ISO 17025
In 1999, The International Organisation for Standardisation issued ISO/IEC 17025, which was originally called ISO/IEC Guide 25. This set out the standards by which testing and calibration should be carried out by laboratories. The ISO/IEC 17025 adds the concept of competence to the commonalities with ISO 9000. A second release followed in 2005, and this aligns the ISO/IEC 17025 more closely with the quality aspect mentioned in the 2000 version of ISO 9001, thereby providing a more comprehensive standard. The 2005 document placed more responsibility on the shoulders of senior management, and specified that a continuous improvement approach must be maintained – which should also should include greater communications with the customer.
The ISO/IEC 17025 has two main sections which form the basis of the document, which are the Management Requirements, relating to the effectiveness and operation of the quality management system used within the laboratory, and the Technical Requirements, which refer more to the competency of staff and the equipment used for testing and calibration. The basis of accreditation from an accreditation body is formed around the ISO/IEC 17025, and it also aims to provide a framework for improving a laboratories ability to consistently produce valid results. The basis for this is that the laboratory must have a fully documented quality managements system, and the ISO/IEC 17025 forms the outline of the standard.
In Australia, NATA were the first laboratory accreditation body to be formed in 1947, followed by TELARC in New Zealand in 1973. Since then, most bodies, including the United Kingdom standards body UKAS, follow the Australian and New Zealand bodies.
