Implementing Continual Improvement in a 17025 Laboratory

Why Should You Attend:

ISO 17025 is used by laboratories as a standard to develop and establish a Quality System and for the assessment by their clients or by third parties. The standard is also being used as a criterion for laboratory accreditation. ISO 17025 is applicable to all organizations performing tests and/or calibrations, regardless of the number of personnel or the extent of the scope of testing and/or calibration.

This 2-hr session will provide tips and tricks on how to identify the issues that prevent laboratories from consistently producing technically valid results and address them in a way the prevents them from recurring. From identification, through treatment, to the implementation of solutions that include risk analysis and objective criteria to determine the need for full root cause analysis, or not.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this course the attendee should:

• Be familiar with the tools contained in 17025 to identify non-conformances, potential non-conformances and opportunities for improvement that are part of an accreditation body assessment.
• Be familiar with the objective techniques to determine the need for any root cause analysis and provide evidence where such is not the case.
• Be familiar with the methods to address root causes with solutions that work for the laboratory.
• Be familiar with the methods to follow up implementation of solutions for effectiveness in a manner that meets accreditation requirements.
• Acquire simple forms to document (record) the steps from identification through root cause to implementation of solution and follow up that can impress any assessor.
• Understand how to easily implement these approaches in a conformant laboratory quality system.

Areas Covered in the Seminar:

• What are NCs, PNCs and OFIs?
• Is Full Root Cause always Necessary?
• What are the best solutions to address a root cause?
• How is follow up conducted? Does it need another audit?
• Recording the effort from scratch to finish.
• Who does it?
• Putting this approach into our quality system
• Questions and Discussions.