This memo was superseded on October 9, 2019 by Approval of Comparable Accreditation Body – 23 CFR Part 637
 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration |
MEMORANDUM |
| Subject: | Information: Approval of Comparable Accreditation Body - 23 CFR 637 | Date: | October 07, 2011 |
| From: | /s/ original signed by Butch Wlaschin Director, Office of Asset Management |
In Reply Refer to: | HIAM-1 |
| To: | Directors of Field Services Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers Director of Technical Services Division Administrators |
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In the regulation titled "Quality Assurance Procedures for Construction" 23 CFR 637 paragraphs 637.209 (a) (2), (3), and (4) require laboratories to be accredited by the AASHTO Accreditation Program or a comparable laboratory accreditation program. On September 22, 2004, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Notice in the Federal Register to document the criteria that was going to be used to determine a comparable laboratory accreditation program. Those criteria are now outlined in paragraph 3b of our Non-regulatory Guidance NS 23 CFR, Part 637B.
On May 12, 2011, the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau, L-A-B, was recognized by National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) for meeting the technical requirements of the NIST IR 7012 document. The FHWA participated in the evaluation process. The L-A-B meets the requirements for comparable laboratory accreditation bodies listed in the September 22, 2004, Federal Register Notice. As such, the laboratories that are accredited by L-A-B for Construction Materials Testing are considered to meet the quality assurance requirements in 23 CFR 637.209(a) (2), (3), and (4).
For reference NACLA’s Web site is at www.NACLA.net and L-A-B’s Web site for construction materials testing is at http://l-a-b.com/?q=node/519.
If you have any question, please contact Michael Rafalowski at (202) 366-1571.