At the initiative of Mr. Miklós Devecz, General Director of National Accreditation Authority of Hungary (NAH) a successful workshop was organized on 6th September in Budapest with the participation of four regional accreditation bodies.

The main topics of the workshop were the changes and measures taken following the introduction of the new ISO/IEC 17011:2017 and ISO/IEC 17025:2011 standards. During the one-day discussions case studies were introduced, experiences were shared, and measures implemented were presented in detail.

“It was good to take part in a conversation, where the parties have typically been faced with similar gaps during the organization of the accreditation activity, therefore the mutual understanding and the open and sincere talks could take place, such as developing and introducing an electronic accreditation system, or operating under severe governmental control and with limited budgets. The applicability of sampling in case of calibration laboratories and the interpretation of ‘externally provided products and services, was also discussed. The objectives of the regional forum were successfully met and the discussions on the transition measures were very rich and helpful for all the delegates”, said Csaba Bodroghelyi.

The participating delegates agreed on the necessity of organizing similar events to develop a better understanding of the issues raised especially during the transition periods when accreditation standards are changing.