ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is the formal recognition of the technical competence of an ISO 17025 calibration laboratory to perform specific calibration activities. It is not a simple quality management system certification, but a technical assessment that considers the impartiality and competence of personnel, the adequacy of calibration methods and measuring instruments, and the management of measurement uncertainty and traceability.
For a pharmaceutical, biotech or industrial company, relying on an ISO/17025 accredited laboratory means having an accredited calibration certificate that can be used as technical evidence within the quality system, supporting audits, inspections, qualifications, preventive maintenance and metrological risk management.
What an accredited calibration enables
An ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration enables you to:
- demonstrate the metrological traceability of the measurement;
- document results, measurement uncertainty and the method applied;
- strengthen the documentary robustness of the quality system;
- support audits, inspections and qualifications;
- reduce the risk of unreliable measurements;
- manage your instrument fleet in a structured way.
Measurement capability and uncertainty
A laboratory’s measurement capability represents the best performance achievable under ideal conditions. The uncertainty associated with a specific calibration may be higher, depending on the instrument being calibrated and the operating conditions. Measurements carried out at the customer’s site may also have greater uncertainties than those performed in the laboratory, due to environmental conditions and the transport of reference standard instruments.
