ISO 17025 Quality Systems for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

What is ISO 17025?

ISO 17025 - General Requirements for the Competence of Calibration and Testing Laboratories was published by ISO in December 1999 and revised in May 2005.  It is the result of a joint partnership between the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.  The standard replaces ISO Guide 25 and EN 45001 and takes into consideration the operating experience gained since the previous standards were published.

ISO 17025 was developed specifically to give guidance to laboratories on both quality management and the technical requirements for proper operation.  This standard can be considered the technical compliment to ISO 9000.  Consequently, any organization that satisfies the requirements of ISO 17025 also meets the intent of ISO 9000 requirements; however, the reverse is not true.

While the ISO 9000 requirements are generic and are intended to be applicable to any type of organization, the ISO 17025 requirements are specific to testing and calibration laboratories.  This standard addresses issues such as: the technical competence of personnel, ethical behavior of staff, use of well-defined test and calibration procedures, participation in proficiency testing, and contents of test reports and certificates.

Another reason for development of the standard was to harmonize laboratory accreditation and acceptance of test data worldwide.  All participating countries will be required to accept the test results performed by accredited members of these other countries.  

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