SCIENCE Secretary Mario G. Montejo recently unveiled the new ISO/IEC 17025:2005 marker of Advanced Device and Materials Testing Laboratory (Admatel), a class 100K cleanroom laboratory, at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Complex in Bicutan, Taguig City.
Several officials of the science agency, including Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Amelia P. Guevara, Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) Director Dr. Maria Patricia V. Azanza and he Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. President Dr. Dan C. Lachica, together with more than 50 guests from other agencies and the industry, witnessed the unveiling. A service laboratory of ITDI, Admatel is equipped with advanced analytical equipment for failure analysis and materials characterization, as well as for process and product-development needs of the semiconductor, electronics and other allied industries.
Dr. Blessie A. Basilia, chief of the Materials Science Division of ITDI and project leader of Admatel, announced during the unveiling that two laboratory units have been assessed and found to be conforming to the requirements for competence in testing and calibration.
The Thermal Analysis Laboratory and Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory have been found to demonstrate its technical competence.
In most major countries ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard for which most laboratories must hold accreditation in order to be deemed technically competent.
An accreditation implies that a third-party auditing of the laboratory is carried out by the national organization responsible for it. In the Philippines this is done by the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB), an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. Laboratories are, therefore, accredited under ISO/IEC 17025, rather than certified or registered. Following the two main sections in ISO/IEC 17025 which are Management Requirements and Technical Requirements, Ernani M. Dionisio, officer in charge of the PAB, said both laboratories of Admatel are manifesting the three required marks:
ν An intact and well-maintained technical infrastructure
ν Proof of staff competence, experience, and capability
ν An effective quality management system.
Dionisio added that the Thermal Analysis Laboratory is accredited to provide test services for miscellaneous materials and products, such as clays, ceramic and related materials, plastics and rubber.
It is competent to conduct chemical tests on these products to measure weight loss, temperature range, glass transition and endothermic/exothermic peak temperature, among others.
For products, such as paints and related surface coatings; resins; inks, dyes and pigments; plastics; and adhesive sealants, it is competent to conduct chemical fingerprinting identification by Fourier Transition Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and chemical fingerprinting identification of microscopic contaminants by FTIR microscopy.
The PAB listed Dr. Marissa A. Paglicawan and Carlo S. Emolaga as approved signatories for the Thermal Analysis Laboratory.
For the Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory, Dionisio approved the scope of accreditation to cover nondestructive tests by visual inspection of metals and nonmetals.
It is approved to conduct visual inspection using optical microscopy and dimensional measurement. Its approved signatories include Basilia, Dr. Araceli Monsada and Josefina R. Celorico. The Admatel certificates of accreditation will remain valid until February 8, 2020. AMGuevarra/ITDI.
Image credits: Rhedj De la Cruz
