If you have a business that works with measurements and retrieving of the data from said measurements it may be important to have ISO-17025 accredited calibration or ISO-9001. These may help you continue business (if your in a country that requires accredited calibration) and become a more dependable and accurate source. While they may work together and have similar functions, they differ in their core uses and priorities. Be sure to research and discuss the possibilities with your coworkers before beginning accreditation.
ISO/IEC 17025 Is the primary standard used by calibration laboratories since it was issued by the International organization for standardization in 1999. The two main areas that the standard focuses on are management and meeting technical requirements. This standard stipulates the criteria where by calibration laboratories are deemed to be technically competent to perform the various types of measurements that they have listed on their scope of accreditation. The audit is rigorous and is designed to show evidence that the laboratory maintains & utilizes proper calibration procedures correctly, maintains the proper environment, and that each individual technician has the proven skills to perform the calibration correctly.
The accrediting entity has a mutual recognition agreement with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). an oversight board that will guarantee that the test results will be recognized by the other members as being valid.
ISO-9001 is a quality management system (QMS) that helps businesses keep records, set policies, procedures, organize production, quality, and service. This QMS differs from ISO-17025 because it also focuses on the importance of the workflow through paperwork, effective communication and the business in general. It helps identify the core business practices and improve them as well by setting benchmarks to enable the recording of progress throughout each branch of the company. ISO-9001 can work with ISO-17025 so a company is able to have clearly defined processes to store necessary measurements, orders, or history to study progress and possible trends.
Once you’ve done the proper research with your fellow coworkers and determined what standard is necessary to meet your quality requirements you will be able to make a well-educated decision about your own quality standard needs. Before obtaining your ISO certificate discuss with and educate those in your company so they will understand and be able to work with these systems. While some accreditation processes are relatively simple, you will need to research to make sure the program is right for you.
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