The laboratory testing services are mainly carried out by ALS. In this respect, ALS provides laboratory testing services to the private sector and governmental bodies in Malaysia as well as the ASEAN region. The laboratories of ALS are SAMM-accredited by the Department of Standards, Malaysia and certified to ISO/IEC 17025 protocols. ALS has established and maintains a comprehensive management plan that takes into consideration the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025: 1999 “General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories” The ALS’s laboratories conduct analytical testing based on the universally-recognized procedures of MS, USEPA, APHA, FDA and BS, amongst others. The range of laboratory testing services offered by the PIC Group encompasses the following: • Environmental Division • Food & Microbiology Division • Industrial Hygiene Division • Consulting Division

(a) Environmental Division

Due to increasing demand in the environmental testing sector, the PIC Group is currently focusing on increasing its range of services in the following area :-

• Testing for water samples for physical tests, inorganic nutrients, heavy metals, volatile
• Organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds.
• Testing for soils and sediments for heavy metals, dioxin, hydrocarbon contamination.
• Testing for petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater at petrol stations.
• Testing in support of ISO 14001, EIA, baseline studies, waste characterization, •site•assessment and remediation projects.

(b) Food & Microbiology Division

Increasingly stringent measures from the Ministry of Health on food safety coupled with the rise in the exportation and importation of food products and enhanced food safety management programmes in local and multinational companies have resulted in an increasing demand for food safety-related testing in recent years. The range of food-related test services provided by the Group are set out as follows :-

• Testing of edible oils (refined palm oil, coconut oil) for the export market.
• Nutritional labelling analysis, minerals, preservatives and additives, pesticide residue analysis for local food products.
• Microbiological analysis for food spoilage organisms and food hygiene.
• Microbiological testing for medical devices and accessories used in hospitals.

(c) Industrial Hygiene Division

To ensure worker’s safety and health in various manufacturing industries and in response to stringent regulations from the DOSH, the Group recently set up the industrial hygiene division headed by a DOSH registered Industrial Hygienist with the following services:

• Indoor air quality monitoring for contaminants that leads to “sick building syndrome”.
• Workers exposure monitoring for lead, dust, organic solvents.
• In-door noise monitoring.

(d) Consulting Division

Based on its extensive experience in environmental analysis and laboratory operation, ALS is also able to provide consulting and training services for the development of environmental laboratories. These services can range from conceptual design through basic upgrades to full turnkey operations. The range of services include :

• New laboratory design or enhancement of existing laboratory facilities.
• Technical and management training in laboratory management.
• Implementation of proven operating systems for quality assurance and data amanagement.
• Development of new analysis methods for companies.