scope:

General

In accordance with good laboratory practice, all apparatus and equipment should be kept clean and in good working condition. Before use, equipment should be verified as fit for the intended purpose and its performance monitored during use, where appropriate.

Where necessary, equipment and monitoring devices should be calibrated to traceable national standards, and recalibration and any necessary intermediate checks performed, and procedures and results documented. Equipment should be regularly checked and maintained to ensure safety and fitness for use.

Equipment should be monitored according to the working conditions and the accuracy demanded for the results.

The frequency of calibration and verification checks of each item of equipment is, in most cases, not specified in this International Standard, since it shall be determined by each laboratory, depending on the type of equipment and on the laboratory's level of activity, and in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. In a limited number of cases, a frequency has been specified since it was considered to be essential.

Apparatus and equipment shall be constructed and installed to facilitate operation and to allow for ease of maintenance, cleaning, decontamination and calibration.

Any measurement uncertainties given in this clause relate to the apparatus and equipment concerned and not to the whole method of analysis.

Throughout this clause, requirements for accuracy of measuring equipment are given. These are based on the practical tolerance required to demonstrate suitable control of equipment in routine use. The accuracy stated is related to the metrological uncertainty of the device (see ISO/IEC Guide 99).

For temperature control equipment, check the stability and homogeneity of the temperature before initial use and after any repair or modification which might have an effect on the temperature control.