The experience of implementing a quality management system at the Materials Metrology Division (Dimat)-Inmetro: a practical approach

The increasing interaction between laboratories from universities and research institutes with other society sectors, such as industries and government agencies, has led a growing number of those laboratories to adopt quality management systems based on international requirements standards. As a consequence, there is a crescent interest on practical information related to implementation of quality management systems in laboratories that provide testing services and carry out research activities. In this context, this article presents the practical approach applied for implementing a quality management system based on ISO/IEC 17025 at the materials metrology division (Dimat)—Inmetro and at its laboratories. The approach is consistent with a hierarchical implementation, where the laboratory quality management system must fulfill ISO/IEC 17025 requirements as well as internal requirements from the upper layers of the quality management system. The implementing approach discussed here was specifically developed to be applied inside a particular hierarchical quality management structure. However, due to its general characteristics, it can be useful for diverse implementing cases.