ista-logoThe Oregon State University Seed Laboratory is the official seed testing laboratory of the State of Oregon, is a member of AOSA, recognized by CFIA and is accredited by ISTA.

The OSU Seed Lab received formal accreditation from the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) in 2009. To be accredited, the Lab was required to develop and implement a quality management system as defined by the ISTA Laboratory Accreditation Standard, which is based on the ISO 17025 accreditation standard. The Lab is also required to perform well in the ISTA Proficiency Program and be audited on-site for both technical proficiency and quality system every three years by ISTA.

Our Quality Policy and Objectives

Quality Policy

The OSU Seed Lab is committed to continuous improvement to achieve ongoing customer satisfaction by:

  • Providing quality and timely seed testing services that conform to customer and regulatory requirements, following the appropriate testing rules.
  • Ensuring that all personnel are competent and qualified for the tasks they perform, and are familiar with quality system documentation in order to implement the policies and procedures in their work.
  • Professionally and effectively performing seed testing services to produce accurate and timely results, according to the appropriate work instructions and rules.
  • Complying with the ISTA Laboratory Accreditation Standard to ensure excellence in quality, and to continuously improve the effectiveness of the Quality Management System.

Quality Objectives

It is the OSU Seed Lab’s approach to encourage active participation of all employees in quality planning and continuous improvement efforts to meet the following objectives:

  • Accuracy: consistently providing accurate test results;
  • Customer Satisfaction: reducing the number of customer complaints;
  • Timeliness: reducing the time from sample receipt to delivery of test results;
  • Expertise: increasing staff knowledge through ongoing training;
  • Innovation: developing new methods and techniques, rule proposals, equipment and technology.
  • Communication: expand the use of electronic resources to communicate with our customers, in order to increase convenience, confidentiality and timeliness.

All objectives are used in the annual quality review process to help determine needs and goals. Our staff is fully aware of and has strong ownership of the goals of the OSU Seed Lab Quality System.