The experience of implementing a quality management system at the Materials Metrology Division (Dimat)-Inmetro: a practical approach

Abstract

The increasing interaction between laboratories from universities and research institutes with other society sectors, such as industries and government agencies, has led a growing number of those laboratories to adopt quality management systems based on international requirements standards. As a consequence, there is a crescent interest on practical information related to implementation of quality management systems in laboratories that provide testing services and carry out research activities. In this context, this article presents the practical approach applied for implementing a quality management system based on ISO/ IEC 17025 at the materials metrology division (Dimat)-Inmetro and at its laboratories. The approach is consistent with a hierarchical implementation, where the laboratory quality management system must fulfill ISO/IEC 17025 requirements as well as internal requirements from the upper layers of the quality management system. The implementing approach discussed here was specifically developed to be applied inside a particular hierarchical quality management structure. However, due to its general characteristics, it can be useful for diverse implementing cases.

Systematic proposition of integration between development of agricultural machines and quality management system for the industrial sector

“…As regards standards, the main one is NBR ISO/IEC 17025. It is an international standard aimed at the laboratory environment, which is responsible for determining the necessary requirements for testing and calibration laboratories to demonstrate their technical competence and the validity of the results provided (ABNT, 2005;GROCHAU;CATEN, 2012;SILVA et al, 2015).…”

“…In order to obtain the so-called "accreditation", the testing laboratories must meet a number of factors, including monitoring the validity of the mechanical tests performed SILVA;PEREIRA, 2015;SABBAGHA et al, 2016). Therefore, the quality assurance of the test results is directly associated to the process flow.…”

“…The importance of Quality Management System (QMS) is directly related to the company's processes and how to improve the quality of products and services to customers (SILVA et al, 2015). The QMS is an organizational strategy used to deal with the diversities arising from a constantly evolving economy (PEREIRA, 2015).…”

“…It should be noted that the QMS has the function of helping the manager to find and correct inefficient processes that occur in the organization (SILVA et al, 2015;PEREIRA;GRACIANO;VERRI, 2016). The adoption of a QMS is a strategic decision and its development and implementation are specific to each type of organization.…”

Key Aspects for Implementing ISO/IEC 17025 Quality Management Systems at Materials Science Laboratories

“…Particularly interesting cases are the materials science laboratories [7]. Many of these laboratories, originally headed almost exclusively to R&D activities, became interested in providing accredited tests for materials characterization.…”