ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, is one of our most widely-used standards here at Document Center Inc. It is used to certify that a testing lab is able to correctly perform the various tests and calibrations you use it for. The last update was the release of the 2nd Edition back in 2005. Now the standard is being revised and you have a chance to look at the draft.
ISO and IEC release draft standards as part of the “public review” process. In this case, you have until 3/22 to take a look at the proposed new 3rd Edition and send in your comments. But you may also want to take a look at the draft to get a good idea where changes will be in the eventual updated publication.
Draft standards like this have the changed areas clearly marked. For example, in the 2017 draft for ISO/IEC 17025, section 4.1 on impartiality and section 4.2 on confidentiality have been updated. If there are a series of comments on this, it’s possible that the language could again be changed. If so, another draft edition will be released in the future. If not, the language will be adopted as is.
Other areas that are being considered for changes are section 6.2 on personnel, and section 7.9 on complaints. Section 8.1 on options is also modified. This is the best time to review the areas where changes will be made. When the adopted final edition is published, it is likely that there will be no detailed information on where the exact changes are.
If you’d like a copy of the draft edition of the ISO/IEC 17025, please contact us. We will verify that you understand that it is a draft edition with no legal standing and subject to change. It’s available in either paper format or for pdf download at a price of $68.00 per copy. Just get in touch with us by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). If you’d like to initiate the purchase using our webstore (www.document-center.com), here is a link to the order page for ISO/IEC DIS 17025 (the number of this draft).
Document Center Inc. has been selling standards since 1982. We have an extensive catalog of standards available for you to purchase. And we have a number of services all geared to support your use of compliance documentation. Make us your Standards Experts!
