Quality assurance manual review checklist
All laboratories seeking environmental accreditation must provide a quality assurance manual for review and approval by our staff. This checklist can help you write or review a quality assurance manual for your lab.
Before you submit your manual, use the following guide to review it. Keep in mind that not all points may apply to every lab.
We assess quality assurance manuals based on the following points. Use this checklist to guide your review of your own manual. Some points may not apply to smaller non-commercial labs.
□ | Item |
□ | Title page (larger labs) |
□ | Table of contents (larger labs) |
□ | Lab organization |
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□ | Managers identified |
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□ | Designated Quality Assurance (QA) coordinator |
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□ | QA person's responsibilities summarized |
□ | QA responsibilities of staff identified |
□ | Overall quality assurance/quality control policy statement |
□ | Policy establishing criteria for Data Quality Objectives (DQOs): |
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□ | Program for determining if DQOs met |
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□ | QA/QC training policy documented |
□ | Procedures for sample management: |
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□ | Requirements for meeting: |
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□ | List of routinely used methods |
□ | Standard operating procedures for in-house methods or modification of standardized methods |
□ | Any unique calibration (standardization) procedures documented |
□ | Guidelines established for: |
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□ | Procedures for use of control charts |
□ | Procedures for prep/storage of standards |
□ | Definitions documented or referenced for: |
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□ | Equations given for important statistics such as: |
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□ | Procedure for establishing Minimum Detection Limits (MDL) |
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□ | Procedures established for data: |
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□ | Requirement for system audits specified |
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□ | Requirement for performance audits specified |
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□ | Requirements for other audits (larger labs) |
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□ | QA/QC reports periodically prepared |
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Related links
Contact information
Rebecca Wood
Supervisor, Laboratory Accreditation Unit
rebecca.wood@ecy.wa.gov
360-742-7022