Supplementary accreditation requirements for                                                               GAC 
                              construction materials testing 
                              BD-091007-10-03 
                              FAD-3.0 
                                                                                                                                                                        
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                            Construction Materials Testing (CMT) 
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                                                              
                            Update History 
                            Table A shows the changes that have been made to each version of this document and who 
                            made them: 
                             
                                                                                        TABLE A 
                                Version                  Issued                        Modified by                               Comments 
                              Draft 5            13 February 2009                                                   
                              Draft 6            16 April 2009                 Bettina Poxleitner                  Amendments to take into 
                                                                                                                   account comments form Kuwait 
                                                                                                                   and Bahrain. 
                              Draft 7            17 April 2009                 Graeme Drake                        Editorial changes to take into 
                                                                                                                   account new standardised 
                                                                                                                   wording across all GAC FADs 
                              Draft 8            21 April 2009                 Susan Jones                         Final editing 
                              Version1           01 August 2013                Brahim Houla                        Incorporation of new Logo  
                              Version 2          01/01/2015                    Brahim Houla                        updating the Accreditation cycle 
                             
                             
                                                                
                                  Version:    2                                                                                      Page 1 of 67 
                                     Date:    01/01/2015                                             
                             Approved by:     Saud Rashed Alaskar                                    
                             
                              Supplementary accreditation requirements for                                                               GAC 
                              construction materials testing 
                              BD-091007-10-03 
                              FAD-3.0 
                                                                                                                                                                        
                             
                             
                            CONTENTS 
                            Construction Materials Testing (CMT) .............................................................................. 1 
                            INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 4 
                            1     SCOPE ......................................................................................................................... 5 
                            2     NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS .................................................................................... 5 
                            3     TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ..................................................................................... 7 
                            4.         MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS .................................................................... 9 
                                4.1        Organization ........................................................................................................ 9 
                                4.2        Management system ............................................................................................ 9 
                                4.3        Document control ................................................................................................ 9 
                                4.4        Review of requests, tenders and contracts .......................................................... 9 
                                4.5        Subcontracting of tests and calibrations ............................................................. 9 
                                4.6        Purchasing services and supplies ...................................................................... 10 
                                4.7        Service to the customer ..................................................................................... 10 
                                4.8        Complaints ........................................................................................................ 10 
                                4.9        Control of nonconforming testing and/or calibration work .............................. 10 
                                4.10       Improvement ..................................................................................................... 10 
                                4.11       Corrective action ............................................................................................... 10 
                                4.12       Preventive action ............................................................................................... 10 
                                4.13       Control of records ............................................................................................. 10 
                                4.14       Internal audits .................................................................................................... 11 
                                4.15       Management reviews ........................................................................................ 11 
                            5.         TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................ 12 
                                5.1        General .............................................................................................................. 12 
                                5.2        Personnel ........................................................................................................... 12 
                                5.3        Accommodation and environmental conditions ............................................... 14 
                                5.4        Test and calibration methods and method validation ....................................... 14 
                                5.5        Equipment ......................................................................................................... 15 
                                5.6        Measurement traceability .................................................................................. 16 
                                5.7        Sampling ........................................................................................................... 17 
                                5.8        Handling of test and calibration items .............................................................. 18 
                                5.9        Assuring the quality of test and calibration results ........................................... 19 
                                5.10       Reporting the results ......................................................................................... 19 
                            6     BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 23 
                            APPENDIX A – INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS AND    ACCREDITED FACILITIES
                                                                                                                            26 
                                A.1        Gulf Accreditation Centre – An introduction ................................................... 26 
                                A.2        Administrative information ............................................................................... 29 
                                A.3        Accreditation requirements ............................................................................... 31 
                                  Version:    2                                                                                      Page 2 of 67 
                                     Date:    01/01/2015                                             
                             Approved by:     Saud Rashed Alaskar                                    
                             
                              Supplementary accreditation requirements for                                                               GAC 
                              construction materials testing 
                              BD-091007-10-03 
                              FAD-3.0 
                                                                                                                                                                        
                             
                             
                                A.4        The accreditation process .................................................................................. 34 
                            APPENDIX B - EQUIPMENT CALIBRATION INTERVALS ..................................... 41 
                                B.1        Calibration of common test equipment ............................................................. 41 
                                B.2        Checks performed in-house .............................................................................. 42 
                                B.3        Suspending calibration or checks ...................................................................... 43 
                                B.5        Storage of equipment including reference equipment ...................................... 43 
                                B.6        Calibration and check intervals for Construction Materials Testing equipment44 
                                  Calibration and check intervals for General items of equipment ............................................ 44 
                                  Calibration and check intervals for cement, admixtures and supplementary cementitious materials 
                                  testing equipment ................................................................................................................... 52 
                                  Calibration and check intervals for concrete testing equipment ............................................. 53 
                                  Calibration and check intervals for aggregates and soils testing equipment ......................... 55 
                                  Calibration intervals for asphalt and bituminous materials testing equipment ....................... 61 
                            APPENDIX C - CLASSES OF TEST .............................................................................. 62 
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                              
                                  Version:    2                                                                                      Page 3 of 67 
                                     Date:    01/01/2015                                             
                             Approved by:     Saud Rashed Alaskar                                    
                             
                              Supplementary accreditation requirements for                                                               GAC 
                              construction materials testing 
                              BD-091007-10-03 
                              FAD-3.0 
                                                                                                                                                                        
                             
                             
                             
                            INTRODUCTION 
                             
                                       This document provides information and supplementary accreditation requirements for the 
                                       accreditation of facilities that fulfil the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005, General 
                                       requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. 
                                        
                                       This document has been prepared and is used by the Accreditation Centre of the 
                                       Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GAC) in the delivery of its 
                                       accreditation services. 
                                        
                                       Information and the supplementary accreditation requirements in this document are 
                                       intended to assist organisations seeking or holding accreditation with the GAC. 
                                        
                                       Accreditation is formal third-party recognition of the competence of testing facilities 
                                       (including laboratories).  Such recognition offers benefits for many parties interested in the 
                                       outcomes of accredited testing facilities.   
                                        
                                       Accreditation allows the testing facilities to demonstrate that they meet the requirements of 
                                       the relevant standard(s), that they systematically manage their practices, and identify and 
                                       manage their technical competence.  
                                        
                                       Accreditation results in testing facilities being publicly identified as being competent to 
                                       perform defined scopes of testing that allows customers to readily find organisations able 
                                       to meet their needs.  Accreditation offers users of testing services, stakeholders and the 
                                       community added assurance regarding the independence and competence of the facility. 
                                        
                                       Sections 1 to 5 of this document follow the content of ISO/IEC 17025:2005, General 
                                       requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. 
                                        
                                       The Appendices contain further information and requirements including more general 
                                       information on the GAC and its accreditation process (see Appendix A). 
                                  Version:    2                                                                                      Page 4 of 67 
                                     Date:    01/01/2015                                             
                             Approved by:     Saud Rashed Alaskar