• COFRAC (French accreditation body) accreditation for its provision of interlaboratory comparisons (ILC)
• Partnerships (ANSES, Aquaref)
• 1400 members among which 30% internationals (covers around 65 countries)
• Around 200 laboratories participating in the tests in the fields of water microbiology and basic physico-chemical analyses

• Member of Commissions: ISO (TC/147-SC4), French standardisation Committee, COFRAC and technical assessor for the  COFRAC (ISO 17025) ⇒ Participation in ISO and French standards development
• Groups  of experts in the field of the environment or medical biology that support AGLAE to provide proficiency tests adapted to laboratories' needs and to interpret laboratories results
• Skills, level of qualification and experience of the Association's employees, particularly in the technical and statistical fields that enable to design proficiency tests:
  • On samples close to those analysed in routine to validate the analytical chain
  • Adapted test design: duplicate samples and repeated measurements to assess laboratory reproducibility and repeatability

With a complete service offer:

• Diversity of matrices and large list of parameters
• Additional test samples to evaluate technicians, test new methods
•  Supply of Quality Control Materials for the analysis of sludge, sediment and soil
• Training sessions in water microbiology in order to implement a quantitative Internal Quality Control, evaluate the uncertainty of measurement, characterise a method

 With quick returns, source of improvement:

• Quick review two days after the deadline to report the results in order to implement, if necessary, corrective actions
• Complete report within about 3 weeks including:
  • The study of the influence of analytical methods, equiment and consommables
  • Estimation of your uncertainties in water microbiology
  • Check of your uncertainty estimates in chemistry (zeta-score)
  • The evaluation of trueness and measurements repeatability

⇒ These elements provide suggestions to identify the origin of possible anomalies

• Easy, annual registration as a subscription
• Online schedule of events with a system for monitoring the report of results and reminders in the event of non-entry
• Personalized report: direct access to each laboratory performance
• Personalized member area of the web site with information storage
• Pre-filled online results forms
• Results file as an Excel sheet so that laboratories can easily update their control charts
• Possible results' summaries per period

• Satisfaction surveys and collection of needs to best meet members' expectations
• Tests based on French / European approvals, the Water Framework Directive and laboratory accreditation
• Development of tests during the year to meet new expectations
• Customized service offers
•  Members-focused investments

• Commercial policy with price stability
• Discounts based on invoiced test volumes
• Possible splitting of the payment according to the amount of the service offer
• More favourable payment terms than EU legislation

Your laboratory carries out various microbiological, chemical and physico-chemical analyses on a wide range of cosmetic products, i.e. skin products (creams, make-up, suncare products, etc.), hygiene products (soaps, dental products, deodorants), hair products (cleaning, maintenance, dyes) and perfumes and varnishes.

Among the analyses, your laboratory :

• checks for the absence of allergens or other undesirable substances (parabens, silicones, etc.)
• checks for residues and pollutants
• carries out physico-chemical tests and microbiological analyses
• assesses the interaction of cosmetic products with their packaging
• studies the stability of products in order to establish a use-by date
• conducts dermatological and clinical tests

Manufacturers must ensure the conformity of their cosmetic products, i.e. guarantee that they comply with legislative and regulatory requirements and present no danger to health. 
In this context, it is important that the cosmetics industry and cosmetics analysis providers inter-calibrate to ensure the comparability of their measurement results.

Your laboratory is likely to be interested in these proficiency tests:

• microbiology in cosmetics

By taking part in these interlaboratory comparisons, cosmetics companies and microbiological analyses service providers will be able to assess the quality of their analyses within the industry and identify areas for improvement.

In your medical laboratory, you carry out medical biology examinations, from sampling to the delivery of results, including interpretation and advice. 

Because infections in healthcare establishments can sometimes originate in the environment (nosocomial infections), your hospital hygiene laboratory monitors your environment. To do this, you implement measures to prevent healthcare-associated infections and the spread of bacteria that are multi-resistant or highly resistant to antibiotics.

As part of this, your laboratory:

• samples and analyses drinking water (distribution water and cooling fountains), microfiltered water to obtain bacteriologically controlled water, water for rinsing endoscopes, haemodialysis water and water from rehabilitation pools
• tests for legionella and atypical mycobacteria
• controls surfaces and aerobiocontamination

As part of your accreditation, your laboratory must meet the requirements of ISO 17025 Calibration and testing laboratories in accordance with the Cofrac technical guide to accreditation for microbiological, biological and molecular biology analyses of water, or  ISO 15189 standard "Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence"  in accordance with the standard scopes for accreditation of medical biology examinations.
You must ensure the validity of your results and monitor your performance by comparing it with the results of other laboratories.

Your laboratory is likely to be interested in these proficiency tests:

• medical biology
• waters for medical use
• water microbiology

By taking part in these interlaboratory comparisons, you receive an estimate of your analytical performance, enabling you to improve the quality of your measurements on water and biological samples.
 

"Dans le cadre de l’accréditation des laboratoires, AGLAE offre un panel complet d’EEQ en bactériologie, assure des résultats rapides et un suivi personnalisé."

Patricia PISCHEDDA, Ingénieur Qualité, Institut de Microbiologie, Centre de Biologie Pathologie, CHU de Lille

"Prestations de qualité et exploitation des résultats très complète."

 Michèle VAUTRIN, Technicienne Laboratoire, CH LANGRES