Applying ISO/IEC 17025 in your lab: what the NBN training really teaches you

Bob Van Doorsselaere explains how a lab becomes stronger when it understands what ISO/IEC 17025 really requires.

Anyone working in a laboratory today feels the pressure to deliver results that are unquestionably reliable. After all, the consequences of errors can be dire. Bob Van Doorsselaere, trainer at NBN and auditor at Belac and RvA, puts it sharply: "The biggest hidden 'cost' is delivering unreliable results. This in turn can then lead to damage claims, sometimes very significant, and loss of reputation."

And with calibrations, the impact can be even greater: "An incorrect calibration can involve a whole chain of effects, up to and including having to recall products."

Those risks are at the heart of ISO/IEC 17025. Not because the standard is administrative, but because it helps laboratories demonstrate their technical competence. Precisely for that reason, Bob at NBN provides hands-on training on ISO/IEC 17025.

There is the basic ISO/IEC 17025 - Fundamentals course, which gives participants a clear overview of the main requirements. More in-depth courses include Internal Auditor and Measurement Uncertainty & Method Validation, both highly hands-on to help labs truly understand and correctly apply the standard.

Measurement uncertainty & method validation: creating clarity in complexity

One of the most challenging topics within ISO/IEC 17025 is measurement (in)assurance. Many participants come in to Bob feeling that this is primarily a mathematical obstacle. But that barrier quickly disappears when he reduces the topic to its essence.

As he himself emphasizes, "The reason for the complexity is that people often don't really know what measurement uncertainty actually is."

Therefore, during the classroom training ISO/IEC 17025 - Measurement Uncertainty & Method Validation, he always starts from the basics: what does measurement uncertainty mean, what factors influence it, and how does it differ between chemical and physical laboratories? Once that understanding is in place, the technical elaboration becomes much more accessible.

The same goes for method validation. Bob still too often sees laboratories underestimate the process: "By far the most common mistake is forgetting that 'haste and haste is seldom good.'" In training, he shows why a solid validation plan is essential, how to establish criteria before testing, and how to avoid getting bogged down in control charts or ring tests later.

Participants thereby experience faster grasp of two topics that for years were considered "particularly difficult" - and most importantly, they can immediately translate the theory to their own labs after the training.

Competence, risk analysis and efficient lab operation: one story

ISO/IEC 17025 places a strong emphasis on competence. Not only individually, but especially at the level of the laboratory as a whole. Bob names a risk analysis that he sees remarkably little applied, but which he believes is crucial: "Probably one of the risk analyses with the greatest added value [...] is this one around competence areas."

Many labs still structure their processes based on "lines of scope." But according to Bob, it's much more efficient to think in technical areas of competence: clusters of activities that are technically closely related.

That approach creates structure in:

- qualification of personnel

- education and training

- internal quality assurance

- participation in ring tests

- method validation and verification

- internal audits

And that ties in perfectly with competency management. Because, as Bob says, "One must think carefully about what someone must know/be able to do and have proven before being assigned a task or role."

That means job descriptions are insufficient. A clear training plan, uniform basic training for each role and a formal qualification process are needed to demonstrate that your team has the technical competence to do the job correctly.

The result is a quality management system that doesn't get heavier, but rather brighter - one of the insights Bob likes to give participants.

From theory to lab: internal audits, demonstrability and the mental shift

Those who read or implement the standard sooner or later bump into the administrative side. Bob acknowledges that reflex: "The biggest step is probably the rather administrative, some call it bureaucratic."

But at the end of the day, it's all about demonstration: being able to prove that what you're doing meets the requirements. This can be done in many ways - registrations, reports, photos, videos - as long as it clearly demonstrates that the lab has mastered the processes.

Therefore, a thorough internal audit is a vital first step. As Bob says, "The first step might be a detailed internal audit to review one's own practices." The next step is logical: take corrective action, close gaps and improve the efficiency of the quality management system.

During ISO/IEC 17025 - Internal Auditor training, participants learn not only how to audit correctly, but more importantly how to make those audits meaningful and actionable. The goal is not to do a tick box exercise, but to make the lab stronger in its daily operation.

Bob emphasizes that you don't need to prepare a "show" for an external audit when your system is working well: "When all the arrangements are a normal part of the daily operation of the laboratory, no preparation is needed. Everything is already there."