ISO 17025
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ISO 17025, "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories" is an ISO standard that has been described as "ISO 9000 with knobs on" [1]. Predating the relaunch of the revised ISO 9000:2000 series, it takes quality management systems a stage further by looking at the competence of the laboratory as well as the fitness for purpose of the quality management system.
Some national systems (e.g. UKAS M10 in the UK) were the forerunners of ISO 17025:1999 but could sometimes be exceedingly prescriptive. ISO 17025 allows laboratories to carry out procedures in their own ways, but an auditor may require the laboratory to justify using a particular method.
In common with other ISO quality standards, ISO 17025 requires continual improvement. Regular internal audits are expected to indicate opportunities to make the test or calibration better than it was. Additionally, the laboratory will be expected to keep abreast of scientific and technological advances in relevant areas.
Unlike most ISO standards for systems, third party auditing and appraisal of the laboratory is not usually carried out by a certification body, but by the national organisation responsible for accreditation. Laboratories are therefore "accredited" under ISO/IEC 17025, rather than "certificated" (c.f. ISO 9000 series).
The original standard, ISO 17025:1999 was withdrawn and replaced by ISO 17025:2005, though the differences between the two standards are small [2].
