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What is ISO 9001 and what are the benefits
to your company?
The International Organization developed the ISO 9000 series of standards
for Standardization (ISO), a federation of national standards bodies
from 150 countries based in Geneva, Switzerland. The ISO's primary function
is to develop guidelines for effective management systems, which in turn
can serve as a framework for continuous improvement. The ISO 9000 family
represents a consensus on good management practices, which is an accepted
business standard in more than 150 countries. ISO 9001:2000 is among
the most comprehensive and difficult certificates to obtain, requiring
careful documentation of all quality management procedures and evidence
of a consistent system in conformance with international standards. ISO
9001:2000 specifies audits by third-party registrars for initial registration
and continued compliance.
Click to
learn the benefits of using an ISO 9001 registered company.
What is ISO/IEC 17025 and what are the
benefits to your company?
ISO 17025 is the equivalent of ISO 9000 for calibration and testing
laboratories. It applies to any organization that wants to assure its
customers of precision, accuracy and repeatability of results. This includes
in-house laboratories for which assurance of results is at a premium.
Accredited services offer the highest degree of confidence that calibration
measurements are trustworthy.
QS 9000, the Automotive Quality Management System, and its successor,
TS16949, have stipulated that first tier suppliers of calibration and
test services be ISO 17025 certified, and that suppliers upstream of
them be compliant.
The Advantages of ISO 17025 in Calibration
The ISO 17025 standard offers key advantages for both users and providers.
Users of ISO 17025 calibration services benefit from enhanced data reporting
that makes it possible to compare measurements from different laboratories
-- even those from multiple countries. The enhancement and standardization
of calibration data provides companies an increased level of confidence
in their test instrument accuracy.
The ISO 17025 standard helps calibration service providers by reducing
the need for customer audits. In the past, calibration laboratories could
demonstrate their competency and adherence to standards by undergoing
separate external audits from each of their major customers. These audits
consume a considerable amount of time for both the calibration labs and
their customers. With ISO 17025, labs can now schedule a single third-party
audit and become accredited to a standardized set of requirements that
are recognized by their customers.
Click to learn more about the procedures required to implement ISO/IEC 17025 |
