Improving the operation of environmental laboratories in industrial facilities benefit not only the environmental staff but other departments, as well. Accurate and timely analyses from the lab helps support decisions throughout the facility. This ensures compliance and can save thousands of dollars in lost production, unnecessary investigation or troubleshooting effort and expenses.
What are the benefits of a lab audit?
- Verify the lab is producing quality data efficiently.
- Provides the peace of mind in being compliant by meeting the rigorous standards of NPDES permits.
What’s the lab audit process?
- Discussion of concerns with processes, data or analytical testing.
- Evaluation of each technician’s laboratory technique and competency with all tests.
- Hands-on training. Generating quality data begins with having a well-trained staff to ensure everyone working in the lab is performing the tests the same way, and the correct way. The show, practice, do methodology.
- Ensures all permitted testing is performed in accordance with the requirements of Standard Methods and EPA test methods utilizing Best Laboratory Practices.
- Review SOPs generated through environmental testing and the associated quality control data. This is typically done with all environmental staff to demonstrate how to best utilize data from process control and permitting standpoints.
How long does a lab audit take?
A typical lab audit will take approximately 2-3 days on-site. The amount of time a lab audit requires is based on the size of the laboratory, the number of technicians, and the complexity of the operations. It is important to ensure that each concern and question is reviewed and addressed.
Contact us the next time you suspect your lab data might be off—or if results just aren’t lining up with what you’re seeing in the field.
We can help you develop a comprehensive audit for your laboratory to ensure it is operating effectively, efficiently and in full compliance with current regulations and procedures.