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MS ISO/IEC 17025
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 specifies the general requirements for the competence to carry out tests and/or calibrations, including sampling. It covers testing and calibration performed using standard methods, non-standard methods, and laboratory-developed methods.
It is applicable to all organisations performing tests and/or calibrations. These include, for example, first-, second- and third-party laboratories, and laboratories where testing and/or calibration forms part of inspection and product certification.
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is applicable to all laboratories regardless of the number of personnel or the extent of the scope of testing and/or calibration activities. When a laboratory does not undertake one or more of the activities covered by ISO/IEC 17025:2017, such as sampling and the design/development of new methods, the requirements of those clauses do not apply.
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is for use by laboratories in developing their management system for quality, administrative and technical operations. Laboratory customers, regulatory authorities and accreditation bodies may also use it in confirming or recognizing the competence of laboratories.
More information relates to the Standard can be found here.
ILAC MRA
The ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) provides significant technical underpinning to the calibration, testing, medical testing and inspection results of the accredited conformity assessment bodies and in turn delivers confidence in the acceptance of results.
The ILAC MRA supports the provision of local or national services, such as providing safe food and clean drinking water, providing energy, delivering health and social care or maintaining an unpolluted environment.
In addition, the ILAC MRA enhances the acceptance of products across national borders. By removing the need for additional calibration, testing, medical testing and/or inspection of imports and exports, technical barriers to trade are reduced. In this way the ILAC MRA promotes international trade and the free-trade goal of “accredited once, accepted everywhere” can be realized.
The ILAC MRA links the existing regional MRAs/MLAs of the Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies. For the purposes of the ILAC MRA, and based on ILAC’s evaluation and recognition of the regional MRAs/MLAs, ILAC delegates authority to its Recognised Regional Cooperation Bodies for the evaluation, surveillance, re-evaluation and associated decision making relating to the signatory status of the accreditation bodies that are ILAC Full Members (ILAC MRA signatories).
The accreditation bodies that are signatories to the ILAC MRA have been peer evaluated in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011 to demonstrate their competence. The ILAC MRA Signatory Search provides a current list of all accreditation bodies that are signatories to the ILAC MRA, including their contact details, the scope of their recognition and the initial date of signing the ILAC MRA. This list of ILAC MRA signatories can be printed by clicking on the red printer button on the signatory search page. Alternatively, the PDF version of the list of ILAC MRA signatories is also available for download.
The ILAC MRA signatories then assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies according to the relevant international standards including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189) and inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020). The ILAC MRA signatories agree to accept the results of each other’s accredited conformity assessment bodies under the ILAC MRA. Hence, the results from the conformity assessment bodies accredited by the ILAC MRA signatories are able to be recognised internationally. In many cases, a link to the accreditation body’s online directory of accredited facilities is also provided in the ILAC MRA Signatory Search.
Using the signatory search and the accredited facilities directories, regulators and consumers can locate laboratories or inspection bodies that are accredited for the specific calibrations, tests or inspections required, as well as the contact details of these facilities, thereby ensuring the results will be accepted under the ILAC MRA. Organisations can also host the ILAC MRA signatory search on their website by copying the code.
The ILAC MRA 2015 Annual Report provides information on the activities carried out as part of the peer evaluation process in 2015 to ensure that regulators and consumers of laboratory and inspection data are able to maintain confidence in the results produced under the ILAC MRA.
More information about ILAC MRA.