Research & Development

2023-06-08

Three decades of proven quality assurance

Julia Seeberg, Head of Quality Management at Hohenstein © Hohenstein

The globally active testing service provider Hohenstein is currently looking back on three decades of accreditation. For the first time in spring 1993, one of its laboratories received official certification to test textile products competently, reliably and impartially according to internationally recognized standards. With the expansion of its testing business, the company, headquartered in Boennigheim, Germany, has since gained numerous other accreditations for its globally positioned laboratory locations.

"The accreditations give our customers confidence that we comply with the required quality control procedures," says Julia Seeberg, who as Head of Quality Management also participates in the regular surveillance of the laboratories by the Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS). Everything possible is done to ensure the integrity of the test results. In addition to accreditations of the testing laboratories by the DAkkS for numerous textile technological, biological, chemical and physical tests, Hohenstein is also accredited as a certification and inspection body. Hohenstein's 75 years of expertise in the testing business, complement its accreditation and provide an important basis for its long-standing customer trust.

The laboratories in China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and India have accreditations from DAkkS or the respective national and international accreditation bodies. The latter celebrate their annual World Accreditation Day on June 9, when they highlight the importance of accredited laboratories for the quality and sustainability of products of all kinds. "The demands of suppliers and consumers have increased," Julia Seeberg also notes. To remain credible as a manufacturer, she says, it is necessary to demonstrate compliance with defined and standardized quality criteria to a greater extent than in the past.

The globally valid quality standard for testing and calibration laboratories is DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025. The standard specifies general requirements for the competence, impartiality and uniform working methods of laboratories that, like Hohenstein, operate internationally. Accreditations in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17020 and 17065 exist for the inspection and certification bodies. In addition, Hohenstein is an accredited testing laboratory for medical devices, where biological, chemical and physical laboratory tests are carried out. These tests form the basis for conformity with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR).

A detailed overview of accreditations, recognitions, notifications, and approvals from Hohenstein is available at:

www.hohenstein.com/accreditations

For more information on World Accreditation Day, visit the ILAC website:

https://ilac.org/news-and-events/world-accreditation-day-2023/