Benefits-Laboratory Accreditation ISO 17025-ISO PROS #23

Benefits of Laboratory Accreditation ISO 17025

What does ISO 17025 stand for?

ISO 17025 is a quality management system and the core testing and calibration laboratory standard. ISO 17025 has many commonalities with ISO 9000, but ISO 17025 tests the technological expertise in laboratory research and calibration providers and extends to research and calibration outcomes generating entities.

How do you achieve accreditation?

A third party systematically tests the quality control program and technological expertise of the facility to obtain ISO 17025 accreditation. Audits are periodically performed to retain the accreditation. Accreditation under ISO 17025 may only be issued through an authorized accreditation agency. Accreditation indicates the facility has fulfilled the ISO17025 Management Criteria and Technological Specifications and is considered sufficiently capable to deliver the outcomes of configuration and research.

What are the benefits of laboratory accreditation ISO 17025?

Research laboratories such as your profit greatly from a globally recognized accreditation body’s scientifically reliable evaluation and accreditation. Below are some of the advantages:

  • A laboratory gains a quality management system by going through the accreditation process, which functions to reduce and prevent procedural errors
  • A “credential” designating the facility as eligible and worthy of delivering services in the sector or areas of which it is certified.
  • A routine, systematic “check-up” lets the management of a laboratory keep the activity continuously enhanced.
  • Entry into a specific sector in a growing number of cases that would otherwise be inaccessible to the laboratory.
  • Accreditation tests enable the research personnel to remain at the leading edge of their area with scientific advances. If some improvements are introduced to ISO 17025, your laboratory personnel are still up-to-date on all the changes.
  • Laboratory performance is improved. Daily reviews promote workplace productivity and a sense of integrity. Employees are more likely to be committed to complying with the company’s QM system and performance standards.

Accreditation creates trust

Laboratory customers are also the beneficiaries of laboratory accreditation. Consumers are more assured regarding the quality of the test or adjustment report they are purchasing since it was produced by a professional facility. It is particularly valid for an experienced person, one who is knowledgeable of the extent of accreditation by the laboratory. Accredited testing results guide recommendations on decisions for product certification.

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You also require a LIMS!

The key reason for introducing a LIMS is that it becomes your one-stop, secure program with features that allow your laboratory to obey all the guidelines laid down in ISO 17025. The specifications of the legislation are split down into two parts: Management and Scientific. Management criteria apply to the application of the quality control program in the laboratory and its efficacy. This involves data management requirements, paper monitoring, internal checks for each phase conducted in the laboratory, operational process, analysis of client-received research requests, and procurement of resources and materials such as reagents, consumables, etc. Professional standards include the expertise of the staff, the procedures used for sampling and measuring, the types of equipment, consistency, and recording of the effects of testing and calibration. It is only because of its streamlined implementation and multifaceted features that you need to incorporate a LIMS in your laboratory to meet any of these specifications.

You ought to be sure that you will be provided with precise and consistent tests while choosing a laboratory to meet the research, calibration, or measuring needs. A laboratory ‘s technological integrity relies on a variety of considerations, among them:

  • Personnel skills, preparation, and expertise
  • The right equipment-properly calibrated and kept maintained
  • Proper quality assurance practices
  • Correct sampling practices
  • Proper research methods
  • Appropriate research approaches
  • Measurement traceability to the institutional requirements
  • Precise documentation and documenting data
  • Adequate research equipment

All these considerations help to make sure the work is technologically compliant within a laboratory.

Why Accreditation and/or Certification?

There are various factors that drive laboratories to apply for approval, accreditation, or both.

For the case of the ISO 9001 community, the key justification for the labs to adopt the ISO 9001 norm is that they contribute to an organization that has introduced a quality control program for compliance with the ISO 9001 standard. Organizations that wish to develop their internal operating processes and concentrate on product consistency or client satisfaction are most likely to use a metrology facility to calibrate their measuring instruments internally. Another justification for gaining ISO 9001 certification in a metrology laboratory is the necessity of the sector, such as the automotive industry.

The key explanation that certain laboratories would use this acknowledgment in the case of accreditation was industry demand. On the other side, labs have submitted to their international customers for ISO 17025 accreditation to conduct calibrations.

With respect to those laboratories that are both licensed and accredited, the key motives for certification/accreditation is to standardize all areas of the laboratory and enhance the acceptance of metrology facilities in every country that signed the EA (European Accreditation Cooperation) and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Coo) MRA (Mutual Recognition Agreement).

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Consequently, ISO / IEC 17025 is by far the main international standard for the establishment of laboratory competence and quality. It also facilitates cooperation between testing laboratories and other bodies by establishing broader acceptance among countries and organizations of results. Organizations present in various countries will approve test results and certificates of approval (CoA) without the need for more testing which contributes to better foreign trade. In addition, at times obtaining ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation can be difficult, but one can still use the appropriate preparation and resources (such as a LIMS) to resolve challenges and enjoy the advantages of becoming an accredited ISO 17025 laboratory.

Several countries have accountable bodies for accrediting laboratories within their country. Some of these accreditation organizations accept ISO / IEC 17025 as the basis for accrediting laboratories for research and validation, or ISO 15189 for medical laboratories. This has enabled countries to use a standardized methodology to develop lab expertise and, where appropriate, to follow globally agreed testing and measurement practices.