Plan of transition to new version of standard SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017

After three years’ work of the ISO CASCO Working Group 44, on 30 November 2017 ISO published third edition of standard ISO/IEC 17025 (ISO/IEC 17025:2017). 

Testing laboratories and calibration laboratories can find out about the key differences from the brochure published by ISO, which is available at the following link. In order to promote the new standard, ISO also released a video.

ILAC Resolution GA 20.15 from 2016 stipulates that the transition period for the implementation of the new version of the standard is three years from the date of publication of the new version.

ISO and ILAC have issued a joint statement that accredited laboratories can provide to users of their services as evidence that both versions of the standard are valid during the three-year transition process. The announcement can be downloaded from the following link.

The news on the publishing of the new edition of the version of the standard as well as information on transition period was published on the website of the Accreditation body of Serbia on 04 December 2017 as first of several information that are planned for being sent to laboratories.

Immediately after the release of the new edition of the international standard ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 on December 28, 2017 on the website of the Institute for Standardization, information was published that, as a result of the work of the Committee for standards and related documents KS CASCO, the Serbian standard SRPS ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 was published in Serbian, which from December 25, replaces SRPS ISO / IEC 17025: 2006.

Accredited testing laboratories and accredited calibration laboratories will be able to demonstrate conformity with the new edition of standard during regular surveillance assessments or during reassessment. In exceptional cases, and at the request of a laboratory which accepts additional costs in this way, the transition to a new edition of the standard may be enabled during a special assessment, but only if the Accreditation Body of Serbia has available resources for such assessment and in terms that do not jeopardise the deadlines specified by the transition plan.

Laboratories are required to submit their own plan of transition to accreditation according to SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017 to the Accreditation Body of Serbia by 1 March 2018.

Bearing in mind that the ILAC Resolution GA 20.15 of November 2016 for the transition to accreditation according to the new edition of the standard, a transitional period of three years from the date of publication of the standards was established, the following schedule of activities was established in cooperation with the Accreditation Council and it will enable the implementation appropriate adjustments in order to transition to a new edition of the standard with the aim of having as valid only accreditations according to the new edition of the standard as of December 1, 2020.

Activity:	Deadline:
Finalising analysis of influence of the made changes	By end of January 2018
Train-the-trainer course organized by EA LC	23-24. January 2018
Training of ATS employees	February 2018
Harmonization of management system documents	March 2018
Third information to laboratories with instruction about documentation that needs to be submitted in order to transition to accreditation according to new edition of the standard	April 2018
Briefing seminar intended for laboratories with particular emphasis on the most important changes brought by the new version of the standard	April 2018
Training of assessors and decision-making experts	April 2018
Start of accepting accreditation applications according to new version of the standard or requirement for transition to accreditation according to the new version of the standard	May 2018
Start of assessment according to the new version of the standard	1 July 2018
Possibility of using options: assessment in accordance with SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2005 or SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017	1 July 2018 to 31 July 2019
All assessments only in accordance with SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017	As of 1 August 2019
Final deadline for accepting applications for first accreditation accordance with SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2005	31 December 2018
Finalising assessment for the purpose of transition to accreditation according to new version of the standard	30 June 2020
Final deadline by which accreditation according to SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2 is valid	30 Novembar 2020