Quality systems & accreditation

SGS Wool Testing Services utilises a comprehensive quality system to control the quality of all its work, from sampling through to delivery of consignment certificates. The systems follow best practice as specified in ISO 17025 and ISO 9000 (see Info-bulletin 5.3). Whilst responsibility for quality rests with all staff, the quality systems are administered by our quality manager and his staff, who are an experienced graduates with engineering or science backgrounds as well as wool metrology experience.

Our quality systems include requirements for fully documented and audited procedures for all aspects of the business. Included are very stringent equipment calibration, verification, monitoring and maintenance procedures; detailed supplies (consumables and chemicals) qualification, ordering, and verification regimes; staff authority and responsibility definitions as well as qualifications and extensive training requirements; formally documented corrective and preventive action procedures; as well as detailed records control and system auditing methods. This is monitored by internal QC tests and by regular and frequent participation in proficiency and round trials.

All our services and sampling systems are independently audited by IANZ, the national independent laboratory accreditation authority, and are covered by our ISO 17025 accreditation and ISO 9000 certification. We are licensed by IWTO to issue IWTO certificates for all laboratory methods for which licensing is applicable (see Trading Certification Services), and we are accredited by Interwoollabs for airflow, OFDA, Laserscan and Almeter measurements on tops.

New Zealand is the only country where there are two commercial IWTO-licensed wool testing laboratories in competition, and that much of the wool traded is tested in both greasy form (as farm lots), and subsequently as scoured consignments. Exporters can accurately predict how wool will process, and therefore know within very close tolerances what the outcome will be when greasy lots are combined and scoured. Invariably, much of the wool is tested in greasy form by one test house and in scoured form by the other, and it is therefore vital that both test houses be in close harmony. It is fair to suggest that both test houses continually operate to very high standards in order to achieve this.