction of the customer or design engineer.

It is the intention of this company to provide reliable, repeatable, and accurate test results at a reasonable cost in a competitive commercial environment. The procedures detailed in the Laboratory Quality Manual are mandatory for all staff and subcontractors working through our company name and reporting format.

The Managers, Mr I Hughes & Mr S Burfoot, are responsible for the preparation of this manual.

Currently IANZ accreditation is held in:

• Class 4.75 Welder Qualification Tests
• Class 4.76 Metals and Metal Products.
• Class 4.79 Metallographic Tests on Metals
• Class 4.81 Non Destructive Tests by Radiography
• Class 4.82 Non Destructive Tests by Ultrasonics
• Class 4.83 Non Destructive Tests by Visual Inspection
• Class 4.85 Non Destructive Tests by Magnetic Particle Methods

View Our Accreditation