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Talk on Quality & Safety Management in the Lab

1. Accreditation - Criteria and Process

Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) is the national accreditation body in Singapore. The laboratory accreditation scheme administered by SAC provides a formal recognition of competence to laboratory under the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. This talk highlights the accreditation framework in Singapore, the criteria and the processes used and also the international developments of the accreditation fraternity in the world.

Speaker:

Ms Chin Poh Yin, B Sc(Chemistry) is the Principal Accreditation Officer of Singapore Accreditation Council. She worked as a Chemist in a commercial testing laboratory for 11 years before deciding to join SAC in 1996. Currently, Ms Chin manages the fields of Chemical, Environmental, Medical and Proficiency testing. She is a member of the Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) Proficiency Testing Technical Committee and a Lead Evaluator for the APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement.

2. Tips for the Preparation of Laboratory Accreditation Assessment

External assessment and audit by the accreditation body forms an important integral part of the laboratory accreditation exercise. Many laboratory operators under assessment tend to get stressed out in the preparation of assessment, because any major or serious non-compliance to the accreditation standards such as ISO/IEC17025 can lead the accreditation status of a laboratory to be temporarily suspended or terminated. However, consistent maintenance of the laboratory quality system is the key to over come such undue stress. The talk will provide some interesting tips on how to pass the assessment without tears.

Speaker:

Mr Yeoh Guan Huah, holding a B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. in chemistry, is the Managing Director/Senior Chemist of ALS Technichem (S) Pte Ltd, a commercially independent testing laboratory. Since 1987, he has been active in the Singapore laboratory accreditation scene, being a member of the Singapore Accreditation Council and member/past chairman of the Laboratory Accreditation Committee of Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (SAC-SINGLAS). Mr Yeoh is also a technical assessor and trainer of SAC-SINGLAS. He is a regular speaker in seminars and workshops related to analytical chemistry and accreditation issues.

3. Chemical Safety in the Laboratory : Challenges and Solutions

The laboratory environment poses unique challenges in terms of chemical safety management.

Although the chemical hazards are the same as in an industrial setting, the mode of operation in a lab often makes it impossible or impractical to implement the same or similar safety solutions or controls as would be 'standard practice' in the chemical manufacturing industry. In addition, the exposure risk to the individual - if poorly managed - can easily be much greater than in the case of an enclosed, remote controlled process as common in the chemical industry.

To name a few examples of the unique safety challenges facing the chemical laboratory :
- large number of chemicals, test methods
- widely varying chemical hazards
- manual handling - 'open' chemistry
- limitations of engineering controls and PPE
- frequent change (new chemicals / new procedures / new technologies)
- potential for unexpected thermodynamical behavior (R&D!)
- multitude of energetic physical operations and hazards : heating, cryo techniques, vacuum, flammables, electrical power, X-rays, etc

Although addressing the same basic safety concerns, an effective and practical laboratory safety management system (SMS) requires different emphasis and priorities than is the case for an industrial SMS. This paper presents a logical derivation of the contents and priorities of a laboratory SMS, based on the "Management Circle" principles of :

- controls for prevention of deviations
- verification of effectiveness of controls
- deviation (incident) handling and corrective actions
- continuous improvement

The comprehensive framework presented can be used to advantage by the attendees to evaluate the status of their own systems and identify priority areas for improvement. This is all the more important as the Singapore Government (MoM) is about to issue the "Workplace Safety and Health Act" legislation which explicitely lists laboratories in its initial scope.

Speaker:

Mr Dirk Victor is the Training Director of ChemCare Asia Consultants and has extensive experience in the area of Safety Management Systems (SMS) in the chemical plant and R&D laboratory.