ISO/IEC 17043 Proficiency Testing Provider Accreditation

ISO/IEC 17043:2010 Conformity assessment — General requirements for proficiency testing

NBE offers accreditation for Profiency Testing Providers to ISO/IEC 17043: 2010, Conformity assessment – General requirements for proficiency testing.

The purpose of proficiency testing is to assess performance of laboratories for their conduct of specific test, measurements or calibrations. Many laboratories operate in isolation from other laboratories and do not have on-going opportunities to compare their data with others. Without such opportunities there are risks that a laboratory’s data may have errors, biases or significant differences compared to similar laboratories.

Proficiency testing provides an opportunity to undertake such comparisons and to have an independent appraisal of the laboratory’s data compared to reference values (or other performance criteria) or to the performance of similar laboratories. The results from such participation provide laboratory managers with either a confirmation that the laboratory’s performance is satisfactory or an alert that investigation of potential problems within the laboratory is required.

Advantage of Accreditation for Proficiency Testing Provider

• Be recognized for operating a management system in accordance with international standards
• Demonstrate technical competence in all aspects of proficiency testing schemes
• Support testing and calibration laboratories to participate in proficiency testing which can reduce a laboratory’s risk of producing incorrect measuring results.
• Improve quality assurance and reduce potential costs to their organization.
• Gain market advantage through the supply of multitude of proficiency testing schemes/programs

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