ISO 17025 addresses every element of laboratory management. It is not exclusive to the
laboratory manager, assistant laboratory manager, or quality manager. The standard involves all
laboratory staff whose functions relate to the quality of laboratory data generated.
The ISO management system will provide a defined, ordered process for operating all facts of a
laboratory. The laboratory community throughout the world has expressed, through the
International Organization for Standardization, the essential elements for a laboratory management
system in the text of ISO 17025. That document provides the nucleus for most laboratory
accreditation programs today. ISO 17025 provides the framework for a Quality Management
System for a testing or calibration laboratory.
What is driving accreditation?
The automotive standards QS 9000 and 16949 require testing and calibration laboratories
to be accredited. Laboratories may need a quality system that is recognized
internationally. The marketplace - laboratories must keep up with competitors who are
becoming accredited. Internal motives - laboratories can improve their internal systems.
The Opportunities
Laboratories shall get the following benefits:
1. Stand out your competitors
2. Enhanced reliable test results
3. Improved efficiency of the lab
4. Reduce errors and complaints
5. Improved customer satisfaction
6. Reduce risks
7. Reduced operational expenditure