Conformity assessment

Conformity assessment refers to activities that demonstrate whether the prescribed requirements for a product, process, system, personnel, or institution are met, and the areas include testing, inspection, product certification, management system certification, and personnel certification (certification for a person's specific qualification). As products and services become more technologically complex, demonstrating compliance with standards and other criteria attaches importance to consumer confidence. Conformity assessment is therefore an essential part of economic business, standards, and conformance infrastructure.

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Testing and Calibration

As mentioned earlier, the fields related to conformity assessment include testing and calibration. 'Testing' refers to a technical operation that measures one or more characteristics of a specific product, process, or service according to a prescribed procedure. ‘Calibration’ refers to a series of operations that confirm the value determined by the measuring instruments, reference material, scale, or measurement system under specific conditions as a relationship between the values determined by the standard. Testing and calibration laboratories must meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 for competence and fairness and consistent operation.

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ISO/IEC 17025

ISO/IEC 17025 is an international standard that stipulates general requirements for the competence, fairness, and consistent operation of testing and calibration laboratories, and was published in 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC 17025 is applicable to all organizations carrying out testing and calibration laboratory activities, regardless of number of personnel, and is used to verify or recognize competence by customers of testing and calibration laboratories, regulatory authorities, organizations, and schemes using equivalence assessment, accreditation bodies and other bodies. ISO/IEC 17025 can increase trust in work domestically and around the world by proving that testing or calibration laboratories operate according to procedures and produce valid results.