Quality Assurance and Accreditation: What does it mean for you?

December 22, 2015
Building Forensics, Building Technology, Concrete, Construction Services, Environmental, Geotechnical, Non-Destructive Testing, Pavement, Petrographics / Chemistry, Quality, Where we live and work

American Engineering Testing (AET) has demonstrated that our testing services not only conform to specific national and international standards, but are also of the highest quality. Accreditation signifies that our laboratories have been subjected to vigorous on-site assessments. During these assessments, each test method is demonstrated in its entirety by our technical staff, and the equipment associated with each test is inspected. These assessments also include a thorough review of our quality assurance program, including records of technician training and competency evaluations as well as equipment calibration and maintenance records.

Laboratory Accreditation

AET locations in Saint Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Wausau and Sioux Falls are accredited by the AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL) in geotechnical and construction materials engineering and testing. Assessments are conducted according to the AASHTO R18 standard: Establishing and Implementing a Quality System for Construction Materials Testing Laboratories. Our quality program meets the requirements of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and our Saint Paul and Duluth locations carry a laboratory validation designation by the USACE.

The Environmental Field group in Saint Paul is also accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in Chemical Testing (Certificate No. 1932.03).

Quality Assurance Program

AET has an operating quality assurance program that guides our staff during technical work. The program requires use of standard methods for sampling, observations, testing, documentation and reporting. All personnel, procedures, equipment and materials used in the course of our work are in compliance with the quality program which is designed to comply with the requirements of ISO/IEC Standard 17025 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

AET conducts annual internal audits to assess the effectiveness of implementation of our quality program and measure compliance with the 17025 standard.

For more information about American Engineering Testing’s Laboratory Accreditation and Quality Assurance Program please contact our Quality Assurance Manager, Tracey Lee at tlee@amengtest.com