Home
It might seem reasonable that an ISO 9001 certified calibration laboratory should be capable of calibrating instruments for an ISO 9001 certified organisation. In this short article we examine ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 for evidence for and against this possibility.
ISO 17025 section 1.6 states that laboratories that comply with the requirements of this International Standard ... will operate a quality system for their testing and calibration activities that also meets the requirements of ISO 9001 ... and ISO 9002. In the same section, however, we read that ISO 17025 covers several technical competence requirements that are not covered by ISO 9001 and ISO 9002. The technical competence requirements of ISO 17025 are found in section 5.
A lab that operates an ISO 9001 system may have certain quality systems in place but they do not necessarily have accredited technical competence for performing calibration services. In the metrology environment ISO 17025 can be considered to be a superset of ISO 9001. Appendix A of ISO 17025 provides a cross-reference between ISO 17025 and ISO 9001/2.
ISO 17025 (1999) is presently undergoing minor revision so the sections relating to quality systems maintain compatibility with the recently revised ISO 9001 (2000).
ISO 9001 certification can be considered to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for the provision of calibration services. Potential customers should select labs that are accredited to ISO 17025 for their specific calibration requirements.
©2002 Martin Turner B.Sc. (Eng) Ph.D.
Engineering and Measurement Consultant
12 Goodman Place, Cherrybrook, NSW 2126, Australia
Tel: 0403-007 305 (International: +61-403-007 305)
Email: mjturner at biccard.com
Disclaimer The views expressed and information provided in
these documents are the opinions of the authors and do not
represent specific advice on any topic.
First published: 8 Sept 02 Last modified: 8 Dec 02
Home