Source: Bellfern renewal submission, May 2025 | edited by Priya Nair
Coldstream's quality process links each result to a location, collection record, chain of custody, laboratory method and release decision. At mobilisation the Project Manager turns the scope into a deliverables register with a named preparer, reviewer and due date. The technical reviewer approves the sampling and analysis plan before routine work starts. Changes to methods or location identifiers are recorded and agreed with the client.
Field sheets record equipment identifiers, calibration checks, weather, water levels where applicable, stabilisation observations and sample preservation. The field lead reconciles the sample list with the chain of custody before dispatch. Laboratory receipt exceptions are reviewed promptly so that avoidable holding-time failures can be addressed while options remain. Duplicates and blanks are reviewed against the agreed quality objectives, with limitations carried into the released dataset.
Before data issue, a scientist checks completeness, units, qualifiers and unusual results. The Project Manager confirms that any exceptions are visible. Technical interpretation receives a separate review by a person with appropriate groundwater or surface-water experience. We retain the original laboratory report and the validated release, together with a correction history. Corrections are communicated explicitly; accepted records are not silently overwritten.
The ISO 9001 certificate is held separately and covers monitoring, data and reporting activities. This answer describes how the system is applied, rather than treating a certificate as proof that every result is correct. Bellfern's initial analyte-mapping problem is a useful example: a failed test import led to an agreed mapping register and an additional validation step. That practical change is supported by P01 and should retain its context if used in another bid.