ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) has signed a service agreement with W. Capra Laboratories LLC to provide technical assistance in developing conformance testing tools and to use its interoperability laboratory and services for testing PCATS standards. It has established the PCATS interoperability Laboratory & Expanded Certification Program.
Since 2003, PCATS technical committees have developed standards in a number of areas and has been conducting XML conformance testing for POS and backoffice providers. Over the past several years, [image-nocss] a significant demand has arisen to expand the program to include conformance testing and interoperability testing for the POS/Back Office Specification and to formalize a certification program for other PCATS standards that would verify and validate products' adherence to the standards and illuminate the PCATS Certification value. Based on this new arrangement, the PCATS Certification Program will be able to make stair-step improvements in the quality of products and services delivered to the convenience and petroleum marketing industry.
"We believe that this arrangement will greatly benefit the industry and add significantly to the value that PCATS is bringing to the retailer and supplier communities," said John Hervey, PCATS executive director.
Patrick Raycroft, managing partner of W. Capra Labs, added, "W. Capra Laboratories is excited to have been selected by PCATS to provide the petroleum c-store industry an independent lab to validate products' adherence to the standards developed by PCATS and test interoperability."
PCATS and W. Capra Labs will release additional details regarding the expanded certification program and a prioritized schedule for the certification of additional standards during the next few months. W. Capra Labs will be based in the Chicago area.
PCATS was founded in September 2003 to continue the development and maintenance for standards work initiated under the NACS Technology Standards Project. PCATS' mission is to develop, maintain and help members implement a variety of technology standards. With more than 150 members, the group's membership represents more than 22,000 convenience stores. Membership is open to any petroleum marketer, c-store owner/operator, other retail channels or any of their suppliers or vendors.
W. Capra Labs was launched in September 2008 to provide a testing service and lab facility for the retail petroleum industry. As the selected service provider of the PCATS Certification & Interoperability Program, W. Capra Labs is dedicated to continuously improve the quality and interoperability of technology delivered to the industry. Additional commercial services that cover the spectrum of testing activities are also available to the industry. W. Capra Labs is solely owned by W. Capra Consulting Group Inc., which has been providing retail technology and payments consulting to the petroleum/c-store industry for more than eight years.
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