Quality does not happen by chance. It is generated by a combination of attitude, vigilance, common sense and adherence to correct operating procedures. A laboratory does not need NATA accreditation to provide the “correct results” but it must adhere to accepted good laboratory practice. The customer also has a role to play in the quest for quality by providing appropriate information.

Australian Laboratory Services (ALS) has developed its quality system based on ISO 9002 and ISO Guide 25 – “ General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”. Each satellite laboratory must operate within the parameters of this quality system. This paper will discuss a number of the essential requirements with which each laboratory must comply and the procedures that ALS uses to monitor this compliance.