Don't Risk it All: How to Tackle Risk in Your Quality Management SystemBest Management Practices for Environmental Laboratories
Oral Presentation
Prepared by N. Slawson
A2LA, 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 220, Frederick, Maryland, 21703, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 240-575-7495
ABSTRACT
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 was released five years ago for implementation by participating laboratories. In that time, many labs have worked to update their management systems to incorporate the changes that came with the updated requirements. One of the main changes has been the incorporation of Risk, both in the standard and in the laboratory processes. With TNI moving towards incorporation of the 2017 version of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard, environmental labs might be asking how Risk plays a role in their lab’s compliance. While initially worrisome, labs have had to recalibrate to take a new look at their processes through this four letter lens, and have found that Risk is not as scary as it seems. Labs are able to find new ways to accomplish problems, create procedures, and run processes all while maintaining their high level of consistency and quality. With proper understanding and integration, Risk can be a powerful tool for labs to aid them in creating and implementing a stronger quality system.
