Quality management system (QMS)
Definition
The documented set of policies, procedures, processes, and records that a laboratory uses to control the quality of its outputs. A QMS covers everything from staff training and equipment calibration to corrective action when errors occur. ISO/IEC 17025 defines the minimum requirements a forensic laboratory QMS must satisfy.
Related terms
- Chain of custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- ISO/IEC 17025
- The international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It...
- Proficiency testing
- An external quality assurance programme in which a laboratory analyses blind samples distributed by an independent provider and submits results for comparison...
- Staff elimination database
- A database of DNA profiles from all laboratory personnel who have access to evidence or consumables. Any profile matching a contributor profile...
- Validation
- The process of establishing through systematic testing that a method does what it claims to do, within defined conditions and with a...
Explained in
- Forensic Biology Laboratory Organisation and AccreditationThe documented set of policies, procedures, processes, and records that a laboratory uses to control the quality of its outputs. A QMS covers everything from s...