Maintaining ISO 17025:2005 accreditation at INARS

The reliability of test results produced by a laboratory is laid upon a system which follows some international standards.  One of the standards is ISO 17025:2005 that must be implemented in a testing laboratory to demonstrate the reliability of test data.  The sophistication of the instrument alone does not ensure good quality data, rather, a complete quality management system, as shown below in the flow chart, will offer internationally acceptable test results.  In this context, INARS, formally known as analytical research division, has implemented a complete setup of quality management system since 2009.  A quality management system in a testing laboratory requires a great deal of works for continual improvement of a laboratory.  The works include developing quality manual (QM), standard operating procedure (SOP), quality system procedure (QSP), quality system forms (QSF), method validation, management review, internal audit etc.  A list has been shown in a table below to depict the works involved in maintaining ISO 17025:2005 in the institute.  By doing all these works, we received accreditation for twelve (12) water quality parameters in 2009 from NABL, India as a first ever govt. testing laboratory in Bangladesh.  The scope of accreditation was expanded to twenty four (24) in 2012 and subsequently, it was increased to thirty four (34) in 2014.  At present INARS achieved accreditation of seventy four (74) water quality parameters from Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB).