ISO/IEC 17025 & ISO 9001:2015
Why the structure of ISO/IEC 17025 is different from ISO 9001:2015?
ISO/IEC 17025 is in this publishing phase according to the official website of www.iso.org and will leave behind the 2005 version. This standard covers the administration of measurement and calibration equipment in laboratories.
Readers that studied the draft of the Standard ISO/IEC 17025 will be surprised of the chapters in the standard since they do not mantain the the hierarchy of the ISO 9001:2015.
ISO 9001:2015 is a standard adaptable to any organization to improve the products or services offered.
In the other hand, ISO/IEC 17025 is an evaluation, not a QMS. The standard guarantees the technical performance and realibility of the results of laboratory equipment. The structure of the standard is the following:
4. General Requirements
5. Structure Requirements
6. Resource Requirements
7. Process Requirements
8. Top Management Requirements
ISO/IEC 17025 leaves behind the Context of the Organization of ISO 9001:2015 but maintains the risk management topics.
The compatibility of both standards is expected to be greater since a certified company in ISO 9001:2015 will only be audited in the technical requirements and not in both standards as it had been done in the past. Before conforming this auditing mechanism, we have to wait until the official publish of the ISO/IEC 17025.
Hugo Rea
Coach STRATEGA