ISO 17025 Accreditation Resource Center
Free Accreditation Quotations
Finding the right Accreditation Body (AB) to achieve accreditation can be confusing. That is why The 17025store.com has partnered with many different AB to make it easy for you to find, choose, and hire to complete your company’s needs.
- Click the red ‘Get Started’ Button
- Complete Form
- Choose acceptable travel distance, or Virtual
- Submit!
Then What?
- The accreditation form is automatically sent to our team, and we get to work finding the best options for you.
- You will receive a copy of your submittal, and we retain one for our records.
- You will receive your quotation options within 72 hours so you may select the AB that will best fit your unique requirements.
Accreditation Basics
Once you have reviewed the details of the quotation you will be provided with an agreement contract. Once this agreement is signed, usually with a deposit, you are confirmed to work with the AB that you have chosen, and they are committed to working with you to help you achieve accreditation. The AB will contact you to schedule the assessment, and the lead assessors will contact you approximately a month prior to the assessment date. The assessment will be conducted, and once finished a review will take place. The lab will have to meet any non-conformances and prove that they have taken the corrective action necessary before the accreditation is reviewed and granted.
Most registrars are now offering virtual audits, provided you meet certain criteria. A remote audit can save time and reduce travel costs of the registrar, so be sure to ask if your organization meets the criteria for a virtual audit.
When to Select an Accreditation Body?
Organizations often wait until they feel their QMS is running smoothly before they select an AB. However, we recommend choosing them earlier in the process. Why?
- This assures that you can find one who is able to meet your timeframe.
- The advantage of interviewing them early is that they will ultimately be the ones who will evaluate your QMS. An AB CANNOT consult for a company who they audit, but they can explain (based on their experience) how they intend to audit your organization. They can also be your partner in the process. We advise you to build a strong relationship with them. You may be required to submit procedures and test methods in support of your organization.
MAKE ISO 17025 ACCREDITATION SIMPLE AND FOOLPROOF!
Our All-in-One Accreditation Package is a proven, efficient system. It gives you all you need to prepare for accreditation – in one simple to use package.
ISO 17025 requires each organization to complete internal audits for its ISO 17025-based quality system to confirm the processes are being managed correctly, in other words, to confirm the organization is fully in control of its activities.
To achieve accreditation, an organization must hire an independent accreditation body to obtain an ISO 17025 accreditation of conformity.
Click each part for more details on the Accreditation process!
Enquiry
We’ve simplified this for you: The 17025 Store provides a free quotation system saving you the time to fill out an application at several different ABs. We recommend that you interview at least three.
Complete Questionnaire
Each accreditation body (AB), may have questions about your application.
We’ve provided a free Accreditation Questionnaire Checklist to help you interview your registrars.
Proposal
Review the Registrar’s proposal to ensure it meets your requirements. Remember, YOU are the customer in this situation and have a choice in which Registrar you choose – this is not like a government inspector where you only have one choice. You should ensure that it meets all of your requirements:
- Technical Requirements – Do they understand your business?
- Commercial Requirements – Can the registrar meet your timing?
Conduction of the On-Site Assessment
The assessment team will start the assessment as outlined on the agenda. Usually the team will start with an opening meeting, discussing the scope of the assessment. The laboratory should notify the team of any changes or adjustments needed to the agenda during this time.
Once the agenda is verified, the assessment will be conducted, concluding with a review of the laboratory’s quality system and competency assessment of the tests or calibrations being performed. Laboratories are expected to have all necessary personnel available during the assessments. If there is lack of personnel, it may be difficult to conclude for the ABs to make recommendations and therefore they may need to reschedule.
When the assessment is completed, a closing meeting with be held. During this meeting all findings will be distributed and discusses to ensure that all parties involved understand the findings. There will be a timeline set and detailed instructions on how to adequately respond to any nonconformances (for example, corrective action, objective evidence).
Nonconformance Review Process
Usually, ABs give their clients around 90 days to respond to the assessment, unless specific timelines are provided. If you fail to submit a corrective action response may cause a follow-up assessment. It is encouraged for laboratories to submit corrective action responses on time to allow for the AB team to review and provide feedback.
Accreditation Decision
Once the ABs assessment team has accepts the corrective action responses, the assessment will be reviewed, and submitted for accreditation review for a final review.
Granting of the Final Certificate
Once the review is submitted, the AB will carefully review and grant accreditation, and develop a certificate.Laboratories will receive a draft certificate for review. Once an approval is provided and any balances are paid the final certificate will be granted. Most ABs will provide a marketing package and promote you on their website. Usually flags and banners are gifted, along with other marketing materials. These graphics can be used on laboratory’s marketing material to show their adherence to the standard and demonstration to their commitment to providing quality and reliable results.
Recertification Audit
Every three years, the entire system will be assessed again. The recertification audit duration will be about two-thirds as long as the stage 2 audit. Assuming the assessment doesn’t find any major non-conformances, the audit team can recommend the organization for continued certification. And, after receipt of an acceptable corrective plan for any minor non-conformances, the certification body will reissue the ISO 17025 certificate.
Costs
The costs will be dependant on the size of your company, the number of locations, and the distance between you and the auditor assigned by your Registrar.
The costs are typically dependant on the number of audit days required for the registration audit and the surveillance audits, the travel costs for the auditors, and the administration fees and accreditation fees.
Find an Accreditation Body Now!
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