RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ASCLD/LAB ACCREDITED LABORATORIES

The attainment of accreditation is the result of much preparation, procedural implementation and conformity by every member of a forensic laboratory’s operation.  The Attainment of accreditation is an achievement for which a laboratory and its personnel should rightfully feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.  An accredited laboratory is able to say, to all that it serves, that the laboratory has instituted a quality system that, as followed, should result in a work product in which the users of that forensic service can have confidence.     

The attainment of accreditation must not be viewed as an end but rather as a beginning and as a way of conducting business from that time forward.  Accredited laboratories have both rights and obligations of which they must be aware.  Those rights and obligations are as follows:

Delegate Assembly Membership

Directors of laboratories which achieve accreditation also become members of the Delegate Assembly.  When all laboratories within a laboratory system become accredited, the system director becomes a member of the Delegate Assembly.  Delegate Assembly members are encouraged to attend and participate in the annual meeting of the Delegate Assembly.  This meeting is generally held in conjunction with the annual meeting of ASCLD. 

Laboratory directors or laboratory system directors may designate someone other than themselves to be the delegate for their respective laboratory or laboratory system.  To designate another individual as the delegate, the laboratory or system director must send a letter to the Executive Director confirming the delegation.  To appoint an individual as a temporary designee for the purpose of voting at the annual meeting of the Delegate Assembly, the laboratory or system director must send a letter to the Executive Director making this designation.  No individual attending the Delegate Assembly meeting may have more than one vote.  An individual may not be the delegate or designee for more than one laboratory.    

All Delegate Assembly members or their designees are placed on the mailing list for all official correspondence from ASCLD/LAB and are encouraged to vote on all issues brought before the Delegate Assembly and sent out as mail ballots.  Members are also invited and encouraged to make themselves and other members of their supervisory staff available for training and participation as inspectors.

A laboratory that does not apply to renew its accreditation prior to the expiration date of its accreditation will no longer be accredited and will relinquish its membership in the Delegate Assembly.

Use of the ASCLD/LAB Name, Acronym and Logo

The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board's names, acronym (ASCLD/LAB), and corporate logo, and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board-International program name, acronym (ASCLD/LAB-International), and program logo (accreditation mark) are registered trademarks, reserved for the official use of ASCLD/LAB.  ASCLD/LAB retains sole ownership of its business names, acronyms and logos.  The names, acronyms, and logos may not be used, reproduced, or displayed for any purpose by any individual or organization, including accredited laboratories and members of the Delegate Assembly, without the express written permission of the ASCLD/LAB Executive Director.

Designation of a laboratory or laboratory system as an ASCLD/LAB accredited laboratory on letterhead, stationary, laboratory reports, business cards, advertisements, signs, or any other object or image, generally will be required to be in the following format:

LEGACY:       (ASCLD/LAB LOGO) AN ASCLD/LAB ACCREDITED LABORATORY SINCE [DATE OF ACCREDITATION]

INTERNATIONAL:  (ASCLD/LAB LOGO) AN ASCLD/LAB-International ACCREDITED LABORATORY SINCE [DATE OF ACCREDITATION]

Laboratories must be careful not to use an ASCLD/LAB or ASCLD/LAB-International name, acronyms, or logos on any document reporting testing or calibration results in functional areas (i.e. disciplines, subdisciplines, categories of testing) for which the laboratory is not accredited, or in any other manner that will lead others to reasonably believe that the laboratory has been accredited in functional areas (i.e. disciplines, subdisciplines, categories of testing) for which it has not been accredited. The ASCLD/LAB Board of Directors considers misrepresentations as to accreditation to be a serious violation of ethics and the Board’s policy.

Effective January 1, 2011, laboratories accredited in an ASCLD/LAB-International accreditation program may no longer us the ASCLD/LAB corporate logo.  The corporate logo will be reserved for use by ASCLD/LAB and only the ASCLD/LAB-International program logo will be available for use by an ASCLD/LAB-International accredited laboratory.

Specifically, accredited laboratories and other authorized users (such as approved proficiency test providers) should ensure that any use of ASCLD/LAB business names and logos does not violate the following principles:

• Any use fully conforms to the requirements for claiming accreditation when making reference to accreditation in communication media such as the Internet, documents, brochures, or advertising
• Any use does not mislead others into believing that activities in non-accredited functions or facilities are included in the ASCLD/LAB accreditation
• Any use does not include statements regarding accreditation that ASCLD/LAB may consider misleading or unauthorized
• Any use includes due care that no laboratory test report, nor any part thereof, is used in a misleading manner
• Upon suspension or withdrawal of accreditation, discontinues use of all advertising matter and laboratory test reports that contain any reference to an accredited status
• Any use does not imply that a particular product, process or person is approved by ASCLD/LAB (except for specific proficiency tests approved for distribution by ASCLD/LAB)

All members of the Delegate Assembly are encouraged to report any inappropriate or questionable use of ASCLD/LAB business names or logos to the ASCLD/LAB Executive Director.

Obligations of Accredited Laboratories

As a condition of accreditation, each ASCLD/LAB accredited laboratory shall inform ASCLD/LAB, without delay, of significant changes relevant to its accreditation, in any aspect of the laboratory’s status or operation relating to:

• its legal, commercial, ownership or organizational status
• the organization, top management and key personnel
• main policies
• resources and premises
• scope of accreditation
• other such matters that may affect the ability of the laboratory to fulfill requirements for accreditation

Obligations of laboratories accredited by ASCLD/LAB also include:

• a commitment to fulfill continually the requirements for accreditation within the laboratory’s scope of accreditation, including an agreement to adapt to changes in the equirements in accordance with schedules adopted by ASCLD/LAB

• afford such accommodation and cooperation as is necessary to enable ASCLD/LAB to verify fulfillment of requirements for accreditation.

• provide access to information, documents and records as necessary for inspections or assessments and maintenance of accreditation

• where applicable, to providing access to documents or other information that provide insight into the level of independence and impartiality of the laboratory from any related body

• arrange the witnessing of the laboratory services when requested by the ASCLD/LAB

• claim accreditation only with respect to the scope for which the laboratory has been granted accreditation

• not use its accreditation in such a manner as to bring ASCLD/LAB in disrepute

• pay fees as shall be determined by ASCLD/LAB