|
Additional
Links
17025
Articles of Interest
To help you understand
ISO/IEC 17025 we have provided a list of available articles.
New
Edition of Influential ISO/IEC Standard on Competence of Laboratories
- ISO/IEC 17025:2005
A new edition has just
been published of an ISO/IEC standard acknowledged as the international
benchmark for approving the competence of the testing and calibration
laboratories that play a vital role in trade, in product development and
manufacturing, and in protection of the consumer.
ISO/IEC 17025:2005,
General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration
laboratories, replaces the 1999 edition which has been used to "accredit"
(approve) some 25,000 laboratories worldwide that test products and samples,
and calibrate precision instruments. However, the influence of ISO/IEC
17025 is even greater than this figure suggests since many countries make
its use a legal requirement. In addition, documents derived from it are
used by laboratories in specific sectors such as medicine and microbiology.
More Information:
Availability:
Transcat has a White
Paper available, titled 17025 Accreditation - What is is, why it's important,
and what the requirements are to provide it, written July 2003. The White
Paper in PDF
format is available at Transcat's
Calibration Services page.
ISO Communique of
November 2002 on "Accreditation" and "Certification"
of Laboratories. For laboratories and users of laboratory services, occasionally
there is misunderstanding and confusion about the objectives and functions
of "accreditation" based on ISO/IEC 17025, and "certification"
of laboratories based on ISO 9001:2000.
Click here for a PDF.
At the request of
the A2LA Board of Directors, Teresa C. Adams, A2LA Operations Manager,
conducted the A2LA Common Deficiency Study to determine the most common
deficiencies cited during A2LA assessments. The information provided in
this report can be extremely useful to laboratories and assessors alike.
It points to several key areas where problems, misunderstandings and misinterpretations
commonly occur and it can be used as a training tool to ensure a more
thorough understanding of the requirements for accreditation. To
view this report in PDF format click here.
Rose Heaton at Hart
Scientific has written A Comparison of ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-Part 1994 Part
1 and ANSI/ISO/IEC 17025:2000. The article describes both standards and
outlines the important differences between them. The article can be found
at: www.hartscientific.com/publications/17025.htm
NVLAP recently added
a link on their site to the APLAC 17025 Web-Based Training site. The site's
purpose is to familiarize laboratories and assessors with ISO 17025 requirements.
To access this site click on NVLAP's
Assessor Resources page and follow the log-in instructions for the
"APLAC 17025 Web-Based Training."
NCSLI posted A Comparison
of ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 Part I and ANSI/ISO/IEC 17025:2000 which outlines
some of the important differences between the two major standards. The
article can be found at:http://www.ncsli.org/committees/174/z540.cfm
NIST Laboratory
Metrology Program
NIST Metrology Resources for Government and Commercial Laboratories
Contains laboratory
training and tools, NIST technical resources, and more.
http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/230/235/labmetrologypage.htm
Proficiency
Testing Providers
ISO 17025 Section 5.9 recommends participation in proficiency testing
as a way of assuring the quality of test and calibration results. Proficiency
Testing provides a laboratory the ability to assess the quality of its
testing and calibration services by comparing its results to those of
other laboratories. For more information about proficiency testing contact:
ISO 17025 Accreditation
Links and 17025 Accredited Lab Information
Laboratory
Accreditation provides a means of determining the competence of laboratories
to perform specific types of testing, measurement and calibration. It
enables people who want a product, material or instrument to be checked
or calibrated to find a reliable testing or calibration service able to
meet their needs. It also allows a laboratory to determine whether it
is performing its work correctly and to appropriate standards. Manufacturing
organizations may also use laboratory accreditation to ensure the testing
of their products by their own in-house laboratories is being done correctly.
Laboratory accreditation
provides formal recognition to competent laboratories, thus providing
a ready means for customers to access reliable testing and calibration
services.
The following alphabetical
list provides contact information for accreditation bodies and 17025 accredited
labs.
A2LA - American Association
for Laboratory Accreditation
As a third-party organization, A2LA serves both first parties (customers
seeking accreditation) and second parties (clients of our customers and
other stakeholders likely to be influenced, either directly or indirectly,
by the quality of accredited results). A2LA believes that its primary
responsibility is to deliver an impartial, independent and objective accreditation
service that provides confidence in the validity of results produced by
the accredited entities. www.a2la.org
Search through A2LA's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
ACLASS - Assured Calibration
Laboratory Accreditation Select Services
ACLASS is an accreditation body to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. ACLASS
is an affliate member of ILAC and has recently submitted an application
for recognition as an unaffliated body under ILAC-P3:2003. Additionally,
ACLASS has recently become an associate member of APLAC. ACLASS operates
a comprehensive accreditation system and accredits calibration, testing,
and inspection bodies. www.aclasscorp.com
Search through ACLASS's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
APLAC - Asia Pacific
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
APLAC groups organizations in the Asia Pacific region responsible for
accrediting calibration, testing and inspection facilities. Members are
nationally recognized accreditation bodies and are in general government
organizations or endorsed by government. www.aplac.org
EA - European Cooperation
for Accreditation
Until now, the branches of European national accreditation bodies have
been handled separately by EAC (European Accreditation of Certification)
and EAL (European co-operation for Accreditation of Laboratories) concerned
with certification bodies or with laboratories. These organizations have
joined to form the European Accreditation (EA) which now covers all European
conformity assessment activities including testing and calibration. www.european-accreditation.org
IAS - International
Accreditation Service
The International Accreditation Service, a subsidiary of the International
Code Council, assesses and accredits competent testing and calibration
laboratories, inspection agencies and fabrication inspection programs.
In operation since 1975, IAS is one of the oldest accreditation bodies
of its type and is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation recognized
worldwide. www.iasonline.org
Search through IAS's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
ILAC - International
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
ILAC is an international cooperation between the various laboratory accreditation
schemes operated throughout the world. Founded twenty years ago, ILAC
was formalized as a cooperation in 1996 when 44 national bodies signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Amsterdam. This MOU provides the
basis for the further development of the Cooperation and the eventual
establishment of a multilateral recognition agreement between ILAC member
bodies. Such an agreement will further enhance and facilitate the international
acceptance of test data, and the elimination of technical barriers to
trade. www.ilac.org
ILAA - International
Laboratory Assessment & Accreditation
ILAA's mission is to provide customers with accreditation to ISO/IEC
17025. For many years national and international organizations have established
recommended guidelines to assist testing laboratories in achieving a quality
system. ILAA's guidelines will address the quality issues beyond a paper
trail. ILAA is committed to addressing the issues of the expense and the
time involved in accreditation for the small testing and calibration laboratories.
www.ilaaonline.org
L-A-B Laboratory Accreditation
Bureau
L-A-B is a Michigan Corporation, established to provide laboratory accreditation
services to independent and captive testing and calibration laboratories
across North America. www.l-a-b.com
Search through L-A-B's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
NACLA - National Cooperation
for Laboratory Accreditation
NACLA is a nonprofit corporation established to coordinate laboratory
accreditation activities within the United States and to serve as the
U.S. link to the worldwide lab accreditation system. www.nacla.net
NVLAP - National Voluntary
Laboratory Accreditation Program
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) administers
the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). NVLAP
is comprised of a series of laboratory accreditation programs (LAPs) which
are established on the basis of requests and demonstrated need. NVLAP
accredits public and private laboratories based on evaluation of their
technical qualifications and competence to carry out specific calibrations
or tests. www.nist.gov/nvlap
Search through NVLAP's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
SCC - Standards Council
of Canada
The Standards Council has the mandate to coordinate and oversee the efforts
of the National Standards System, which includes organizations and individuals
involved in voluntary standards development, promotion and implementation
in Canada. Some 250 organizations have been accredited by the Standards
Council. Some of these develop standards, others are conformity assessment
bodies which determine the compliance of products or services to a standard's
requirements. The list of accredited organizations includes testing and
calibration laboratories. www.scc.ca
In Canada, the accreditation of calibration laboratories is the shared
responsibility of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) Program for the Accreditation
of Laboratories-Canada (PALCAN),
and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS).
The CLAS program provides quality system and technical assessment services
and certification of specific measurement capabilities of calibration
laboratories in support of the Canadian National Measurement System. Eligibility
for CLAS certification is required for SCC accreditation of calibration
laboratories. The SCC grants accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for qualified
laboratories. The PALCAN/CLAS Agreement of Collaboration contains a detailed
description of shared responsibilities in the accreditation of calibration
laboratories.
Search through SCC's
Directory of Accredited Calibration Laboratories
|
