You own a business. ISO has a standard for you! Don’t get confused. It implies that the International organization for Standardization or ISO has stored everything you need to take your business to the next level. ISO has come up with more than 21,500 standards till date. Overwhelming, no? They cover almost every sector. Therefore, no matter what is your niche, ISO has a standard that can elevate the quality of your offerings as well as your credibility in your respective market. It is not possible to cover all the ISO standards. In this blog, we are going to focus on the ISO 17025 standard. If you are a happy owner of a testing and calibration laboratory, this blog is “must read” for you. The first thing you should determine is- whether ISO 17025 standard suitable for my business or not? Should I attempt at gaining the ISO 17025 certification? If yes, how far my organization can be benefitted?
Let’s delve into a detailed discussion to help you find out the answers to these questions:
ISO intended to standardize all the testing and calibration laboratories across the world. This particular standard includes standard testing, nonstandard testing, and lab-oriented testing processes. ISO 17025 certified labs meet certain requirements. The calibration standard wants the labs to document and uniquely identify the samples.
Moreover, these labs must ensure that their test results are inspected regarding quality and integrity. The lab must calibrate and maintain most of the testing devices and equipment. The documentation must contain every lab activity.
Moreover, each certified lab must appear for an annual inspection to retain the accreditation or validity of the certification. Here comes the answer to the first question. ISO 17025 is relevant to every organization or laboratory, which deals with tests and calibration.
Benefits
Now you might be thinking why you should meet all of these requirements for the certification. What will it return to you? Well, compliance with this standard can help you leverage a bunch of benefits. Interestingly, “Quality” is the main concern of most of the ISO standard. It might be the quality of a product or service, quality of the environmental management system, quality of the occupational health and safety management system, or quality of the testing and calibration methods, test reports, and devices used by a particular lab. Hence, like all the ISO standards, ISO 17025 standard also ensure the quality of the services offered by the laboratory. When your lab achieves ISO certification, it tells everything to your audience. You win the confidence of your potential customers and third-party business integrations. It automatically reduces the amount of money you might have decided to spend on advertisement. Yes, who needs advertisement when ISO symbol is all the customers are looking for!
This is not the end! Leading ISO Certification Consultants have recorded a number of other benefits offered by this standard, such as-
• Increase of efficacy in testing and calibration data management and personnel performance
• Enhanced control over laboratory operations and feedback
• The remarkable increase in sales and elevated scale of profitability
• Credibility and fame both in the domestic and international market since ISO 17025 is an internationally acclaimed standard
• Time and money savings as an outcome of a reduced number of faulty reports and need of re-testing
• Convincing brand image as a consequence of ISO 17025 certification
• Continuous improvement in data quality and lab efficiency
A Final Takeaway
It is sorted then! You know what ISO 17025 standard is; why it is relevant to your business, and the benefits you can leverage from it. What are you waiting for, then? Add this valuable feather of ISO 17025 to your crown!