Book:LIMS Selection Guide for ISO/IEC 17025 Laboratories/How ISO/IEC 17025 affects and benefits laboratories/How laboratories benefit from ISO/IEC 17025 compliance

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2.3 How laboratories benefit from ISO/IEC 17025 compliance

As can be seen above, ISO/IEC 17025 asks a lot of a laboratory, placing requirements throughout the entire workflow. But not all is "pain" when making the effort to comply with ISO/IEC 17025; there is also "gain." Take for example Section 8 on management systems (and by extension, the QMS); the standard tells you that one of the benefits can be found in "assuring the quality of the laboratory results." Does a QMS automatically solve all the lab's problems concerning errors and quality? No, but when implemented well, the QMS will certainly have a positive impact on lab quality. In its 2011 Laboratory Quality Management System: Handbook, the WHO notes the following concerning the QMS model^[1]:

Laboratories not implementing a good quality management system are guaranteed that there will be many errors and problems occurring that may go undetected. Implementing a quality management system may not guarantee an error-free laboratory, but it does yield a high-quality laboratory that detects errors and prevents them from recurring.

Complying with and accrediting to ISO/IEC 17025 has numerous other benefits aside from generating high-quality laboratory results. Researchers, standard developers, and labs of all types have claimed additional benefits of complying with and accrediting to ISO/IEC 17025, noting that doing so^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]:

demonstrates conformance to an international standard that in turn expands a laboratory's business opportunities;
demonstrates objectively, through accreditation, provision of quality and technically competent services;
enhances the reliability, accuracy, and validity of analytical and calibration results produced by the lab;
enhances the quality of testing, calibration, and sampling methods;
encourages compliance to other standards of practice;
facilitates traceability of measurements and calibrations to appropriate standards;
encourages a proactive, risk-based organizational culture of quality that in turn enables the lab to better identify, assess, and address risk;
encourages professionalism and pride within the organization;
aids in controlling costs, improving measurement accuracy, and reducing waste;
improves productivity, efficiency, and turnaround times among lab staff;
improves reputation and performance in the lab's industry;
ensures specific quality levels, compliance requirements, and customer needs are satisfied; and
facilitates cooperation between laboratories and other entities internationally, while also accelerating and improving confidence in international trade.