Agri-10 lab division upskills staff on ISO accreditation

 

After having secured the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification for the Regional Soils Laboratory (RSL) and Feed Chemical Analytical Laboratory (FCAL) in January this year, the Integrated Laboratories Division (ILD) of the DA-Region 10 (DA-10) continue to hone its personnel’s competency to maintain a competent, reliable, and impartial laboratory services for the agriculture industry in Northern Mindanao.

Recently, the ILD conducted an internal audit training for its personnel as compliance mechanism to meet management system and technical competency standards for testing and calibration laboratories.

DA-10 chemists who also serve as the laboratory technical managers, Johanna C. Pichay and Razel Elaine Grace A. Cataluña, apprised ILD personnel in planning and training internal quality audit for the DA-10 laboratories. The training also includes reporting audit findings to identify management and technical non-conformities, evaluate risks, and recommend corrective actions for improvement.

By employing methods, tools, and techniques acquired in the training, the ILD personnel are capacitated to carry out internal audits to assess the DA-10’s laboratory processes, procedures, and records in conformance with the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards.

Currently, the ILD is suiting up for ISO surveillance audit for it’s accredited laboratories and certification of the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL), with an end goal of maintaining its accreditation and making all three of the DA-10 laboratories an ISO compliant testing and calibration center.# (ATT)