Key International Capacity Building Programs

Bilateral agreement with National Center for Accreditation (NCA), Kazakhstan for conducting training for their officials-

TCB along with NABCB has been conducting exclusive internship for the officials of the Accreditation body of Kazakhstan, NCA on virtual platform under bilateral agreement. At the moment we have provided training on the following-

• IEC 62443-3 Standard “Industrial Communication Networks - Network and System Security” - Application/Orientation on The Requirements of The Standard & Case Studies / Use Case Analysis on 23-24 Nov 2020.
• ISO/IEC 27001 “Information Technology - Security Techniques - Information Security Management Systems - Requirements” Witness of NABCB Assessment for ISMS on 28 & 30 Nov 2020.
• ISO 22870 “Point-Of-Care Testing (POCT) — Requirements for Quality and Competence” on 30 Nov & 01 Dec 2020

World Bank sponsored project for capacity building of ENAO Ethiopia

 Undertaken World Bank sponsored ‘National Quality Infrastructure Development Project’, regarding the expansion of accreditation scope for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Trade and Industry through Training and Capacity building activities. The purpose of the project is to support in providing expansion of Accreditation Scope, Training & Capacity Building of ENAO, Ethiopia.

5-Day Virtual Training On ISO/IEC 17025:2017 For Officials from Nepal Sponsored By PTB, Germany

TCB is conducting a 5-day virtual training commencing from 19 July 2021 on ‘Accreditation Standards for laboratories as per ISO/IEC 17025:2017'. The training is being carried out by TCB Head, Mr.Alok Jain and is attended by the officials of the Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology and Nepal Renewable Energy Test Station, Government of Nepal. The training is sponsored by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, PTB, Germany.

UOM Training Attended by PTB Sponsored Officials from SAARC Countries.

On 29th June 2021, TCB conducted 1- day training on Uncertainty of Measurement and Decision Rule which was attended by several professionals working in the laboratory’s accreditation bodies, manufacturers & consultants including Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, PTB sponsored officials from SAARC countries.

Virtual Training On ‘Internal Auditor on ISO 13485:2016 ‘Medical Devices —QMS— Requirements for Regulatory Purposes’

TCB eQuest, QCI successfully conducted 2 days of virtual training (3- 4 June 2021) on ‘Internal Auditor Training on ISO 13485:2016 ‘Medical Devices — Quality Management Systems — Requirements for Regulatory Purposes’

A number of professionals working in the regulatory domain, medical device manufacturers, consultants attended the training. The training also attended by officials of Accreditation Bodies, Hospitals, Regulators of SAARC member countries which was sponsored by PTB Germany.

PTB Germany availing eLearning program on ISO/IEC 17043:2010 for SARCC contries

PTB Germany availed bulk logins for our eLearning program on ISO/IEC 17043:2010 ‘Conformity assessment — General requirements for proficiency testing’ to ensure capacity building in SAARC member countries including Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Pakistan.

Training for Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ), Qatar

An exclusive 2-day virtual instructor-led- training was held by Training and Capacity building cell for the officials of Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ), Qatar. The training covered the requirements of ISO 31000:2018 ‘Risk management — Guidelines’ and IEC 31010:2019 ‘Risk management — Risk assessment techniques and their implementation in the laboratory.

Training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A team from Quality Council of India (QCI) visited Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a capacity building program and to respond to the requirements of accreditation market which was facilitated by the fact that the major businesses like Saudi ARAMCO, SABIC, SEC, Maaden, Marafiq, PME and various municipalities in Saudi Arabia have either imposed or imposing the mandatory requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Two awareness-cum-training courses were conducted during January 2020 on ‘Laboratory Accreditation and ISO/IEC 17025:2017’, each one at Jeddah and Al-Khobar which was participated and appreciated by many professionals. This fruitful interaction led to the opening of the market in Saudi Arabia for accreditation from various boards of QCI.

Support to Nepal in the field of quality infrastructure

Under PTB Germany’s project ‘Support to Nepal in the field of Quality Infrastructure’ No: 2018.2009.1/95329, during February 2019, Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted training programs in Kathmandu, Nepal on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

Two trainings on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 were conducted in February 2019 for officials of Department of Plant Resources (DPR), National Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS), Natural Products Research Laboratory (NPRL), National Medicine Laboratory (NML), Renewable Energy Test Station (RETS), Standards, Metrology, Testing And Quality Assessment Forum Nepal (SMTQ),And Department of Food Technology & Quality Control (DFTQC), National Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) & Forest Research & Training Centre, PTB Nepal. The training courses were conducted for imparting a better understanding of the risk-based approach while implementing the new standard by the laboratory staff.

MoU with Iran Medical Device Directorate (IMED), Ministry of Health, Iran

In the month of March 2019, Quality Council of India (QCI) signed Memorandum of Cooperation with Iran Medical Device Directorate (IMED), in Tehran Iran, wherein it was agreed that IMED will encourage its cooperating laboratories to approach and get accreditation and renewal of accreditation as per ISO/IEC 17025 from NABL/QCI, India. And QCI/NABL agreed to support the accreditation infrastructure of Iran. Subsequent to this, QCI has been providing the required support to Iran through laboratory accreditation activities. This became an inflexion point for cooperation between India and Iran in the area of accreditation which opened doors for more related activities.

Support to Nepal in the field of Quality Infrastructure

Assessor’s Training Course on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 was conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) in Nepal during August 2019 under PTB sponsored project- Technical Cooperation to Support Nepal in the field of quality infrastructure - Project number: 2018.2009.1 / 95329.

The Assessor’s Training Course was based on APAC CBC-002 ‘Guidelines for Training Course for Assessors (Laboratories, Inspection Bodies, Reference Material Produces, Proficiency Testing Providers)’ and ILAC G3:08/2012 ‘Guidelines for Training Courses for Assessors used by Accreditation Bodies’ and ISO 19011: 2018 ‘Guidelines for auditing management systems. The training course aimed to familiarize the participants with the interpretation of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with the accreditation criteria to be used, assessment techniques, accreditation process and the human aspects of assessment. Subsequent to the conclusion of training, recommendations were made.

The Participants were from the Department of Food Technology & Quality Control (DFTQC), Department of Plant Resources (DPR), Dept. of Forest Research & Training Centre, Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology (NBSM) and from Dept. of Mining Govt of Nepal. In addition to the standard, the Accreditation procedures, Accreditation documents, and International requirements of APAC & ILAC MRA were covered during the training

Capacity Building Program in Iran

With the support of Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology in Iran, Iran High-Tech Laboratory Network (aka LabsNet) and local partner Behbud Tajhiz Behin Andish Co. (BTBA), Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted a training on ‘Management System and Internal Audit Course as per ISO/IEC 17025:2017’ during August 2019 for the key personnel of the government, regulators, associations and laboratories cooperating with the Ministries.

The training was a follow-up of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the QCI and Iran Medical Device Directorate (IMED), Ministry of Health in March 2019.

Study Tour of BLA-DSS, Thailand to India

The Bureau of Laboratory Accreditation, Department of Science Service, (BLA-DSS) Thailand is a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatory to Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). BLA-DSS is one of the three Thai Government supported and recognized accreditation bodies within Thailand.

Senior officials from Bureau of Laboratory Accreditation, Department of Science Service, (BLA-DSS), Thailand had a Study Tour to QCI during September 2019 for discussion on Joint Research Project under ‘India-Thailand Programme of Co-Operation in Science & Technology and Innovation’

Strengthening Quality Infrastructure in Sri Lanka II Project

Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted training on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, under PTB, Germany sponsored project- Project No: FV-95277-01/BMZ No: 2015.2066.7 titled ’Strengthening Quality Infrastructure in Sri Lanka II’. To impart a better understanding of the requirement of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, risk-based approach and scope of the new standard, the training was conducted during November 2019. The trainees included staffs from Measurement Units, Standards and Services Department (MUSSD), Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), Sri Lanka. The training was imparted through classroom and personal interaction with the trainees. Additionally, practical examples were given to support the new requirements of the standard and doubts were clarified. For better implementation of the requirements of the standard, salient points of action were also recommended.

Training in QATAR

Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ) is the first specialized laboratory of its kind in Middle East. The state-of-the-art facility provides anti-doping testing for athletes across the Gulf region as well as West Asia. ADLQ is compliant with ISO/IEC17025 and is accredited by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for blood analysis in support of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), making it one of the 33 labs accredited by WADA, to date. ADLQ imparts drug education, as a part of health education, lays down norms regulating the use of technology in sports and provides accurate and current information to athletes to help them think critically and to encourage to make wise choice of avoiding doping in any form.

In the month of September 2019, Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted a training course in Qatar on ISO/IEC 17025:2017 ‘General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration’ for officials of Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ). The training courses were conducted for imparting a better understanding of the risk-based approach while implementing the new standard.

In the month of December 2019, the Quality Council of India (QCI) conducted a technical training course in Qatar on ‘Measurement of Uncertainty’ for officials of Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ). The measurement of uncertainty is critical in expressing results in a more scientific manner and is a critical requirement of ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

Attachment Training for officials from SADCAS, Botswana

The Southern African Development Community Accreditation Services (SADCAS) is a multi-economy accreditation body established in terms of Article 15 B of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Annex to the SADC Protocol on Trade with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment service providers operating in those SADC Member States which do not have national accreditation bodies are subject to oversight by an authoritative body. Within the SADC region only South Africa and Mauritius have national accreditation bodies. The remaining 13 countries namely: Angola; Botswana; Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Seychelles; Swaziland; Tanzania; Zambia; and Zimbabwe do not have national accreditation bodies hence serviced by SADCAS. By assuring technical competence through accreditation, SADCAS plays a key role towards the achievement of SADC goals in trade facilitation and in the protection of health, safety and the environment. An attachment training with Quality Council of India was conducted to facilitate for better understanding SADACS staff on the accreditation standards, functioning of the accreditation body and its processes including observation visit for assessment during January 2020

Support to Nepal in the field of Quality Infrastructure

Under PTB Germany’s project ‘Support to Nepal in the field of Quality Infrastructure’ No: 2018.2009.1/FV-95329-04, during January 2020, Quality Council of India (QCI) arranged and witnessed hands-on mock assessment of Chemical and Metallurgical laboratory - Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), National Food and Feed Reference Laboratory -Department of Food Technology & Quality Control (DFTQC) and Instrument Section & Natural Products Research Laboratory - Department of Plant Resources (DPR), Nepal conducted by a team of assessors drawn from various Government Departments. The objective of the exercise was to make the participants aware of the assessment techniques, witnessing activities, enhancing interviewing skills, reporting of nonconformities and giving a final recommendation. These assessments were based on the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 ‘General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories’ and principles of ISO 19011:2018 ‘Guidelines for auditing management systems’.

Awareness workshop in Myanmar

Department of Research and Innovation (DRI), National Institute of Metrology-Myanmar (NIMM), Myanmar conducted a workshop on "ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Accreditation Ceremony & Industrial Metrology Awareness Workshop" in February 2020. Quality Council of India’s (QCI) official took a training session on Quality Infrastructure and participated in a panel discussion thus providing awareness about accreditation and related technical aspects. This interaction entailed awareness about the accreditation by QCI among Conformity Assessment Bodies, best practices in accreditation and building up Quality Infrastructure in Myanmar.