Proficiency Testing: The Benefits for Laboratories, Accreditation Bodies and Those that Recognize the Accreditors

摘要

Everyone can probably agree that proficiency testing (PT) is a tool to monitor the competence of the PT participant, usually a testing or calibration laboratory. Proficiency testing can take many forms (e.g. inter-laboratory comparisons, round robins, measurement audits) and all of them have useful applications to prove competence. However, PT does not solely reflect on the performance of the testing or calibration laboratory. PT can also benefit the accreditation bodies that accredit the participating laboratories and the organizations that recognize the accreditors for their competence to accredit the laboratories. Along with describing the benefits of PT to labs, accreditation bodies and recognizers of accreditors, this paper will look at the recent developments regarding the internationally mandated PT participation levels expected for accredited testing and calibration labs (ILAC P9) that will carry us well into the 21st century, and also provide an update on the possible initiative to accredit PT providers under a mutual recognition arrangement (MRA) and the new standard (ISO 17043) that would be used to accredit them.