News — Internal Audits

Is there a change to auditing in the revision to the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard?

Posted by Cathy Wylie on

Is there a change to auditing in the revision to the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard?

The short answer to the question of whether there are changes how an auditor conducts the internal audit is, it depends. Certainly the focus of the revised standard has changed to performance-based requirements, and that may affect how auditors approach their audits. If you are already looking beyond just whether the laboratory is meeting the requirements of a particular clause and are looking for how well the lab has implemented the requirement, and whether it is effective, you may be well on your way to conducting an effective audit of the 2017 standard. The introduction of risk-based thinking in the standard impacts the auditing...

Read more →

Planning Internal Audits under ISO/IEC 17025:2017

Posted by Cathy Wylie on

Planning Internal Audits under ISO/IEC 17025:2017

Planning for internal audits under the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard may be different for your laboratory. The biggest change in the requirements for internal audits comes in clause 8.8.2 (a) which states that laboratories “…shall take into consideration the importance of the laboratory activities concerned, changes affecting the laboratory, and the results of previous audits.” This clause is about risk-based thinking. When planning your audits under the 2017 version of the standard, you need to apply risk-based thinking and decide what areas of the laboratories and specific procedures need to be included in the audit. So, what do you need to...

Read more →

Is your internal audit digging deep enough?

Posted by Cathy Wylie on

Is your internal audit digging deep enough?

Internal Audits are a valuable tool in the laboratory. However, many audits simply skim the surface of the quality system and don’t dig in deeply enough to get the full benefit of the time spent on audits. Check out this list of audit best practices to help improve the quality of your audits. 

Read more →