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Participant
Appeal Procedure
IFM
Terms and Conditions
Payment
All
prices are quoted in Australian dollars. Payment must be in Australian
dollars.
Laboratories
within Australia
Prices
are quoted exclusive of Australian Goods and services Tax.
Courier
costs will be added and itemised separately on the invoice. Please
ask us for a quote.
Laboratories
outside Australia
Courier
costs will be added and itemised separately on the invoice. Please ask for a
quote.
Delivery
of your order will be facilitated when you send us all relevant permits and
import certificates prior to the shipping date.
How
to pay IFM
IFM
accepts payment in Australian dollars.
IFM
issues invoices when payment is required.
Cheques
and bank Drafts
Electronic
transfer
Credit
Card
Return
of results
Laboratories
participate in proficiency testing programs on the understanding that they
will be sharing their results and information anonymously with other
laboratories performing the same analysis. Non-return of results compromises
the spirit of the programs, and reports will not be sent to laboratories
unless they return results. Payment in full is required from all
laboratories enrolling whether they return results or not.
Errors
in Participant Proficiency Testing Results
Proficiency
testing reports should reflect the level of accuracy that a regular testing
client would receive.
If
a participant finds an error in their proficiency testing results, they may
notify us in writing and change their submission prior to 5pm (Sydney
time) on the due date for return. Changes after this time will not be
accepted.
IFM
reports results as submitted by participants. IFM will, however, edit
submissions if they are thought to compromise their confidentiality.
On
occasion, it seems as though participants have mixed up the samples or not
processed the samples according to the instructions. IFM cannot make
assumptions of this nature and change results 'to suit'. We also cannot
compromise the integrity of the programs by suggesting to some participants
that they should review their results prior to the due date. (This is unfair
to other participants!) It is the responsibility of the participants to check
all aspects of the program, including sample identification, preparation,
testing instructions, calculations and reporting of the results prior to
results submission.
If
samples are not in good condition on arrival to the participant laboratory,
IFM must be notified in writing IMMEDIATELY, as often samples can be replaced
in good time. Claims about samples received in bad condition will not be
accepted after the report has been issued.
Late
results
Late
results will NOT be accepted without prior notice and good reason. Late fees
may be applicable.
Loss
or Damage of Samples in "True Round Robin" Programs
This
applies only to programs where the same sample is tested by many participants.
(Passed from one participant to the other) The actual reimbursement cost
includes an administrative fee plus the average cost expected if the sample
were replaced and the program re-sent to the affected participants. This web
page will be updated as applicable for relevant programs.
05e27
(A or B) - additional fee AUD$500
05e22
PV -
additional fee AUD$750 (note program may be aborted if sample lost or damaged)
Non-payment
of fees
IFM
retains the right to with-hold reports and/or test materials and services when
invoices are outstanding.
Confidentiality
of results
All
data and information received by IFM from its clients are considered
confidential unless the client has given express permission to pass on
information. For electrical testing laboratories, please also see relevant
pages within this site for more information about confidentiality.
Official
Confidentiality Policy
Acceptance
of Orders
Orders
for participation in IFM proficiency testing programs or provision of other
IFM products and services may be accepted by receipt of a written request (ie
by fax, letter, or official company order form), or on the internet.
Once
an order is placed, it can only be cancelled in writing and more than one week
before the date of dispatch. Once dispatched, an order cannot be cancelled.
Participant
Collusion and Falsification of Results
This
policy satisfies the requirements of our accreditation to ILAC G13:2000 to
prevent collusion and falsification of results. The policy appears in the IFM Quality Services Pty Ltd
Quality Manual. The document also appears on IFMQS web site for the reference
and convenience of our clientele.
Definitions:
The
dictionary definitions of “collusion” and “falsification” are as
follows.
·
Collusion:
A secret agreement or cooperation for a fraudulent or deceitful
purpose.
·
Falsification: Deliberately changing something to be false.
In
proficiency testing terms, collusion is comparing data (and perhaps changing
data) to fit in with a believed “correct” result. This is contrary to the
spirit of proficiency testing programs, which are issued with the intention of
providing an objective comparison of a laboratory’s performance with others.
IFM
tries to minimise the occurrence of collusion by being aware that laboratories
should be objective when they report their results, and should therefore not
know the intended results at the time they are reporting to us.
Answers are not provided to clients until results have been submitted.
We
are also vigilant about checking the similarities in data which is submitted
by more than one participant, particularly if the answers are incorrect.
However,
it is seldom possible to substantiate suspicions of copied data from
submitters and it would therefore be difficult to make accusations. It is
ultimately up to the participating laboratories to get the most benefits from
a PT program. This is achieved
through integrity, completing the tests without foreknowledge of the intended
or possible results and submitting the answers they actually generate
To
prevent collusion and falsification our advice to clients is:
-
DON’T
confer with others about PT
samples or results.
-
DO
accept the fact that everyone makes errors.
-
DON’T
average the results or opinions of every person in the laboratory before
selecting the answer to be submitted. Instead, use one of the answers AS
SUBMITTED to you or take advantage of the IFM internal QA services and
submit all answers generated by the technicians.
-
DO
have confidence in your own results.
Proficiency
Testing (PT) is a compulsory part of laboratory accreditation, but it is also
an important tool for giving you confidence in your results. “Enhancing”
your PT results with assistance from another participant cannot increase
confidence in your laboratory’s performance.
We
also take care to ensure that collusion does not occur within IFM. Within the
testing laboratory on our premises we participate in many of the programs that
we issue. Below are examples of ways IFM prevents collusion and falsification
of results.
-
We
participate in programs that are issued by other PT providers as well as
our own.
-
IFM's
testing staff
are not told what the expected results are, nor what we are expecting.
-
We
subject ALL staff results to analysis, even if they are different.
-
The
staff have the right to check that the results we enter on their behalf
are correctly transcribed.
-
We
use our incident (non-conformity) system to investigate and deal with
possible collusion / falsification of results.
Clients
are always welcome to contact IFM to seek advice or information about
collusion or falsification of data.
Policy for Participant Appeal of
Performance Assessment
If
participants disagree with their performance assessment in a proficiency
report, they should inform IFM in writing.
Written
submissions are assessed by IFM staff, and a response should be expected
within 7 days.
The response
will include IFM’s interpretation of the outcome of the re-assessment and an
explanation of that outcome. (For example, explanation of a calculation, or
the rationale for the outcome of the evaluation.)
If a mistake
has been made by IFM, it will be dealt with via IFM’s non-conformity
(incident) system.
If the
mistake is seen to be the customer's, it will be entered as customer
feedback in IFM's incident register for further review. The incident register is used to
improve programs and customer service, and will result in clearer
documentation where deemed appropriate.
Information
about Statistical Methods Used
Ask
us a question
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