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Gaining Recognition of Laboratory’s Competence for Testing and Calibration
Quality Management System
2018-05-23
Laboratories of all kinds and sizes, across the world, share the common goal of being competent to provide reliable results. The ISO/IEC 17025 standard assists laboratories in demonstrating competency in their operations, and capability to generate valid results.
With the implementation of a Laboratory Management System, laboratories ensure commitment to impartiality and confidentiality, for the management of all information obtained or generated during laboratory activities. The equipment, facilities and environmental conditions of laboratories are made suitable for carrying out successful operations; the personnel is competent to conduct laboratory activities and to evaluate the significance of deviations.
Laboratories that get accredited against the ISO/IEC 17025 standard achieve formal recognition worldwide, as being competent to provide reliable and trustworthy services and results. Hence, customers are able to choose testing, measurement, and calibration services, and be confident in their validity.
An accredited laboratory is authorized to publicly display the accreditation body’s symbol or endorsement, and it can use it for marketing purposes. Customers have the opportunity to make informed decisions by checking for what specific tests or measurements the laboratory is accredited, and also the ranges and/or uncertainties, all of which are specified in the Scope of the Laboratory’s Accreditation.
The ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is considered as a plausible indicator of technical competence of laboratories' operations. Accredited laboratories obtain international recognition that helps, among others, to:
- Decrease the costs of testing products and materials in accredited laboratories, by eliminating the need for retesting in different states; and
- Become accepted in overseas markets.
Understanding the value of ISO/IEC 17025
The applicability of the standard can be extended across a wide range of laboratory operations, and accredited laboratories demonstrate that they are technically proficient and capable of generating precise and accurate calibration data and test results.
Laboratories that implement a Laboratory Management System and get accredited by a third party accreditation body, assure the customer that their laboratory is performing at the highest level of accuracy.
The recognition gained from an ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is of great importance when laboratories decide to commit to tenders, since procurement officials will seek for accredited laboratories. Simultaneously, the accreditation acts as a business improvement and a protective tool, since it reduces the costs encountered by clients and ensures due diligence.
Laboratories should not underestimate the value of an accreditation since the formal recognition gained with an accreditation is undoubtedly highly marketable
ISO/IEC 17025 and its customers
Accreditation is an independent evaluation with a high significance to customers since it provides an unbiased guarantee that your laboratory is operating with an adequate level of validity and accuracy. Customers use accredited laboratories to meet legal requirements and to ensure that their products are safe and ready to be launched into the market, thus, the accreditation provides confidence in the competence of the laboratory to do so.
Accredited laboratories are required to ensure confidentiality of the customer’s information obtained or generated by tests, and have the responsibility to maintain the integrity and security of all information. The protection of customer information is derived from several clauses of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard and requires that only authorized individuals have access to it. Any unauthorized access to customer information is considered unacceptable.
The standard strongly suggests that laboratories seek feedback from their customers, and create a better means of cooperation between both parties. This cooperation is vital for ensuring continual improvement, motivating the personnel, and improving the laboratory’s performance by viewing the negative feedback as a constructive one.
About the author:
Gonxhe Dobroshi is a Course Development Manager at PECB. She is in charge of developing and maintaining training courses related to HSE. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her at: hse@pecb.com.
