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As
part of the ICAVL accreditation process, applicant laboratories
could potentially be required to undergo a site visit of their
laboratory. These two words, "site visit", often spark
a number of questions and concerns from laboratory and administration
personnel. The following questions answer or address some of
the typical questions and concerns posed to the ICAVL regarding
a laboratory site visit.
What
is a site visit?
A site visit is a pre-arranged, on-site inspection of a laboratory,
laboratory functions, documentation and personnel.
This
is the first time we have heard of a site visit.
All laboratories applying for accreditation are required to
sign a legal document called an Accreditation
Agreement. The Accreditation Agreement states that the ICAVL
may require a site visit as part of the application process.
Why
do we need a site visit?
There are two types of site visits, performed for two separate
reasons.
RANDOM
SITE VISIT
- Every
laboratory applying for accreditation is the potential recipient
of a random site visit. There are two random site visits performed
for each application deadline. After all of the applications
have been entered into the ICAVL database for a given deadline,
a computer program is run that randomly selects two of the
applicant laboratories from that deadline.
- Random
site visits are performed in order for the ICAVL to compare
the actual laboratory functions with the information supplied
in the laboratory's application. In essence, it is the method
the ICAVL uses to assess the effectiveness and accuracy of
the application itself, a sort of internal quality assurance.
REQUIRED
SITE VISIT
- A
required site visit is one that the ICAVL Board Of Directors
requires after the review of the application has been completed
in order to gain additional information necessary to make
the final accreditation decisions.
- Generally,
site visits are required because the information supplied
by the laboratory in the application 1) does not reflect standard
practices, or provides information that is incomplete and/or
unclear, and therefore may not provide an accurate assessment
of the laboratory practices.
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