Last September 2019, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) awarded the ISO 17025 accreditation to the Electronics Product Development Center (EPDC). This accreditation demonstrates technical competence for a defined scope and the operation of a laboratory quality management system.

ISO/IEC 17025 also helps facilitate cooperation between laboratories and other bodies by generating wider acceptance of results between countries. Test reports and certificates can be accepted from one country to another without the need for further testing, which improves international trade.

Despite this pandemic, the Electronics Industries Association of the Philippines, Inc. (EIAPI), which manages the operations of EPDC, together with DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute, pushed through with the first part of the assessment for ISO 17025 which is the Quality management System (QMS). The assessment was done remotely last July 28-29, 2020. It was led by A2LA’s assessor Mr. C. K. Li.

The remote assessment was an evaluation of the organization and its documented quality management system. It included a review of past performance, examination of documents and records that relate to management review, internal audit,  and the effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions.

This coming October 2020, Mr. C. K. Li of A2LA will personally visit EPDC for the last part of the assessment which is the technical assessment of the defined scope awarded to EPDC-EMC laboratory. A2LA also offers technical assessment remotely however, It would be challenging. On the brighter side, we at EPDC believe that if the remote assessment will turn out to have a satisfactory result, actual assessment would not be any different.