Issuing reports under ISO 17025:2017

[weafer]

We have a customer (company A) who combines their product with the products of other companies (e.g. company B). To date, we issue reports for our customer (company A) and if they then want to prove the efficacy of their product, they show our report to company B. Now our customer is asking us if we can issue reports to both them and to company B. I think this is not correct. There should be one report issued to one customer. But the following part of ISO 17025:2017 makes me doubt myself
"results...shall include...all the information agreed with the customer...

 

[Benjamin Weber]

In my oppinion there is no restriction in ISO 17025 to issue a report to one customer only. Regarding confidentiality you should maybe assure, that the manufacturer of the tested product agrees, that the contents are disclosed to the other company and keep a record of this agreement.

Sometimes we arrange EMC tests for our customers (we are a test lab, but not for EMC). Some EMC test labs require the written consent of the actual product manufacturer. The final report will be issued to us since we are the applicant and we pay the final bill. But in the test report is it clearly shown, who is the applicant (we) and who is the manufacturer of the actual tested product.

So I think you can issue a second report to company B, given that the report clearly states who is the manufacturer and who is the applicant to whom the report is issued. Ideally there is also some kond of statement, that the product manufacturer agreed to this procedure. And of course you can charge a corresponding fee for this ;-)

 

[dwperron]

When you are engaged in 17025 accredited activities the process requires that you go over the services being contracted for with the customer. You are setting up a legal agreement here, working with the customer to assure that you are providing what they require, that everything is documented, that both sides agree and approve the elements of the contract. You just can't then pass the same report on to a second "customer", because they have not agreed to the same contractual terms.

What is normally done is that Company A contracts the 17025 services, gets the reports, and supplies them to company B. Company B can then put their own cover sheet on the results, but it will still show that the actual 17025 work was performed for company A.
Because that is the way it actually happened.

By the way, Company B cannot issue a 17025 accredited certificate of their own for this work, as they are not the ones who contracted the 17025 services.