Currently, the market for measurement services is witnessing an increase in the importance of accreditation, resulting mainly from increasing quality requirements. Calibration certificates issued by accredited laboratories are objective evidence of best practice. The most important thing for the customer is the metrological confirmation of the device's efficiency. The user of a given meter needs for himself and his contractors to provide reliable indications, which will be within the limits of permissible errors. Such metrological recognition can only be made by a laboratory which has confirmation of the measurement consistency. Non-accredited laboratories that meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 must comply with the requirement to have their laboratory equipment calibrated by accredited or governmental institutions against international standards. Accredited laboratory is a guarantee of maintaining measurement consistency to national and international standards of units and measures. This means that the laboratory equipment, the calibrators that serve as the reference for the device to be calibrated are regularly calibrated (in this case by accredited laboratories or major metrology authorities) and are thus linked to a national or international standard through an uninterrupted chain of links.
The SONEL S. A. Testing and Calibration Laboratory is accredited by PCA No. AP 173 and operates in accordance with the requirements of the amended standard ISO/IEC 17025:2018-02 "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories".
All calibrations covered by the scope of accreditation are presented on certificates with the PCA mark. This is due to the policy of the Polish Accreditation Centre, according to which a laboratory should obligatorily display accreditation symbols in the area of activity for which accreditation has been granted. The key aspect when choosing a laboratory is price, but here it should be noted that calibration in an accredited laboratory is a confirmation of the high quality of service and competence of the staff

What is accreditation and its benefits?

Accreditation is a formal confirmation of the competence of a given unit by a third party to perform specific tasks in the field of conformity assessment. The only institution in Poland authorized to grant accreditation to laboratories is the Polish Center for Accreditation (PCA).
The accredited laboratory must meet the system and technical requirements contained in the ISO/IEC 17025 standard "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories". These requirements are subject to systematic assessment during audits carried out by the certification body (PCA).
The main benefits of accreditation are increased trust in results and the elimination of international barriers.
 
Benefits of accreditation for consumers:

• due to rigorous procedures and supervision of an independent third party, it affects the high quality of services,
• accreditation is objective evidence of the use of best practices,
• solves the problem of mutual recognition of results, accredited certificates are accepted all over the world,
• plays a significant role in the risk management process (reducing the risk of the user),
• accreditation affects the high quality of the products and services offered and the competence of the laboratory staff.

What is the scope of accreditation?

The scope of a laboratory's accreditation is a formal and precise definition of the activity for which the laboratory is accredited. As such, it is the result of combined information (range parameters) concerning a field of activity, e. g. calibration, the objects to be calibrated and the methods and procedures used. The assessment (and reassessment) of the scope of accreditation is a central element of the accreditation process and can be defined as a set of activities carried out by the accreditation body to ensure, with an appropriate degree of confidence, that the laboratory is competent to provide reliable services within a defined scope (ILAC G18:04).

Calibration with or without accreditation?

Accredited laboratories offer calibration services both with and without accreditation. How is the calibration service itself different? The calibration service with accreditation is performed according to the procedure (instruction) accepted by PCA. However, the measurements themselves, if this is to be an accredited calibration, are made repeatedly, i. e. the same parameter, on one range is checked repeatedly. Such a test is a better opportunity to determine the average measured value and its uncertainty, which is compared with the CMC of an accredited laboratory. CMC measurement capability calibration and measurement capability) is the smallest uncertainty of measurement that a calibration laboratory can achieve in a routine calibration, normally the expanded uncertainty of measurement with a level of confidence of approx. 95%. In addition, the accredited calibration certificate includes the PCA marks, which raise its status, ensure the credibility of the results, and are recognised worldwide.