What has the New Version of ISO 17025 Accreditation Stored for You?
Certification to ISO 17025 is designed for assuring that the calibration report issued by a certified laboratory has been correctly assessed and found to meet all the relevant compliances. It instills the confidence in the target audience of a laboratory by demonstrating its reliability and efficiency. It can be considered as a sign of laboratory accreditation scheme. However, the International Organization for Standardization or ISO has introduced a new version of this calibration-reporting standard in 2017 to update its content. This blog is going to analyze the new version of ISO 17025 accreditation.
Reasons behind the Revision
In most of the times, ISO keeps introducing new versions to keep their standards align with the changing market requirements trends. Certification to ISO 17025 is no exception. This standard was introduced in the year 2005 for the first time. Since then, the market has gone through massive changes. Moreover, technology and calibration technologies have also been changed. Therefore, a new version was much required. The latest version of ISO 17025 certification includes technical aspects, vocabulary, and IT developments. Moreover, this latest version also addresses the last updated version of ISO 9001 Quality Assurance Standard.
What are the Major Changes in the Latest Version?
• In the last version, ISO 17025 calibration reporting standard has outlined the new ways of working for the laboratories. However, the substantive changes include:
• The scope of the certification has been modified to cover all the essential laboratory activities ranging from testing, calibrating to sampling and reporting.
• A new structure has been suggested to keep up this standard with other existing ISO standards of ISO 17000 series. In this way, ISO has tried to maintain a balance among the multiple standards belonging to the same series.
• The calibration method suggested by the new version matches the news standards of ISO 9001(Quality Management Standard), ISO 15189 (Quality of Medical Laboratory Standard), and other standards of the 17000 series. Therefore, an experienced quality assurance consultant compares the new standard with its relevant ones.
• This updated version insists on the outcomes of a calibrating process. It is not concerned with the detailed description of the testing. It emphasizes only the outcomes. In other words, what means the most for latest ISO 17025 standard is the accuracy of the reports, not how the report has been produced.
• The ISO 17025:2017 has attached great importance to information technology. Since all the hard copy documents are phasing out in favor of electronic versions these days, this version encourages the use of computer systems, electronic documents, and production of electronic calibration report.
• ISO has added a new segment to this updated version of ISO 17025 accreditation- Risk-Based Thinking. This section describes the commonalities this latest version shares ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Standard.
• Another remarkable change is seen in the terminology. For instance, changes to the VIM or International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM) and alignment with the ISO/IEC terminology that has a specific set of most0used terms and definitions for all the ISO standards regarding the conformity assessment.
How can the Latest Version of ISO 17025 Benefit a Business?
The latest version of the ISO 17025 standard helps the calibration laboratories to establish the fact that they follow all the relevant regulations and produce accurate reports. It instills confidence in the target customers and the third-party associations. Moreover, it bridges the gulf between the laboratories and other agencies by producing a huge acceptance of the generated results across the globe. When an ISO certified laboratory is producing a report, it will be accepted in any corner of the world.
If your organization deals with calibration and you haven’t avail all the benefits of ISO 17025:2017, think about it. Think Smart, Act Fast!
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