Publication of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
ISO/IEC 17025 has been revised and the 2005 version was published by ISO on 12 May 2005. A statement issued by the ISO/CASCO working group outlining the changes is available on this website and laboratories are advised to read this document. You will see from the ISO statement that the purpose of the revision was to align the previous version with ISO 9001:2000. The two standards can now be considered compatible rather than fully and comprehensively aligned, as the latter exercise would have required significant revision of ISO 17025.
Overall the changes are minimal and there are no changes to the technical requirements. The main change on the management side is the explicit requirement for a continual improvement of the management system and communication with the customer. Some of the terminology used in the standard has changed, the term ‘clients’ has been replaced by ‘customers’ and the ‘Quality Management System’ is now referred to as the ‘Management System’. The revised standard also makes it clear that meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 does not automatically mean that the requirements of ISO 9001 are met. The standard does however recognise that by being accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, a laboratory will meet the principles of ISO 9001.
ILAC have allowed a two year transition period for laboratories to meet the requirements of the new standard. Laboratories (including new applicants) are encouraged to switch over to the new standard at their next visit, as it is expected that they will have only minor amendments to make to their systems and procedures. New accreditation certificates will be issued after any nonconformities/improvement actions have been completed. You will see from the ISO statement that the final allowable wording on the certificate has yet to be confirmed, more information should be available after the ILAC/IAF/ISO Joint Working Group have met in June 2005.
Any queries concerning the revision should be referred to your Assessment Manager.