New Accreditation Added for XRF Service Provider

Eastern Applied Research now has ISO 17034 certification in addition to ISO/IEC 17025

Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 - 11:58

(Eastern Applied Research: Lockport, NY) -- Eastern Applied Research, a complete source of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) service and support, has recently expanded its accreditations coverage. It now includes coverage under ISO 17034 in addition to the ISO/IEC 17025 that it has maintained for decades.

Associates from the in-house standards laboratory and quality department worked through ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board) to add the ISO 17034 accreditation because it’s the gold standard in certified reference material (CRM) and reference material (RM) production.

The main title of ISO 17034 refers to reference material producer/providers (RMP); the specific accreditation is covered under Category A, Chemical Composition. By adding this accreditation, Eastern Applied Research is now able to certify composition standards used in the operation of XRF analyzers. The accreditation also covers procedures in creating labels, documentation, etc.

The goal of any accreditation is to provide the customer with confidence that the provider they choose has the technical competence to meet specific guidelines that apply to their processes. ISO 17034 accreditation allows reference material providers to demonstrate this by complying with international criteria, an assurance of the quality of reference material produced or its certification procedures.

In addition to covering requirements in CRM production, accreditation provides confidence in labeling and assignment of property values to materials, including stability and homogeneity determinations. While ISO 17034 specifies general requirements for RMP operations, specific levels of accuracy are required for each reference material appropriate to its intended purpose (appropriate measurement uncertainty).

For almost 20 years, Eastern Applied Research has maintained accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025. This has been, and will be, a critical accreditation to users of XRF because it relates to the certification of coating thickness standards and equipment, coating thickness measurements being a primary use of XRF technology.

However, in recent years, the in-house standards laboratory has seen an increase in requests relating to compositional reference materials. This is a result of two factors: One is the increased use of alloy coatings like zinc-nickel (ZnNi), electroless nickel (ENi) related, and solders (SnPb, etc.), to name a few major ones. The second factor is the increased use of handheld XRF analyzers for alloy verification. The accreditation to ISO 17034 (Cat A) relates to steels (carbon steels, low and high alloy, aluminum alloys, lead-based alloys, etc.) so certification of those materials can now be handled through the in-house standards laboratory.

“While adding this ISO 17034 accreditation opens new doors for Eastern Applied, it was really driven by what our current clients needed,” says Shawn Kramer, president of Eastern Applied Research. “With the increased use of alloy coatings in metal finishing and the growth of handheld XRF services, we know that current customers will look to us as a reliable provider of reference materials (and certifications). The addition of ISO 17034 assures them that we will meet their expectations.”

The Eastern Applied Research quality department focused on the chemical composition category of ISO 17034 because its current clients frequently use reference materials for alloy coatings and alloy verification. However, this accreditation may be expanded to cover additional reference materials because ISO 17034 has categories relating to inorganic reference materials (ores, cements, fuels, etc.), and others that may apply to XRF users.

About The Author

Quality Digest

For 40 years Quality Digest has been the go-to source for all things quality. Our newsletter, Quality Digest, shares expert commentary and relevant industry resources to assist our readers in their quest for continuous improvement. Our website includes every column and article from the newsletter since May 2009 as well as back issues of Quality Digest magazine to August 1995. We are committed to promoting a view wherein quality is not a niche, but an integral part of every phase of manufacturing and services.