Standard Overload

Accredited calibration companies, ourselves included, like to tell anyone who will listen about their ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation. Like all niche fields, we sometimes forget the difference between industry jargon and general knowledge. The fact is, we like to shout ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation from the rooftops because it’s both a high achievement and pretty important for anyone seeking a quality calibration.

You may have heard of the more common accreditations like ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, but outside of our marketing, you may not know about ISO/IEC 17025. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created a standard for just about everything. To date, there are over 20,000 published ISO standards, so we wouldn’t blame you for not knowing every single one. ISO/IEC 17025 is the fundamental standard for calibration labs.

(Check out ISO 3103 for one of our favorite off-the-wall standards).

What is ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation

Governed by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ISO/IEC 17025 is the international quality and procedural standard for calibration labs. This standard has five key components: guidelines for management, normative reference documentation, scope, technical competency requirements, and terms/definitions. These components are the foundation for accurate,

repeatable, quality calibrations. For a lab to gain its accreditation, an authorized accrediting body must review and approve a lab’s processes to ensure they are compliant with all of the standards outlined in ISO/IEC 17025. The accreditation process is a tremendous undertaking that requires an extensive quality system and detailed procedures.

To maintain their standing, accredited labs are subject to regular audits from their accrediting body. During these audits, a representative from the accrediting body will “witness” calibrations, comb through quality documents, and inspect the lab and its equipment to ensure continued compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 standards.  These audits perform a dual purpose.  Not only do audits verify quality, they allow accrediting bodies to share best practices and make processes even more accurate and more efficient.

Not All Calibration are Created Equal

As discussed in previous articles, not all calibrations are equal. The rigorous requirements for accreditation ensure the highest level of quality and consistency in the calibration results. For highly regulated industries like pharmaceutical production and criminal justice labs, accredited calibrations are often a requirement. Although accredited calibrations are the highest-quality calibration available, they are not necessary for every process. Some processes may only need basic verifications to perform adequately. If you want to find out the ideal calibration for your equipment, refer to our handy article, or our calibration flowchart.