Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 — State-owned Technopark's engineering laboratory has received accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), making it the first engineering laboratory in an IT park in the country to receive the recognition, according to Technopark officials.
The laboratory has been accredited under ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the international standard that specifies requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
The accreditation gives Technopark an in-house facility for scientifically testing and verifying the quality of construction and electrical materials used in its infrastructure projects.
Technopark had set up civil and electrical engineering laboratories at its Phase-I campus last year.
The facilities were established to strengthen quality control and reduce dependence on external testing facilities for infrastructure works.
The civil laboratory has facilities to test concrete and other construction materials for various parameters in accordance with relevant Indian Standard specifications.
The electrical laboratory can test and repair LED fixtures, drivers and other components.
Technopark CEO Sandeep Kumar said the accreditation would help ensure quality and sustainability in infrastructure development works and enable the engineering department to provide technical support to co-developers.
The facility will also be available to developers and companies operating in and around Technopark for testing materials and verifying compliance with their construction specifications, officials said.
The accreditation is expected to strengthen quality control at various stages of infrastructure projects, including material selection, performance verification and compliance monitoring.
It will also enable engineers to take decisions based on standardised test results on construction and electrical materials, officials said.
Chief Technical Officer Madhavan Praveen said obtaining the accreditation was a challenging process that required sustained efforts and coordination by the engineering team and support staff.
The laboratories have been developed to conduct tests in accordance with Indian Standards and provide test results within specified timelines.
The electrical laboratory's repair facilities for LED fixtures, drivers, and other components are also expected to help reduce e-waste and maintenance costs.
The Civil Engineering Laboratory is headed by Rahul Thampi, Assistant Vice-President (Civil).
The facility also houses old engineering machinery as a display of the evolution of engineering and testing technology.