What is ISO 17025?
"Management system" refers to the organization's structure for managing its processes - or activities - that transform inputs of resources into a product or service which meet the organization's objectives, such as satisfying the customer's quality requirements, complying to regulations, or meeting environmental objectives.
ISO 9001 is a generic management standard that can be applied to any business enterprise, public administration, or government department.
Growth in the use of management systems generally has increased the need to ensure that laboratories can operate to a quality management system that is seen as compliant with ISO 9001 as well as demonstrate technical competency. Therefore, ISO 17025 was written to incorporate all the ISO 9001 requirements that are relevant to the scope of testing and calibration services as well as specifying the technical requirements for technical competence.
Testing and calibration laboratories that comply with ISO 17025 will also operate in accordance with ISO 9001.
1. Scope
2. Normative References
3. Terms and Definitions
4. Management Requirements
5. Technical Requirements
Elements 4 and 5 contain the actual accreditation requirements.
Technical Requirements
- General
- Personnel
- Accommodation and environmental conditions
- Test and calibration methods and method validation
- Equipment
- Measurement traceability
- Sampling
- Handling of test and calibration items
- Assuring the quality of test and calibration results
- Reporting the results
The ISO 17025 Quality Management System Model provides structure using the industry standard ISO 9001 approach. It embraces trusted methods and frameworks to help provide a stable quality environment. To enhance understanding, and provide a little more detail, we have created our own FAQ:
The ISO 17025 standard itself can be obtained as a download from the ISO 17025 Page of BSI's Standards Direct store.
Alternatively, it is included within the toolkit of 17025 support resources (quality manual, etc), known as the ISO 17025 Quality Kit
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