The Impact of ISO Standards on Daily Operations

Suzanne Arts-van den Hoven is our microbiology and biochemistry specialist. She is also an internal auditor, a member of the NEN standard committee for food chain microbiology, chair of the NEN working group for dairy microbiology, and an expert within various ISO working groups. At the World of Industry, Technology & Science, she will share her knowledge and conduct a workshop on the impact of ISO standards on daily lab work.

Within these working groups, Suzanne contributes to the revisions and developments of standards. "During periodic revisions, there are several voting rounds. You can comment on the standard and submit changes, which are then discussed and processed within the respective ISO working group if agreed upon. Developing a new standard is a lengthy process that takes several years. It starts with an idea and a draft version. Within the committee, you then provide feedback on this draft. There are various stages before finally arriving at a definitive version."

Quality and Reliability

As an internal auditor, Suzanne ensures that standards are upheld within the organization. "Working according to agreed standards is valuable. If everyone works in the same way, you get similar results which are easier to compare. This ensures consistent quality and reliability."

According to Suzanne, it all starts with a quality system. "You need to have a quality manual. It outlines how you handle certain matters, and for us, it includes all the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories from NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025. It's then important to make this known within the organization. New colleagues go through an orientation program where quality and standards are emphasized. In our department, we have a stand-up meeting every morning and monthly team meetings where quality is always discussed. When new or revised documents are published in the quality manual, we expect everyone to read them. Through a read confirmation, we make sure everyone is informed. When a new analysis method is introduced, an onboarding process follows."

Suzanne acknowledges that ISO standards are not always easy to read. "It's a specialized skill to read ISOs and translate them into daily practice. You really need time to properly assess and implement them." It's important to convert the standard into work instructions or SOPs so that they can be uniformly applied in the process within your own organization.

Curious? At the World of Industry, Technology & Science, Suzanne Arts-van den Hoven will host a workshop on the impact of ISO standards on daily work. The workshop takes place on Thursday, 26th September from 12:30-13:30. Register for a visit to the fair.