quality management
Total quality management, Total Quality management (TQM), ensures that an organization, product, or service consistently performs as intended, as opposed to Quality Management, which focuses on work process and procedure standards. It has four mai ...
is part of an external
quality assurance
Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to assure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...
programme for a measuring method. Ringtest is also called proficiency test or interlaboratory test. Usually a reference institute sends identical samples which have to be analyzed for special parameters to different laboratories. The industrial, medical or research
laboratory
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...
gets a limited time with a deadline to send in the analysis results. The statistical evaluation and interpretation of the laboratories’ results is a great help for all participating labs as it opens the possibility to assess the quality of their analysis compared to other laboratories. Participation in ringtests is obligatory for accredited laboratories (e.g. according to ISO 17025, etc.). Nevertheless, non-accredited laboratories can also take part in ringtests.
Fields of application
* tests of medical parameters (
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
Blood is com ...
,
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...
paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
testing (autosomal DNA markers, Y and X chromosomal markers, mtDNA sequencing)