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Standards play a crucial role in ensuring consistency, reliability, and quality across various industries. One such important standard in the field of testing and calibration is ISO/IEC 17025.

Anyone working in the field of testing and calibration cannot be unaware of this standard. However, due to its complexity, fully understanding it is not easy. That’s why I plan to publish a series of blog posts to help make this standard easier to understand.

Let’s start by looking at the name of this standard. The full name is:

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

By breaking down the name, we can see that this standard specifies the requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

But what exactly do we mean by “requirements”? A requirement is something that an entity is expected to comply with. In this case, the standard lays out a set of requirements that testing and calibration laboratories must meet. That’s why the term “requirements” is used.

Now, let’s focus on the word competence. What does it mean?
For a testing or calibration laboratory to be officially recognized, it must have the ability to perform its tasks effectively. This ability is referred to as competence in the standard.

So, what should these laboratories be competent in? Naturally, they need to be skilled in testing and calibration. In other words, they must possess the necessary capabilities to conduct tests and calibrations properly.

And what specific competencies are required?
This is precisely what the standard defines through its requirements.

Some standards provide guidelines, while others specify requirements. ISO/IEC 17025 falls into the latter category—it is a requirements-based standard.

If you look through the document, you’ll notice that it is filled with the word “shall”—which indicates mandatory obligations. You’ll rarely find words like “can”, which suggest optional actions.

In short, this standard is packed with requirements designed to ensure the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

What do the numbers after the colon (:) mean?

The number after the colon represents the year the standard was created or last revised.

In the case of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the standard was first introduced in 1999 and later revised in 2017. That’s why 2017 appears after the colon.

It’s crucial to pay attention to these numbers in any standard because different versions may contain different requirements. When referencing a standard, it’s essential to include the year to avoid confusion.