Terms and conditions
REGISTRATION
Information and data transfers shall be carried out preferably through ielab’s website. The current prevailing prices can be found by clicking on “PT registration” and selecting the PTs that you are interested in, leaving confirmation (or not) of Registration for later. Moreover, offers can also be requested by filling in and sending the form “Request for Offer” or by contacting us directly at +34 966 1055 01. The registration fee includes sample preparation and transport, web access in order to upload data and obtain the results report, the participation certificate and entitlement to attend the final meeting. The registration fee does not include V.A.T, which shall be added if applicable.
SPECIAL DISCOUNTS
Those participants of any Proficiency Testing Scheme in each of the last two seasons (2017 and 2018) who register before 25thDecember 2018, will benefit of a special discount of 5%.
If you register for two rounds of a scheme, you will benefit of a 15% discount in that scheme. However, you will have 25%off if you register to a full three-round scheme.
| IF YOU REGISTER TO: | AND ALSO TO: | YOU WILL BENEFIT AN ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT IN THOSE SCHEMES OF: |
|---|---|---|
| Potable Water: Microbiology | Potable Water: phys-chem. A and/or Potable Water: phys-chem. B and/or Potable Water: phys-chem. C |
5% |
| Continental Water: Microbiology | Raw Water | 10% |
| Waste Water: Physical-Chemical | Waste Water: Microbiology | 10% |
| Sludges: Physical-Chemical | Sludges: Microbiology | 10% |
| Legionella – culture | Legionella – PCR | 10% |
As a courtesy to our most active participants, we would like to offer them some selected advantages:
VIP participants: Those participants in 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions of ielab Proficiency Testing Schemes whose registrations exceed 4.000 € each year, will enjoy:
- Free attendance at 2019 ielab Technical Course, focused in a topic about quality control in laboratories.
- A free reference material: microbiological (to be chosen among our product lines «General Microbiology» or «Pharmacopoeia») or physical-chemical.
ADMINISTRATION FEE
An additional €30 administration fee shall be applied per round if the participating party decides not to send the analytical results through the Internet, in which case, the results reports will be sent by registered mail.
PAYMENT
PTS payment can be made via:
- BANK TRANSFER, indicating the name of the laboratory and PTS.
Bank: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA)
Address: Plaza Antoni Maura, 6, 2ª Planta. Barcelona (Spain)
Account No.: 01823994050201548997
Swift: BBVAESMMXXX
IBAN: ES9101823994050201548997 - CREDIT CARD (for online registrations only).
For other options, please contact comercial@ielab.es
PARTICIPATION CODE
To ensure the confidentiality a secret code number is given to the partaking laboratories to identify the results. This way the identity is protected against the other participants and the PTs provider. The code can be changed at anytime by the customer.
SAMPLES
ielab will prepare natural samples. If an element is not present in the natural sample, analytes will be added or an additional synthetic sample will be prepared. The corresponding homogeneity and stability studies will be performed according to IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) methods and to the standard ISO 13528. ielab guarantees the quality of the samples by means of the control and standardization of the production and mixing processes, as well as by ielab’s accreditation as a Proficiency Tests Provider following the UN-EN ISO/IEC 17043. If necessary, any of the activities related to the preparation process of the round can be outsourced to a company that meets the requirements of the PTS provider following norm ISO 17043.
SAMPLES DISTRIBUTION AND REPORT SHEET
Samples will be sent to the participants by urgent courier according to the established time schedule. Besides, participants wiil be supplied with detailed instructions and further documentation. By submitting the results, the participant authorizes ielab that these results can be used for the commercialization of reference materials.
Participants will be notified in writing about any change of planning or schedule. If the number of registrations for a PTS round does not reach the minimum required to carry it out, the organization could cancel this round, refunding participants, who will be notified in writing about this decision beforehand.
STATISTICAL PROCESSING
The technical and statistical analysis will be carried out according to the IUPAC criteria and to the standard ISO 13528. For each parameter, its consensus value, its standard deviation and its uncertainty will be calculated (without aberrant and statistically incorrect results). In case of added analytes the known value and the uncertainty will be given. The laboratories are evaluated by the Z-SCORE criteria, using as “standard deviation for proficiency assessment» the current regulation values. If there are no regulation values the international standards, the Horwitz function modified by Thompson or the method reproducibility calculation are used. In the case of microbiology the “standard deviation for proficiency assessment” will be obtained based on historical Proficiency Testing Schemes results.
REPORTS
For each round a detailed report including the sample preparation results (homogeneity and stability), tables with the results of all participants, the applied methods (identified with the method number), the statistical analysis and the corresponding graphics is prepared. The report will be available in a term of 15 working days after the receipt of the results. In case that a laboratory will not agree with the evaluation of its results the organizing body has procedures for a correct treatment of this complaint. Customized and extra reports for the comparison or results and/or evaluation of additional results will be priced at 50 €.
FINAL MEETING AND CERTIFICATE
ielab will hold at least one final meeting with all participating laboratories at the end of the year, to raise questions or debate on the development of the PTs. The attendees to this technical meeting will receive an attendance certificate. Certificates of Participation will be available to download from ielab website during the year.
CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS
In case that a laboratory does not agree with the evaluation of its results, ielab has a process addressed to facilitate participants’ appeal against the assessment of their performance in a proficiency testing scheme, which is available for participants.
