ISO/IEC 17025:2017 & Proficiency Testing ISO/IEC 17025:2017 ISO/IEC 17025:2017-Proficiency testing and reference materials

A review of key terms and definitions related to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and proficiency testing.

ISO/IEC 17025:2017

An international standard that specifies general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

Reference Materials (RM)

Materials characterized by a metrologically valid procedure for one or more specified properties, suitable for use in a measurement process.

Proficiency Testing (PT)

The evaluation of participant performance in measuring or testing by means of interlaboratory comparisons.

Calibration

Operation that establishes a relationship between measurement standards and corresponding indications, allowing for measurement results to be obtained.

Testing

Determination of one or more characteristics of an object of conformity assessment, according to specified procedures.

Certified Reference Materials (CRM)

Reference materials characterized by a valid procedure providing a certificate that includes a value and uncertainty for a specified property.

Metrological Traceability

An unbroken chain of calibrations linking a measurement result to appropriate reference standards.

Accreditation

A formal recognition that an organization is competent to carry out specific tasks, such as producing reference materials or offering proficiency testing.

Interlaboratory Comparison (ILC)

A method where two or more laboratories perform tests on the same or similar items to evaluate performance against predetermined conditions.

Quality Control Materials

Materials used to monitor the quality and performance of testing and calibration processes, often including reference materials.