Accreditation of the laboratory is a confirmation of competence to perform certain tasks.
Today, there are areas of activity that an unaccredited laboratory does not have the right to engage in, i.e. state expertise will not recognize the results. For example, work on industrial safety, certification of jobs according to working conditions, etc. Therefore, if an organization intends to provide services in a selected area, the question of whether or not laboratory accreditation is needed is decided unambiguously.
To undergo this procedure, it is necessary to prepare a package of documents drawn up in accordance with established forms containing objective information about the laboratory, and an application. Documents are sent for consideration to the Accreditation Body. Experts within a specified period (usually 1 month) must issue an opinion on whether the documents comply with the requirements.
Accreditation of testing laboratories is a confirmation that these organizations comply with state standards in all respects. Such laboratories should have the necessary equipment, measuring instruments, and trained specialists. The measuring instruments used to measure certain parameters must be checked and have verification certificates.
If a document does not meet the requirements (for example, the absence of certain points in the field of accreditation related to the lack of measuring instruments), a package of documents with an opinion on it is sent back to the applicant. When correcting all of these shortcomings, the applicant is entitled to send the application again for consideration.
If everything is in order with the package of documents, then an agreement is signed with the accreditation body to carry out the relevant work. After a certain time, a commission arrives to check the laboratory on site. Experts get acquainted with the laboratory staff on the spot, conduct testing, may ask for some tests to make sure that the employees are competent.
If the commission does not find any flaws, the laboratory accreditation is considered completed. The organization is entered in the Unified Register. In confirmation of the certificate of accreditation of the testing laboratory, which is valid for 5 years.
The controlling body has the right to conduct unscheduled inspections (if complaints have been received of incompetence in work) and is obliged to conduct periodic inspections of organizations accredited by it.
If during the work of the laboratory there is a need to expand the scope of accreditation, the entire procedure does not need to be carried out again. This can be done as part of inspection control.
Re-accreditation of the laboratory may be required after 5 years. In this case, six months before the expiration of the certificate, you must send a package of documents to the appropriate authority. If the laboratory has an excellent reputation, it may be decided to issue an accreditation certificate without on-site verification.