Revised Edition of the SCC Requirements and Guidance for the Accreditation of Testing Laboratories

Bulletin date:
Bulletin number:
2018-06

Action required

Applicant and Accredited Laboratories who are being assessed to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 must ensure that their quality systems refer to the new version of the SCC Requirements and Guidance for the Accreditation of Testing Laboratories.

 

Affected customers

All testing and calibration laboratory customers and assessors

 

Background

In addition to ISO/IEC 17025, SCC also assesses laboratories against its own requirements documented in the SCC Requirements and Guidance for the Accreditation of Testing Laboratories (RG-LAB). As this document is aligned to numbering structure of ISO/IEC 17025, it had to be revised to align properly with the 2017 version of the standard and its new numbering format and structure.

 

This work has been completed, and the document is available for use by laboratories and assessors when using the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

 

As well, an associated Criteria Matrix has also been prepared and is available by contacting your Account Manager.

This is the fifth in a series of bulletins that SCC will issue with regards to the transition to the new version of ISO/IEC 17025. The first four are available here:

New requirements

No new requirements have been added to the RG-LAB, nor have any requirements been removed; however, in performing the alignment SCC has removed four guidance statements from the RG-LAB, as they were guidance based on requirements that have been eliminated from the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025. These are detailed below:

 

ORGANIZATION

4.1.5 b) The laboratory personnel should sign a conflict of interest statement that addresses both internal and external conflicts. If this is not the practice or if only external conflicts are addressed in the conflict of interest statement, the laboratory must demonstrate how it ensures this requirement is met, e.g. by a separate laboratory policy, code of ethics, employment contract, and arrangements and authorities for relieving undue internal pressures from, for example, excessive workloads, etc. 

 

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

4.2.5 Procedures for conducting testing activities are usually referred to as methods (test methods) and it is not necessary to refer to them in the Quality Manual.

Acceptable alternatives to procedures being included or referenced in the Quality Manual would be to have a Master List of controlled documents. 

 

SERVICE TO THE CUSTOMER 

4.7.2 The customers’ feedback may be obtained in various ways such as survey questionnaire, phone call, meeting, a visit. Both positive and negative feedback received should be analyzed and discussed at the management review meetings. 

 

PREVENTIVE ACTION 

4.12 This refers to identification of “needed” improvements and the prevention of “potential” nonconformities. It highlights the need to look out for potential problems and opportunities for improvement before problems occur, i.e. a more proactive approach rather than waiting for nonconformities to occur.

Items that can be considered in assessing this point may include, where applicable: 

  • opportunities identified in management review minutes; 
  • quality committee meeting minutes; 
  • customers’ feedback in item 4.7.2.

  • statistical analysis of trends to detect unfavourable tendencies before they become problems. 

     

Deadline

The new SCC Requirements and Guidance for the Accreditation of Testing Laboratories is now available and in effect for those laboratories who have begun transitioning to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. The previous version of RG-LAB will remain in effect and available at www.scc.ca until all laboratories have completed the transition, or November 30th, 2020 (whichever comes first).

 

Questions?

Please contact Elias Rafoul, Vice President Accreditation Services, at elias.rafoul@scc-ccn.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.