Ordinary Members
External Advisors

Organization of PT Schemes within the Network of PT providers to support implementation of the Water Framework Directive (PT-WFD Network)


PT-WFD Schemes

Quality Consult is a founding member of the PT-WFD Network "Proficiency Testing - Water Focused Determinands" supporting the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in EU Member States.

The PT-WFD Network was officially founded on 8 October 2008 within the EAQC-WISE project activities funded by European Commission (contract No. 022603) and with the official signature of the technical agreement document by Quality Consult as well as by AQS-BW (DE), BIPEA (FR), Institute Pasteur de Lille (FR), IWW Water Centre (DE), LGC Standards (UK), National Institute of Chemistry (SI), QUASIMEME (NL). During 2009 also NIVA (NO), EUROFINS DK (DK), AGLAE (FR), SYKE (FI), ITM Univ Stockholm (SE), Tallin Univ. of Technology (ET), Institut fur Hygiene und Umwelt (DE) have asked to join the PT-WFD Network. The Network activities are supervised by external advisors from AQUAREF (FR), ENEA (IT), IFA Tulln (AT), IRMM (EC), RWS (NL).


General information on the PT-WFD network

All members of the Network are committed to follow common rules in the organization of Proficiency Testing schemes related to the WFD, as established during the general meetings by the Network assembly. The aim is to provide harmonised PT schemes that meet the specific requirements of the WFD and are run and evaluated in a harmonised and comparable way. In case of environmental analysis presenting particular analytical difficulties, because of type of matrix, analytes or concentration levels, the Network will organize joint proficiency testing, the full information of which will be provided by Quality Consult to all its costumers. The PT-WFD PT schemes will be usually held in autumn, thus allowing the customers to use these schemes also for eventual corrective actions.

PT-WFD Organization

The organization of these PT schemes is carried out considering the type of monitoring analysis required by the WFD and the existence of such Proficiency Testing schemes in the European scene.
PT-WFD schemes are organized according to the technical document agreement signed by all the members of the PT-WFD Network, and follow the international guides and standards on the operation of Proficiency Testing exercises: ISO / IEC Guide 43 (ISO / IEC 17043). The statistical evaluation of results is carried out according to ISO 13528:2005 and the laboratory performance is evaluated based on Z-score.

A central coordinator, chosen annually by the network among all members will take care of:

• production and / or supply of reference materials
• processing all the results of European participating laboratories collected through the local organizers
• preparing the final reports in english language

The other members of the network, as local organizers, will take care of:

• distribution of materials among their registered customers
• collecting the results by their registered costumers
• sending the results to the central coordinator
• providing an Helpdesk in mother tongue for their costumers
• translating the final report in mother tongue for their costumers

Mission of the PT-WFD network

The mission of the PT-WFD Network is to provide harmonised PT schemes that meet the specific requirements of the WFD and are run and evaluated in a harmonised and comparable way.

The value of creating such a Network lies in the potential to:

1. Ensure the harmonized performance evaluation of European laboratories involved in WFD monitoring analyses, thus enhancing the comparability of monitoring data obtained throughout Europe.

2. Decrease the cost of test samples, since the highest costs correspond not to the production but to the characterization analysis; the higher number of bottles of material are produced and distributed, the lower is the final price for each bottle. In this case there would also be an indirect benefit for laboratories who could participate in PT exercises at lower costs. 3. Allow the organization at European level of PT for analytes that are analysed only by few laboratories in each country.

4. Increase the European visibility of PT providers in the network, and to enable an economically sound organisation of PT schemes due to synergy effects with other PT providers.

5. Keep a permanent eye on the state of the art, and to react with combined forces on new developments and gaps in the spectrum of needed PT schemes. Being up-to-date based on regular input from external competent advisors will also increase the reputation and European recognition of PT providers in the network.