(ISO: Geneva) -- A new ISO/IEC standard establishes internationally harmonized requirements for verifying the competence of organizations that carry out proficiency testing of laboratories.

The need for ongoing confidence in the competence of laboratories is not only essential for laboratories themselves and their customers, but also stakeholders such as regulators, laboratory accreditation bodies, and other organizations.

ISO/IEC 17043:2010—“Conformity assessment—General requirements for proficiency testing,” specifies general requirements for the competence of providers of proficiency testing schemes and for the development and operation of proficiency testing schemes.

Proficiency testing involves use of interlaboratory comparisons in the determination of a laboratory’s performance and, more specifically, in its ongoing competence. Laboratories demonstrate their competence by complying with ISO/IEC 17025—“General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories,” and the need for additional confidence in their results is achieved through their participation in interlaboratory comparisons managed by a proficiency testing provider operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17043.

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