Great news from the WearCheck Water team — our Johannesburg lab has just earned ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for testing Total Coliforms and E. coli in water. This follows a detailed audit process and adds another feather to our cap when it comes to delivering top-quality testing services.
What It Means for Our Customers
This new accreditation gives our clients — both in South Africa and beyond — even more confidence in the work we do. It proves our team is working to the highest international standards when it comes to microbiological testing.
WearCheck Water is part of WearCheck, a specialist condition monitoring company. We’re proud to be the only oil analysis company in Africa with ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environmental), and ISO/IEC 17025 (lab quality) certifications — and now our water division is even stronger with this latest win. We also recently received SANAS accreditation for testing AdBlue®/DEF (diesel exhaust fluid).
Why This Testing Matters
General Manager of WearCheck Water, Thelma Horsfield, explains:
“It takes months of hard work to develop the testing method and get it up to standard for SANAS approval. This accreditation confirms our lab’s ability to carry out precise and reliable water-quality testing.”
The method we use — membrane filtration — is a well-respected technique in water testing. It helps us identify and count total coliforms and E. coli in water samples.
Coliforms are bacteria often found in soil, plants, and surface water. Most are harmless, but their presence in drinking water could signal other dangerous contaminants. E. coli is a specific type of coliform found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, and some strains can cause serious illness — so accurate detection is crucial for public health.
Celebrating Our People
A big shout-out goes to our lab assistant Khensani Mbuli, who played a key role in securing this accreditation. Thanks to her dedication and skill, she’s now been appointed an ISO/IEC 17025 Technical Signatory — a huge achievement in the world of lab testing!
Thelma explains: “Becoming a Technical Signatory is no small task. It takes deep knowledge, hands-on experience, and loads of training. TSs have the final say when it comes to signing off test results, so it’s a position of real trust and responsibility.”
Khensani joins six other senior Technical Signatories in our team: Moses Lelaka, Thelma Horsfield, Lerato Letsoalo, Lorato Hotane (our nominated rep), Katlego Mokoroane, and Michelle Wium.
Supporting a Range of Industries
WearCheck Water offers professional water analysis services across a variety of sectors — from mining and agriculture to manufacturing and fleet management. This latest accreditation is just one more way we’re proving our commitment to quality, reliability, and keeping water safe.