The Testing and Calibration Pillar in KENAS provides accreditation for the recognition of the technical competence of a testing and calibration laboratory for a specific task following ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
KENAS testing and calibration has been established with the objective to provide Government, Industry and Private laboratories in general with a scheme for third-party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories to carry out specific testing, measurements and calibrations. The government of Kenya has authorized KENAS as the sole accreditation body for Testing and Calibration laboratories.
TRANSITION GUIDELINE FROM ISO/IEC 17025:2005 TO 17025:2017 VERSION
Following the publication of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, the transition plan key dates document has been produced to update laboratories and stakeholders on the KENAS transition process and overall timelines for the transition of laboratory accreditation to this new version of the standard.
Testing and Calibration laboratories that have been accredited shall provide KENAS with a transition plan. The transition plan shall demonstrate that the accredited testing or calibration laboratory has analyzed the new standard and its implication for their management system and operations and shall enable the testing/calibration laboratory to effectively implement all the changes needed to comply with the new standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017.
As a minimum and as per the KENAS policy on transition, the transition plan shall include:
Accredited Testing and Calibration laboratories are required as per the attached transition key dates document to provide KENAS with the transition plan before 15th May 2018.
The deadline for transition to the new version has been internationally agreed as three years from the date of publication, meaning that from 1st December 2020 only accreditation to the 2017 version will be valid. It is therefore imperative that all accredited laboratories are fully transitioned, and the KENAS transition timeline is based around this.
A new certificate and schedule of accreditation referencing ISO/IEC 17025:2017 shall be issued to each laboratory following the successful decision on its transition. Annual visit dates, current year in the accreditation cycle, initial accreditation dates will remain unchanged.
The accreditation of laboratories that fail to transition by the deadline of 29 November 2020 will cease to be valid from that date. Their accreditation will be listed as ‘suspended’ for up to six months until such time that they can demonstrate to KENAS that they meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025: 2017.
Queries regarding the transition process should be directed to the Testing and Calibration team at KENAS Felista Nyakoe [email protected], Carey Ochogo [email protected] or [email protected]