MOTIVA delivers training on the new version of ISO/IEC 17025 - the laboratory QA/QC Standard

MOTIVA is now delivering training on the revised version of 17025.  First deliveries will be in Myanmar.  Read the results of our early deliveries from what actual participants think.  Our course structure is very likely to be modified from this participant feedback.  

See the Training Course Page here.  Download the Course Syllabus here.    

Why Building National Conformity Assessment Infrastructure in Developing Nations is Important to us.

I do not normally tend to write articles on this work, but I think that the people taking the risk of building their own nation's capacity to help protect the health, welfare and safety of their citizens deserve the recognition for the risks they take.

The work in Myanmar has finally reached a healthy stage of implementation. I am able to observe success in an organisation that will be dedicated to helping regulators protect the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Watching the success in the eyeballs of the people from the labs, the staff of the accreditation body and the stakeholders who recognize a national need for accreditation is very heady stuff for me. It makes long international flights and absences from home more endurable. Watching this success is worthwhile to me.

Participating in it is even more so.  See https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-building-national-conformity-assessment-myanmar-important-gravel

What does it take to Build a Quality System?

MOTIVA announces the publication of a document that takes an organisation through a self examination of its need and readiness for a Quality Management System (QMS) and leads it through the most appropriate steps in the design and implementation of a QMS conformant to one of the ISO/CASCO standards such as for laboratories, inspection bodies, and product certification bodies.  This work includes the set of steps from determining the need for a QMS right through to applying for accreditation from an ILAC signatory body.  

Download it here and determine where your CAB is now.  Determine how long it will take and what effort your CAB will have to undertake to put a conformant QMS in place.  

This document does not promote any consulting services, but it does shed strong light on what it takes to succeed in this effort. As MOTIVA staff can attest, it can be a long and lonely journey - but it need not be.

MOTIVA has a new Online Course - Control Charting Tools to Enhance Analytical Measurement Performance.  

MOTIVA Training Inc. has partnered with a team passionately dedicated to the enhancement of laboratory performance.  This partnership allows us to deliver laboratory training within the expertise of a very accomplished analyst and a statistician who can also reach people.  The course is part of the stable of offerings of P&J Carson Consulting LLC, but they want the online version of their course delivered by MOTIVA Training Inc.  See thecourse page here.

Polona Carson brings her passion to the skill of developing process control tools to enhance the stability and performance of analytical measurement processes. Participants in this course will learn the process control tools to evaluate the stability and performance of analytical measurement processes. They will develop the skills to evaluate, troubleshoot and improve analytical measurement processes and establish stability of analytical measurement processes. This course applies to all analytical laboratories.

While MOTIVA Training Inc. offers the online version of this course, persons seeking the live version should contact P&J Carson Consulting LLC. directly. 

MOTIVA has updated its website.

The changes are not very visible and only enhance the usability of the website - not its look and feel.  MOTIVA has been unknowingly plagued by hackers who were modifying our site code to send users off to inappropriate sites advertising products that have nothing to do with voluntary conformity assessment.

As of today, we have a new developer, Wiser Web Solutions, who, in conjunction with Sucuri , have updated the version of the software code behind the site, cleaned off all the offending links, and now provide weekly cleaning to ensure the site stays safe to use.

MOTIVA provides key tools for the international recognition of Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB)

MOTIVA Training was used to provide the expertise needed for the nation of Bangladesh to build and implement a national accreditation system conformant to international requirements.  The Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) was able to sign the APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in January 2015 following three years of work that started in December 2011 under UNIDO contract.  In the words of the UNIDO Technical Advisor responsible for this aspect of the UNIDO work:  "...we used one of the best consultants in the world on accreditation ... to coach and train the Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) for compliance with ISO/IEC 17011... and succeeded in January this year to get BAB recognized by APLAC and ILAC for the accreditation of testing laboratories."

The APLAC peer review took place in November 2014 and was preceded by some mock peer reviews ... to train BAB staff in being assessed themselves."

MOTIVA Training was also able to train BAB staff to be 17025 trainers. These trainers now have the necessary course and presentation materials, as well as expertise, to present the one-week basic 17025 training courses themselves to present and future trainees.

MOTIVA now delivers Internal Audit Training for Inpsection and Certification Bodies

MOTIVA Internal Audit Course is now aimed at all of the technical conformity assessment bodies (CABs) that are accredited to ISO/IC 17025, ISO/IEC 17020, ISO/IEC 17065, ISO/IEC 17043, ISO Guide 34, and ISO 15189.  These technical CABs have specific requirements for their internal audits that must consider the issues surrounding the demonstrated technical competence of their operations.  This new revision of the MOTIVA Internal Audit Course now encompasses these different disciplines.  This modification was done to meet the needs of two MOTIVA Training Inc clients and has replaced the previous version of our course.

MOTIVA Publishes Free Four-Part Webinar on the requirements within ISO/IEC 17025

MOTIVA has now published a set of free webinars for laboratories on the contents of ISO/IEC 17025.  This four-part series discusses all the requirements within the standard in easy-to-understand language and with some helpful hints on how to meet them.  This set of webinars will continue to grow with other topics important to the maintenance of a conformant quality sytem. These are free for download from this page.

MOTIVA Publishes Free Sample Quality Manual, Procedures and Forms for use by Labs

 MOTIVA has now published a set of tools for laboratories considering application for accreditation to any of the ILAC-recognised accreditation bodies.  The Sample Quality Manual and accompanying procedures and forms are based on the experience of senior MOTIVA staff and meet or exceed the requirements contained in ISO/IEC 17025.  These are free for download from this page.

MOTIVA now being used to deliver product certification body training.

Has ISO/IEC 17025 Improved the Quality of Lab Data?

We did not write 17025 as an accreditation standard. We wrote it as a laboratory QA/QC standard against which labs could establish their own competence. Accreditation against ISO/IEC 17025 is a large, but secondary outcome of that effort.

Although implementation of 17025 may not have the same impact on the advancement of science that pure R&D does, it has, over the last 14 years, established a consistency of measurement that has allowed laboratories to improve the consistency and validity of their measurements and this has assisted in the advancement of measurement techniques - therefore advancement of science.

Hard to prove? Maybe. Maybe not. Implementation of 17025 in environmental laboratories in Canada has been tracked with examination of its effect on their ability to produce technically valid results (as described in the Introduction to 17025) since 1997. Have a look at

• http://www.cala.ca/perfacred-1997.pdf or
• http://www.cala.ca/perfacred-2001.pdf or
• http://www.cala.ca/pt_acred_vs_nonaccred.html or
• From the June 2017 Edition of Accreditation and Quality Assurance.

(more ......)

So you want to be an Assessor?

This little video, created by longtime assessor, Mr. Greg Gogates, provides a good example of some of the absolute worst reasons to become an assessor.  See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcYCDswjIEM&feature=youtu.be.  Good assessors will base their words and their actions only on fact verifiable by evidence.  Good assesors do not have opinions.  And good assessors (while they may have opinions because they can be passionate about their science) should not have such high opinions of themselves, and their own opinions.

Enjoy.

Selecting An Accreditation Body

Recently, MOTIVA staff participated in a discussion on LinkedIn about how to select an accreditation body to meet the needs of the laboratory staff member asking the question. See the discussion by clicking on this link.

Besides the obvious criterion (does this AB accredit for my scope?) there may be some other issues to consider.  Accreditation is only formal recognition of the laboratory's demonstrated competence and if we were to order the things that were important to the lab in terms of demonstrating technical competence, that might focus the questions to the prospective ABs during discussions with them. Remember that the AB works for lab (EU Directive in Europe notwithstanding). They are a service provider to the lab.

(more ......)

Using Internal Audits for other Purposes

(more ......)

MOTIVA online E-Learning has a new Learning Management System (LMS) (March 2013)

MOTIVA has just improved the quality of online training delivery to participants by outsourcing the Learning Management System to Skillspark of Vancouver Canada.  Using eFront technology, the new MOTIVA E-Learning facility, (http://motiva.skillspark.net/) offers a much more intuitive interface for learning participants.  

The new MOTIVA E-Learning facility will also make it easier for new courses (including technical courses from other course authors) to be offered and reach a wider audience.

Download a Sample from the online course here. Information about online training is here.

Differences between ISO 9001 Registration/Certification and ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation (December 2012)

• There are simple ways to express these differences.
• Accreditation covers the entire organisation. Certification covers only the management system.
• Accreditation is site specific and test specific. Certification is not.
  Accreditation is about recognition of demonstrated competence in the production of technically valid test and calibration results. Certification is about demonstrated conformance to an external requirement.  (....read more)

MOTIVA online training now delivered to people on three continents (September 2012)

MOTIVA online training is now been used by laboratory, accreditation body, and government personnel in Asia, North America and Europe.  While the reviews are good (see feedback here), MOTIVA is currently planning on improving particpant learning uptake with a better interface and a more user-friendly Learning Management System.  E-commerce is being considered but we want to concentrate on the material and the quality of its delivery first.  Currently, MOTIVA online offerings include the Understanding 17025 Course and the Root Cause Course.  Download a Sample from the online course here. See the online training facility here. Information about online training is here.

MOTIVA delivers accreditation expertise to Bangladesh under UNIDO Contract (September 2012)

MOTIVA staff will continue working through to June 2014 to assist the government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh deliver internationally conformant accreditation through their Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB).  The project is funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and is shown on their website here. It is hoped that BAB will become a signatory to the arrangements for the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC).

Project completion is currently scheduled for mid 2014.

MOTIVA was selected for this work because of the international reputation of our staff.  Experience as the quality manager for a an ILAC and APLAC signatory, as well as a trainer of APLAC evaluators gave UNIDO the confidence that MOTIVA would be their choice for this work.

MOTIVA delivers training to laboratories under contract to A2LA (June 2012)

MOTIVA has been selected by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) to deliver MOTIVA internal auditor training to A2LA member laboratories.  To day, sessions have included members in Peachtree City, Georgia and those within driving distance of Livonia (Detroit), Michigan.  Future sessions are planned for the Northeastern US for November.  Contact A2LA (www.a2la.org) for further details.  Click here for the A2LA course information page.

MOTIVA Successfully Launches Online Training (May 2012)

MOTIVA online training is now a reality.  In our never-ending pursuit of making training worthwhile, we will probably never be fully satisfied with this option, but it appears to be working for our participants.  See the online training facility here.  Download a pdf copy of the feedback here from the participants who have taken this training so far.  Information about online training is here.

MOTIVA Trains Canadian National Legal Metrology Authority Staff on Laboratory Internal Auditing (March 2012)

MOTIVA staff delivered laboratory internal auditor training to Measurment Canada, the Canadian signatory to the OIML (International Organisation for Legal Metrology) this past March.  The course was to help staff better implement their 17025-conformant quality system as the Measurement Canada laboratory is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada within the National Research Council's Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (NRC/CLAS) with a scope of accreditation on the CLAS website here.  See the feedback provided by the participants here.

MOTIVA Trains Canadian National Metrology Institute (NMI) Staff on 17025 and Internal Auditing (March 2012)

MOTIVA staff were asked to deliver two courses to the National Research Council's Institute of National Measurement Standards (NRC/INMS), Canada's NMI, on the subject of ISO/IEC 17025 and Internal Audits this past March.  See the feedback provided by the participants here (17025) and here (internal auditor).

MOTIVA Trains A2LA Assessors on ISO/IEC Guide 65 (March 2012)

MOTIVA staff delivered a one-day workshop on ISO/IEC Guide 65 to American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) assessors during the 2012 A2LA Technical Forum and Annual Meeting.  Feedback from this workshop can be found here.

Below are the links to Articles published since October 2011.