An investigation of the attitudes of laboratory staff to the establishment of accredited laboratories in the Libyan chemical and petrochemical industries

摘要

Accreditation of laboratories has been a subject of considerable interest because product quality guarantee has become one of the prime factors to be considered in the present time of highly competitive industrial activity. Accreditation is still a new issue for the laboratories in Libya. These laboratories need to establish a new strategy on accreditation focusing on the difficulties and barriers of implementation. The main aim of this research is to identify the attitudes of laboratory staff towards factors related to the establishment of accredited laboratories' in the Libyan Chemical and Petrochemical Industries. A total of 400 questionnaires were sent to laboratories within the Libyan chemicals and petrochemicals industries sector. 350 usable questionnaires out of the 400 were returned, thus giving a response rate of 87.50/0. The analysis led to the development of critical success factors to establish laboratories' accreditation by comprising 72 factors into 28 factors arranged in six categories: technical, management, culture, communication, quality and training, which affects laboratories' accreditation. This research identifies that the following are considered the main factors that affect the establishment of accreditation: Root causes of problems, Sampling procedure, Calibration of reference standards, Quality of equipment and resources, time and resources to do the job, Physical conditions at work, Quality of technical records, Quality is more important than volume of sales, Uncertainty of measurements, Security of records ,Happy to work in the laboratory, Periodic internal audits, Reports include information requested by client, Regular and effectiveness of meetings, Commitment to excellent customer services and continuous quality improvement, Loyalty and respect towards employees, Communication process, training, Staff involvement in the improvement process and, Clarity of job description The findings from this study wi II provide scholars, consultants and managers with valuable information on how to deal with laboratories accreditation issues.