Background

Measurements affect our lives on a daily basis. Reliable measurements, whether physical, chemical or biological, are essential to the functioning of society. Whether results are being used to check compliance with a regulatory limit, to confirm that a product meets specifications, to support process optimisation or to inform patient diagnosis and treatment, it is essential that the results are of sufficient quality to allow reliable decisions to be made. To this aim, it is essential that those involved with analytical work are also aware of and trained in the principles and practices of quality assurance. A key area of focus for Eurachem is the promotion of good quality practice to support laboratories in ensuring the quality of their results. Specific areas of quality assurance (e.g. measurement uncertainty, method validation and participating in proficiency testing) are covered by other Task Views. The Education and Training Working Group focuses on producing overarching guidance and disseminating it by organising events to support training, teaching and implementation of quality assurance in the analytical laboratory.

Resources

• The Guide to Quality in Analytical Chemistry: An Aid to Accreditation gives guidance on best practice for analytical measurement, providing practical interpretation of general accreditation requirements. The Guide focuses on the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 but is also of use to organisations seeking accreditation or certification against the requirements of standards such as ISO 15189 or ISO 9001 and in meeting other good practice requirements. A separate guide discussing the accreditation of microbiological laboratories is also available.

• Terminology in Analytical Measurement: Introduction to VIM 3 discusses a selection of the concepts in VIM 3, focusing on those most likely to be encountered in analytical laboratories. It aims to cover chemical, biological and clinical measurements and gives examples over and above those in the notes accompanying the definitions in VIM 3.

• Three information leaflets cover issues related to terminology and accreditation:
  • You talk, we understand – The way out of the tower of Babel (an introduction to terminology in measurement)
  • ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – A new accreditation standard
  • ISO 15189:2022 – A new task for medical laboratories

• The importance of a common language in analytical measurement is introduced in a short YouTube video.

• The Eurachem Reading List is a large collection of useful publications, maintained by the Education and Training Working Group in collaboration with the other Eurachem Working Groups. It contains approximately 400 references related to general aspects and specific technical issues of the quality of analytical measurements.

• The Education and Training Working Group has organised a number of events addresing both general, specific and new aspects in the area of quality assurance of analytical measurements. Examples of events are shown below, with links leading to presentions and posters where available. A full list of workshops can be found in the completed events list.
  • Training event on ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 15189 – Experiences and challenges of implementing the revised accreditation standards (March 2025)
  • Training event on Recent developments in Quality Assurance (March 2024)
  • Workshop on Quality assurance elements for analytical laboratories in the university curriculum (May 2020)
  • Workshop on Data – Quality, analysis and integrity (May 2018)

Details

Last Updated: Thursday, 04 September 2025 07:36

• Education
• Training
• Quality assurance
• Task views

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