Abstract.
This paper summarises the experience we gained while going through an accreditation process in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 Standard. We propose in this paper an initial path finding study stage to evaluate the laboratory's predisposition for, and the benefits of, accreditation. We also present a conceptual framework as part of the path finding study stage to identify and classify different groups of activities in a laboratory into separate business domains. The objective of the study is to assess, for each business domain, the approach, the benefits, costs and implications of working with a systematic QA and then design a priori appropriate working systems tailored to the real needs of each business. Such a study should naturally lead to an appropriate definition of accreditation scope.
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Notes
The Food Products Unit (FPU), part of the Directorate General Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, was until recently located at the Ispra-Italy site. Following a rationalisation restructuring in the year 2002, its activities were joined with those of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) and it was transferred to the Geel-Belgium site. The mission of the FPU and of the new Food Safety and Quality Unit in Geel was/is to develop, validate and harmonise analytical methods at European level, to monitor chemical, physical and biological parameters and to disseminate the results in the field of food and other consumables.
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Acknowledgment.
The author would like to thank Mr. Hanspeter Ischi, the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA) chairman of Laboratory Committee for his ideas and debates.
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Dizadji, F., Anklam, E. Strategic views of accreditation. Accred Qual Assur 9, 317–322 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-003-0659-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-003-0659-z