Quality Assurance Services

Quality Assurance Services

The Quality Assurance (QA) Team at the Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MPSL-MLML) was created through the support of the San José State University Research Foundation.  Before, during, and after data production, QA Team oversight yields legally- and scientifically-defensible results of known and documented quality.

While offering many conventional services, the QA Team seeks to eliminate the unnecessary bureaucracy associated with traditional quality management.  The result is a streamlined QA system that is customized to meet each project’s unique goals.  To date, the QA Team has designed and implemented quality systems for bioassessment, instream flow, physical habitat assessment, chemistry (including ultra-trace level, speciation, and contaminants of emerging concern), toxicity testing, statistical analysis, and field measurements.  Specific tasks have included:

  • Creating and reviewing QA program plans, QA project plans, and quality management plans
  • Creating and reviewing QA language for permits, contracts, reports, and requests for proposals
  • Creating and reviewing methods and standard operating procedures
  • Creating and reviewing research plans, monitoring plans, and sampling and analysis plans
  • Conducting laboratory, field, and data audits
  • Designing and implementing intercomparisons, performance evaluations, and expert panels
  • Conducting training sessions and facilitating meetings
  • Acting as QA Officer for several projects and statewide programs
  • Creating and maintaining a QA Help Desk phone service for the State of California
  • Verifying, validating, and assessing data
  • Complying with the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference and several Environmental Protection Agency standards

If you would like more information on the QA services offered by MPSL-MLML, please contact us.