Satisfying Your Testing and Palate Needs

As always, thank you for reading. As I write this letter, it surprises me that we are approaching the end of the year it seems that the year had just began. Perhaps it is best to say goodbye to 2020, a very trying year indeed.

In this newsletter, we cover our important accreditations and what those acronyms stand for. We also discuss Mutual Recognition Agreements, which serve to tie accreditations around the world together.

Research and studies are typically conducted by some of our clients here at NGC Testing Services. One acoustical research study by one of our clients was outlined in the paper "Look-Can You See the Noise Leaking Through Your Ceiling?" and presented at INTER-NOISE in 2018. You can read about this interesting study in this issue.

We've also included a technical piece on NFPA 285 fire testing and recent changes that may affect performance of some assemblies and may dictate retesting of some previous tests.

On the lighter side, we’ll look at how many of our visitors, after a successful day of witnessing their tests, have stumbled on local unique foods. Buffalo foods surprisingly go beyond the famous chicken wings-and you can wash these delicacies down with pop ("soda" to others).

Let us know if we can help you in your testing needs; we are always expanding our test menu, and perhaps we have added that test you need. We are always striving to be your full-service test provider, cost effective with quick turnaround.

Have a great holiday season and wishing you a successful and safe remainder of 2020. Let’s hope 2021 returns us to a more normal time.

Look: Do You See The Noise Leaking Through That Ceiling?

Oftentimes, acousticians must convey complex, 3D, acoustical phenomena that occur within and between rooms in buildings to architects, interior designers and other visually oriented people. The message can be lost during translation from quantitative acoustics metrics and their acronyms to the design and intersection of actual building elements such as walls and ceilings.

The current phase of the Optimized Acoustics Research Program focuses on turning sound absorption and sound isolation performance into visuals by using color mapping. Much like how a thermal imaging camera shows differences in surface temperatures, a sound intensity probe is being used to produce high-definition color sound mapping of noise transmitting through acoustical ceiling systems and sound reflecting off of or being absorbed by surfaces with different absorption coefficients. This measurement and communication method helps to bridge the gap between the technical, quantitative side of acoustics and the visual side of design in an impactful and memorable way.

The above is the abstract taken directly from the paper written by Gary S. Madaras, Rockfon. based on research work completed here at NGC Testing Services. Click here to download the entire paper.

NFPA 285 2019 Revisions

The 2019 edition of NFPA 285 includes many substantial changes from the previous (2012) edition. The scope was expanded to apply to buildings of any construction type. The document was revised to include both bearing and non-loadbearing assemblies. In addition, new sections were added to Chapter 5 to address new requirements for window header construction and, most importantly, horizontal and vertical joint and seam locations.

Since the establishment of NFPA 285 as a test method in 1998, hundreds of various wall assemblies have been tested with no specific guidance regarding horizontal and vertical joint and seam placement. Consequently, many of these tests may not have been performed with joints or seams in the newly defined locations. Thus, with the publishing of the new NFPA 285 standard, many existing tests may no longer meet the requirements due to the new joint and seam requirements, and new tests may need to be run on those particular wall assemblies.

NGC Testing Services has the capabilities to test NFPA 285.

Beyond The Wing: A Look At Buffalo Foods

Visitors who come to our facilities for testing have the added benefit of trying some of the unique local foods only found in Buffalo. After all, "Buffalo" is the only city that is also a flavor.

The most famous are Buffalo Chicken Wings and Beef on Weck. But did you know there are a handful of other foods unique to Buffalo? These include:

 Sponge candy

 Pizza logs

 Peanut sticks

 Loganberry

 Buffalo fish fry

 Buffalo-style pizza

 Spaghetti parm

 Sahlen's charcoal broiled hot dogs

 Bison dip

 Weber's mustard

 Chiavetta’s chicken

Not to mention some of our visiting clients' favorites: Paula's Donuts and Tim Hortons.

You are always welcome to visit during your test programs or any time. We will give you directions to the closest food source. But keep in mind, just like when in our lab, masks will be required. Also, when ordering your accompanying drink, it is important to note that we have "pop" here, not soda.

Accreditations/Listings: What Do These Letters Mean?

The following are our Accreditations/Listings and some information behind all those letter acronyms:

NVLAP Accredited:
Lab Code: 200291-0
NVLAP or the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

IAS Accredited:
Testing Laboratory 216
IAS or International Accreditation Service (IAS) is a subsidiary of the International Code Council (ICC)

City of New York, Office of Technical Certification and Research (OTCR)
Approved Testing Agency

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM)
Approved Testing Laboratory (Type B1)

Florida Building Commission
Approved Product Testing Laboratory

Ohio Board of Building Standards
Recognized Testing Laboratory

UL Third Party Test Data Program (TPTDP) Recognized Participant
Acoustical Testing
File DA1294

ISO/IEC 17025 Compliant
This is the basic requirement utilized by most laboratory accreditation organizations. Issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), it is the single most important standard for calibration and testing laboratories around the world. Laboratories that are accredited to this international standard have demonstrated that they are technically competent and able to produce precise and accurate test and/or calibration data.

It is important that whichever laboratory you utilized, that it be accredited, and be sure to check their scope of accreditation (list of tests they are accredited for), which can be found under their lab code. We are proud of our accreditations, which we feel are the most desired in industry. Gaining and maintaining, accreditations requires a significant amount of work, including a comprehensive quality system, collection of data and periodic in-depth onsite assessments.

In addition, there are mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) among accreditation bodies around the world that include NVLAP and IAS, our primary accreditations. Two MRAs are APAC (Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation) and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation).

The following are lists of selected countries and corresponding accreditation bodies that have signed a mutual recognition arrangement through APAC and/or ILAC. These lists are updated regularly; check their prospective website for any up-to-date information and a full list of countries:

APAC MRA

Australia: NATA, ALB, JAS-ANZ
Canada: SCC, CALA, AC
People's Republic of China: CNAS
Hong Kong China: HKAS
India: NABCB, GLAB, NABET
Indonesia: KAN
Japan: JAB, IAJapan, VLAC
Republic of Korea: KOLAS, KASTO, KAS, KTC
Kuwait: KAAS PAI
Malaysia: Standards Malaysia
Mexico: ema
Mongolia: MNAS
New Zealand: IANZ, JAS-ANZ
Pakistan: PNAC
Papua New Guinea: PNGLAS
Philippines: PAO
Russian Federation: AAC Analitica
Singapore: SAC
Sri Lanka: SLAB
Chinese Taipei: TAF
Thailand: NSC ONAC, BLA-DSS, BLQS DMSc
USA: A2LA, IAS, ANAB, NVLAP, PJLA, AIHA-LAP
Vietnam: BoA
Australasia: JAS-ANZ
Brunei Darussalam
Gulf Region: GAC, GCC
Peru: INDECOPI

ILAC MRA

Argentina: OAA
Australia: NATA, JAS-ANZ
Austria: Akkreditierung Austria
Belgium: BELAC
Bosnia and Herzegovina: BATA
Brazil: CGCRE
Canada: SCC, CALA
Chile: INN
China: HKAS
People's Republic of China: CNAS
Costa Rica: ECA
Croatia: HAA
Cuba: ONARC
Cyprus: CYS, CYSAB
Czech Republic: CAI
Denmark: DANAK
Ecuador: OAE
Egypt: EGAC
Finland: FINAS
France: COFRAC
Germany: DAkkS
Greece: ESYD
Guatemala: OGA
Hungary: NAT
India: NABL, NABCB
Indonesia: KAN
Ireland: INAB
Israel: ISRAC
Italy: ACCREDIA
Jamaica: JANAAC
Japan: JAB, IAJapan, VLAC
Kazakhstan: NCA
Republic of Korea: KOLAS
Kyrgyz republic: KCA
Luxembourg: OLAS
Malaysia: Standards Malaysia
Mexico: ema
Mongolia: MNAS
Netherlands: RvA
New Zealand: IANZ
Norway: NA
Pakistan: PNAC
Papua New Guinea: PNGLAS
Paraguay: ONA
Peru: INDECOPI
Philippines: PAO
Poland: PCA
Portugal: IPAC
Romania: RENAR
Russian Federation: AAC Analitica
Serbia: ATS
Singapore: SAC
Slovakia: SNAS
Slovenia: SA
South Africa: SANAS
Spain: ENAC
Sri Lanka: SLAB
Sweden: Swedac
Switzerland: SAS
Chinese Taipei: TAF
Thailand: BLQS-DMSc, NSC- ONAC , BLA-DSS, NSC
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: IARM
Tunisia: TUNAC
Turkey: TURKAK
United Arab Emirates: DAC
United Kingdom: UKAS
Uruguay: OUA
USA: A2LA, ANAB, FQS, IAS, NVLAP, PJLA, AIHA-LAP
Vietnam: BoA