Developing Documents and Records to meet the Requirement of ISO 17025

The major challenge for most laboratories is having to develop and implement a functional Quality Management System (QMS) that not only complies with the management and technical requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard, but also meets the laboratory’s needs. This is why QMS is considered the soul of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard.

A highly meaningful and valuable learning session on how to accomplish this is being organized by GlobalCompliancePanel, a leading provider of professional trainings for the areas of regulatory compliance. The Director at this two-day seminar is Michael Brodsky, President of Brodsky Consultants and a Past President of the Ontario Food Protection Association (OFPA), The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and AOAC International. To enroll for this seminar, please log on to    http://www.globalcompliancepanel.com/control/globalseminars/~product_id=900445SEMINAR?developing-documents-records-SFO. This seminar has been pre-approved by RAPS as eligible for up to 12 credits towards a participant's RAC recertification upon full completion.       

Compliance with ISO is a core requirement

A QMS that complies with the management and technical requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard is the core criterion for accreditation, as well as the backbone of this standard. Michael will familiarize participants with how with how laboratories can accomplish this in depth.

The Quality System Manual (QMS) is indispensable in a QMS environment because, much like its predecessor –Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) –it contains the policies that the laboratory is expected to follow to achieve Quality results. However, it is only the “what to do” component of a QMS. What laboratories also need are the “how to do it” or procedures and methods, and equally importantly, the controls or evidence that it was done properly. These are the critical requirements that documentation has to address, and are what this seminar will cover.

Doesn't end with accreditation

Achieving accreditation is only half the job done, because once this has been done, the tougher part –that of maintaining the QMS –begins. The high number of non-conformances cited during the subsequent biannual audits is proof of this fact. This seminar will explain how to maintain the QMS in the long run to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities, as well as to meet the laboratory’s needs.

Those in Laboratory Management/Supervision, Laboratory Quality Development, Laboratory Quality Management,  Laboratory Quality Control and Analytical support need to ask critical questions at the time of embarking on the process of developing documents and records that meet the requirements of ISO 17025, such as:

o        Why should we want to become accredited?

o        Where do we start?

If our laboratory is already accredited, how do we ensure staff adherence and ongoing compliance to minimize corrective actions arising from accreditation audits?

Michael will help participants at this seminar develop the critical thinking that is essential for developing documents and records in compliance with ISO 17025.