CLAS

In Canada, the accreditation of calibration laboratories is the shared responsibility of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories-Canada (PALCAN), and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS). The CLAS program provides a quality system and technical assessment services plus certification of specific measurement capabilities of calibration laboratories in support of the Canadian National Measurement System.

CLAS is a voluntary program available to calibration laboratories seeking accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025. To be eligible for a CLAS certificate, a calibration laboratory must demonstrate that it is capable of doing specific calibrations and measurements with verified uncertainty and traceability to the SI. In addition, that laboratory must also have in place the appropriate personnel, measurement standards and equipment, systems, procedures, and environment necessary to achieve the measurement uncertainties that it is claiming. In addition, it must successfully complete the CLAS assessment of compliance to the criteria and requirements of CAN-P-4E (ISO/IEC 17025), General Requirements for the Accreditation of Calibration and Testing Laboratories.

Eligibility for CLAS certification is required for SCC accreditation of calibration laboratories. The SCC grants accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for qualified laboratories. The PALCAN/CLAS Agreement of Collaboration contains a detailed description of shared responsibilities in the accreditation of calibration laboratories.