Mahle Powertrain has announced that its Real Driving Emissions Centre (RDEC) in Northampton, UK, has achieved an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification.
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) states that Mahle’s facility is the first of its type within the UK to have achieved the ISO/IEC certification for its vehicle emissions test processes and procedures.
The RDEC is utilized by Mahle for the development of customer vehicle calibration to global emissions standards, the validation of vehicle designs under extreme environmental conditions and to support homologation witness testing. To ensure accuracy and consistency of emissions test results, the ISO standard is expected to become a universal requirement across the sector.
“We have had this standard in our sights for a while, but it is very complex when applying it to the large numbers of factors involved in the measurement chain for emissions such as CO2 , NOx and hydrocarbons,” commented Derek Wise, chief engineer, build and test, Mahle Powertrain. “However, test data quality is central to what we do, so we targeted being the first in the UK with the standard specifically for vehicle emissions.”
Based on the published ISO standard ‘General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories’, ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is recognized as the main standard that laboratories in Mahle’s sector must hold to be considered technically competent. Furthermore, the standard was designed to improve technical competence, testing accuracy, reliability and repeatability.
“While other vehicle emissions laboratories certainly hold ISO 17025:2017 certification, this is the first time we have audited the actual emissions test procedures,” added Chris Downs, assessment manager, UKAS. “It gave our assessors a first-hand insight into the processes involved as a result.”
“The standard’s requirements are specific and demanding, incorporating and extending those of ISO 9001:2000,” said Wise. “For Mahle Powertrain’s testing procedures to be recognized with this certification is testament to our staff’s skills and experience, and the investments we have made in test and validation facilities. We are justifiably proud that our emissions testing is the first in the UK to receive ISO 17025:2017 certification.”
