Laboratory Capabilities Assessment
AFIRM Laboratory Capabilities Assessment Form Guidance
Accurate and consistent RSL testing is the foundation of a robust RSL management program. Understanding the capabilities of potential or existing testing laboratory partners across global supply chains is important but can be challenging. AFIRM has developed a laboratory capabilities assessment form which can be used to assess each specific lab location for its capability and experience around testing for every chemical substance included in the AFIRM RSL.
The AFIRM laboratory capabilities assessment form is 4 pages long and each page should be completed as fully as possible. The completed form should be verified / validated by a senior representative of the specific laboratory completing the assessment.
Pages 1 & 2 cover details of the specific lab location and affiliation to a wider lab network followed by some general questions around third party certifications, correlation studies and sub-contractors if appropriate. This concludes with some potential brand specific questions on more complex or challenging topics. Most of the above require free text responses but with a robust management system in place, these should be straightforward to complete.
Pages 3 & 4 cover the full range of chemical substances, material types and test methods included in the AFIRM RSL. Although very detailed, there is extensive use of drop-down lists or radio buttons to simplify inputs and drive consistency in responses. These are important both for the laboratory completing the form and the brand representative interpreting the responses.
**Important notes for brands – please consider the information shared by each laboratory as sensitive and do not share outside your organization and especially not with any other lab. Please note, some labs may require an NDA prior to completion of the form.
**Important notes for labs – the form is to be completed for the situation at the specific lab location. It is not necessary to complete the form multiple times for different brands. Once the form has been completed, the same form can be used to respond to any subsequent request from another brand. However, please note, the form will be updated every year in line with the updates to the AFIRM RSL.
