Formation 2005 Headquarters Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Type NGO Location United States | |
Merger of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Society for Quality, (ASQ) Purpose ISO accreditation services | ||
ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is a US-based non-governmental standards organization known for providing ISO accreditation services to manufacturers, laboratories and other public and privately held organizations/ companies.
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ANAB is an underwriter for the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) providing documentations recognized by government agencies from a number of participating nations. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) jointly own ANAB.
History
ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB)'s formation dates back to 1990 when it started as the "Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB)". In 1991, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and RAB reached an agreement to operate the American National Accreditation Program for Registrars of Quality Systems. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) also liaised with RAB and ANSI leading to the formation of a new partnership known as "ANSI-RAB NAP".
In 2005, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) jointly renamed "ANSI-RAB NAP" to "ANSI-ASQNational Accreditation Board" and that becomes the official name of the organization. Currently, ANAB is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with field offices in Alexandria, VA, Tampa, FL, and Fort Wayne, IN. The organization is led by a Board of Directors, and an Accreditation Council made up of experts from various organizations and fields.
In 2015, ANAB was at the center of a suspension of DNA testing at the Washington, D.C, Department of Forensics lab because of errors in DNA analysis. In 2016, ANAB merged operations with the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (LAB) and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Lab Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). The same year, the North Carolina State Crime Lab used ANAB's expertise to address a backlog of more than 5,000 untested DNA test kits.
Services
ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) provides accreditation through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other agencies. The accreditation services provide confidence for customers in the systems and accuracy represented in the products and services they purchase. ANAB also works with industries in the healthcare, aerospace, forestry, and security segments. It equally conducts training courses related to the accreditation programs offered.
Criticism
Some standards implementation consultants have been critical of ANAB accreditation services. They maintain that ANAB and other accreditation bodies are more interested in ensuring the ongoing market of certifications, irrespective of how well or how poorly the ISO 9001 standard is written.