Proficiency Testing
What is Proficiency Testing (PT) & why it is important?
Proficiency testing (PT) is a way to review a testing laboratory performance and hence to identify the improvement needed in a laboratory. Therefore to self-assure quality assurance by a laboratory, regular participation in PT program is not only very important but accreditation body as well as ISO/IEC 17025:2017 mandated this requirement. It is also the utmost important aspect that a laboratory anticipates in regular PT programs & performs satisfactorily to sustain their laboratory business and to present their performance where necessary. Under a condition, where any laboratory observes poor/questionable performance in the PT round, the reason should be investigated immediately and to make necessary adjustment accordingly. The regular participation over several rounds of PT programs is a way to identify a trend of any laboratory’s testing performance. While conducting a PT program, a PT provider also requires to maintain absolute privacy & integrity for each participating laboratory as specified in ISO/IEC 17043.
Why should a lab participate in PT?
Based on PT performance, the participant laboratory can identify staff that may requires further training, resources etc. This therefore leads to more consistent working practices throughout the laboratory. Regular participation also keeps the team focused on how routine procedures should be carried out.
PT participation provides an opportunity to further educate staff in the potential ‘danger’ areas of testing. The training allows staff to appreciate their contribution to the output quality of their lab. Staff can then also appreciate their role in the companies’ success.
The participating laboratory can further make necessary adjustment of their laboratory protocol as and where necessary. If a laboratory sees a poor performance across a number of rounds of test parameters or in multiples rounds, the laboratory can use the opportunity to re-assess protocols and formulate ways to better streamline processes.
How should PT samples be processed by a participant laboratory?
The PT item (sample) should be tested in a laboratory as a routine testing in a laboratory as per their regular practice. Putting extra care to perform the PT testing in a laboratory but not following the same in their regular practice is not going to provide insight into routine working practices. Any results would not be meaningful for the everyday running of the lab. In order to gain the full benefits of PT, the samples must be treated like routine samples.
Who should perform the test on PT sample?
Anyone who is trained and is regularly involved in routine testing needs to be included in PT. Individuals do not need to participate in every round of testing so a lab team may be split and groups of individuals may be rotated through a testing schedule over a planned year. To ensure consistency among technicians and among laboratories a standard operating procedure for PT sample handling needs to be created.
How often should PT be done?
It is a high note that an accredited testing laboratory should maintain yearly proficiency testing plan of their laboratory testing scope as per ISO/IEC 17025:2017 & to meet accreditation body’s requirement. Also, laboratory’s volume of work, new staffing, equipment relocation, calibration / maintenance of equipment could be additional deciding factors for deciding the PT participation frequency. Many times, it is necessary to participate a minimum number of rounds (namely, in continuous PT scheme) over a period in order to benefit from trend analysis in certain case. The laboratory management team must assess the needs and arrange participation in PT schemes accordingly.
Why you should participate in BOXPLOT (BAPL) - PT schemes?
BAPL- PT schemes are identified & launched to cater very specific and niche’ PT matrices. As such there is no known PT provider in such test matrices and product categories. The PT items for every round are ensured after undergoing homogeneity & / or stability testing and then only the items are dispatched to participants. The technical & statisticians have more than 20 + year of extensive experiences in Inter Laboratory Correlation (ILC) & Proficiency Testing (PT). The personnel engaged in BAPL- PTP Div. are from respective areas and they have extensive expertise in technical, managerial & decision making process for various PT exercises.
BAPL-PT schemes are arranged in such manner where more participants are able to participate & so reliable consensus values are obtained for performance evaluation. BAPL- PTP Div. has adopted various standard operating procedures to establish a very reliable assigned value so that no participant shall be wrongfully evaluated at any of our PT schemes.
BAPL-PT Div. personnel are committed to arrange the PT schemes at the utmost technical ground in decision making process and always considerable as better valued for each participant. The PTP personnel in BAPL undergo regular technical training in testing as well as in statistical data analysis while maintaining practical risk based approach when it comes to a decision making.
