Abstract
The potential approaches for third-party assessment of reference material producers are revisited and the activities of the Reference Materials (RM) Unit of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) to obtain accreditation to ISO Guide 34 and ISO 17025 are described. Accreditation was related to the Unit as all matrix RM activities of the institute are concentrated there. A management system was established that allows sufficient flexibility to be applicable to a wide range of RMs while being precise enough to ensure compliance with ISO Guides 30, 31 and especially 34 and 35. Accreditation was achieved in 2004 with independent scopes for testing and RM production and was confirmed and extended in 2005. The key aspects of the RM Unit's management system for RM production are presented.
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References
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Jean Pauwels for initiating the move towards accreditation and of course all colleagues for their support in drawing up working instructions and implementing procedures (see Bertolt Brecht “Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters”).
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Linsinger, T.P.J., Bernreuther, A., Corbisier, P. et al. Accreditation of reference material producers: the example of IRMM's Reference Materials Unit. Accred Qual Assur 12, 167–174 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-006-0206-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-006-0206-9