THE in-house laboratory at Caribbean Cement Company has received international accreditation, the company announced.

Carib Cement, this week, said its Laboratory Management System is now ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited, after demonstrating that the lab could successfully and consistently meet the international standard requirements — the ISO/IEC 17025 standard is a global ISO standard outlining the general requirements to ensure the competence of laboratories doing testing and calibration.

Accreditation was granted by the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (L-A-B) of Indiana, USA, the cement producer said, noting that

L-A-B is an internationally recognised accreditation body with full membership to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). Carib Cement has joined the ranks of over 300 laboratories worldwide which were accredited by L-A-B, including countries such as USA, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico, the company said.

Carib Cement said it took the decision to have its laboratory internationally accredited as a part of its focus on continuous improvement in all aspects of its operations and its corporate social responsibility in ensuring a high-quality product in the marketplace.

“The ISO 17025 complements our ISO 9001 quality management system accreditation which we earned in 2007. Carib Cement is about continuous improvement, we are strengthening our operations to further ensure that the product we release to the market is of a consistently high quality,” said Lystra Sharp, Carib Cement public relations officer.

“We are also reassuring our customers that we are using international best practices in the testing of our products. In short, we are reinforcing the strength of our brand,” she added.

Carib Cement is Jamaica’s sole manufacturer of Portland cement.