Implementation and assessment of the quality management system in research in a laboratory of the French Food Safety Agency: Application to PhD student work

Jérôme Henri (1) , Pascal Sanders (1) , Hélène Lelièvre (2) , Nathalie Cadieu (1)

1 Laboratoire d'études et de recherches sur les médicaments vétérinaires et les désinfectants
2 Laboratoire d'études et de recherches sur la qualité des aliments et sur les procédés agroalimentaires

The approach of quality in research has rarely been described from a practical point of view. It has been decided to develop a system of management of quality in research in our laboratory to guarantee the results of the research. It is based on the requirements of standard ISO 17025 for the execution of tests associated to the research, on good laboratory practices for the description of studies and on standard ISO 10006 for all the requirements associated to the management of a project. The tools used and the role of all the participants are described here to help researchers to implement a system in their own laboratory. We are aware of the difficulties that implementing such a system pose in academia, especially with meeting the requirements of ISO 17025, but it is still achievable and even essential because research is mediatised and must therefore provide guarantees on its practices.

Keywords: GLP; ISO 10006; ISO 17025; Project management plan; Quality in research; laboratories; analysis; chemistry; residues; quality

Domains: Analytical chemistry

Jérôme Henri, Pascal Sanders, Hélène Lelièvre, Nathalie Cadieu. Implementation and assessment of the quality management system in research in a laboratory of the French Food Safety Agency: Application to PhD student work. Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 2009, 14 (4), pp.207-217. ⟨10.1007/s00769-009-0505-z⟩. ⟨hal-00405458⟩