Lab Accreditation- ISO 17025

ISO/IEC 17025 is the global quality standard for testing and calibration laboratories. It is the basis for accreditation from an accreditation body. Working according to global standards is especially important for laboratories to ensure validity and global comparability of test and calibration results. One of the goals of using global standards is to reduce the number of tests required in national and international trading.

Laboratories are frequently faced with situations where they have to comply with both regulations and quality standards at the same time.  There are two main clauses in ISO/IEC 17025 – Management Requirements and Technical Requirements. Management requirements are related to the operation and effectiveness of the quality management system within the laboratory, and this clause has similar requirements to ISO 9001. Technical requirements address the competence of staff; testing methodology; equipment and quality; and reporting of test and calibration results.

With many other advantages, one advantage of accrediting an internal quality control laboratory is that it will generally reduce the number of audits by customers and this is often a key reason for seeking accreditation. Frequent audits by a range of customers can be disruptive to operations.

Accreditation against ISO 17025 provides a proof that the laboratory has adopted and implemented the quality management system and has necessary competence to provide authentic testing and calibration results. ISO-17025 stores necessary measurements and records that are required to create an efficient and effective process for different businesses.