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A transition such as updating your management system to conform to the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard requires planning. Successful transitions have the following characteristics: a plan is put in place the change/transition is promoted or championed within the organization roles are clarified, including having responsibilities assigned the scope and objectives of the transition are clear all stakeholders are involved A transition plan typically includes the following items: a description of the specific actions that will be taken the assignment of responsibilities, including who is leading the transition, plus any other critical responsibilities identification of the stakeholders (all the people affected by...

What is on-site and virtual group training? On-site training is the term used when businesses arrange to bring a course to their location and train a group of employees. The same advantages can be obtained by arranging for a virtual training course for your staff. Virtual group training allows you to train your staff, including allowing them to attend training from any location. What are the advantages of on-site training vs public courses? On-site courses can be tailored to meet the needs of your organization. Depending on the course, you can request modifications to the content. If there is a...

The results of your latest root cause analysis are in. The root cause -- the analyst didn't understand the method. Recommended action - retrain the analyst on the method. Does this sound familiar? When the results of a cause investigation points to an individual, you are not really getting to the true root cause. Instead of improving the system, you are laying blame on an individual. When the cause is pointing to someone who is not doing the job properly we have a bit more work to do. Why is that analyst doing the testing when they don't fully understand the...

The new version of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard is expected out by the end of 2017. Once the final version is published there is a three year phase in period. That does not necessarily mean that your laboratory can wait until the end of the three years to move to the new standard. Your accreditation body needs to have all laboratories assessed to the new standard by the end of that three year period. What is the current status of the standard? The new version of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard is going to Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). The FDIS...

Summer is a great time to do some team building. Even taking an hour on a warm afternoon to have some team fun can build camaraderie. Here are some suggestions for some fun activities you may remember from your childhood that work as team building activities. Egg drop How high can you drop a raw egg without it breaking? Put together teams to build a container that will keep the egg intact. Then set up a drop zone and drop the eggs, starting from a 10 foot height and then moving higher. The team whose egg survives at the highest height...