Accreditations and Recognitions

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization involving more than 3,000 research and support staff. The Fire Technology Department is part of the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division and has 60 years of experience in fire research, product development and testing. Additionally, SwRI maintains ongoing listing, labeling, and follow-up inspection programs for manufacturers.

The SwRI Fire Technology Department is ISO 9001:2000 registered by NSF International Strategic Registration, Ltd. SwRI’s testing laboratory and inspection agency operations are accredited under ISO/IEC Standards 17025 and 17020 respectively by the International Accreditation Service, Inc. (IAS). IAS is an accreditation body recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), which enables SwRI’s test and inspection reports to be accepted worldwide including building code jurisdictions across the United States (See IAS accreditation listings TL-214 and AA-665. The department’s third party listing and labeling program is in full compliance with ANSI Standard Z-34.1-1987.

SwRI has been accredited as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in accordance with OSHA Regulations 29 CFR 1910.7 and the NRTL Program Directive. The department has been accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard to provide testing and follow-up programs in support of Type Approval per the IMO FTP Code.

In addition to its OSHA accreditation and USCG acceptance, SwRI is accredited and/or recognized at the Federal level by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC).

At the state level, SwRI continuously maintains and updates individual state accreditations to ensure recognition of its test reports and labels. As a result, the department has been accredited in all major state and local jurisdictions throughout the U.S., including the city of Los Angeles, Miami-Dade County, the State of Florida and New York City.

On an international level, the department has received recognition from the Lloyd's Register of Shipping (London), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the Explosives and Dangerous Goods Division of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) of New Zealand.

Internationally, SwRI's accreditation as an independent testing laboratory and quality assurance/inspection agency by IAS makes it possible for SwRI's reports to be accepted by authorities in countries whose national accreditation bodies are signatories to the Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The members of the APLAC and ILAC multilateral MRAs can be found on their respective websites at www.aplac.org and www.ilac.org. In the United States, four accreditation bodies have signed the APLAC and ILAC MRAs: these are IAS, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and ACLASS Accreditation Services. ACLASS and IAS are also recognized by the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA). For more information, visit the NACLA website at http://www.nacla.net/index.htm.

APLAC MRA signatories are a part of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA), the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) are the current ILAC-recognized regional bodies with mutual recognition arrangements and evaluation procedures.. SwRI’s accreditation by IAS is recognized by members of the above-mentioned regional and international bodies.

In summary, SwRI has been accredited/recognized by:

  • (The) Boeing Company
  • California State Fire Marshal, as a Type A-1 Agency
  • City of Los Angeles
  • City of New York
  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC)
  • District of Columbia
  • Explosives and Dangerous Goods Division of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) of New Zealand
  • General Services Administration (GSA)
  • ISO 9001:2000 registered by NSF International Strategic Registration, Ltd.
  • ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17020 accredited by the International Accreditation Service (IAS)
  • International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
  • Lloyd's Register of Shipping
  • State of Florida and Metropolitan Dade County
  • New York Department of State - Fire Prevention and Control
  • Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NRTL-OSHA)
  • Ohio Department of Commerce - Board of Building Standards
  • State of New York - Division of Housing and Community Renewal
  • Texas State Board of Insurance
  • United States Coast Guard (USCG)
  • United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Fire Technology Department
www.fire.swri.org
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division
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March 27, 2009