Industrial bodies, companies and various institutions whose activities are related to industry, trade and service provision rely on many laboratories to verify the quality of various products. International requirements have agreed on the importance and necessity of accrediting these laboratories to ensure the quality of their results. The laboratory accreditation standards and specifications applied by laboratories to ensure their technical efficiency include many requirements, including the necessity of carrying out internal auditing work for these laboratories by internal auditors from the laboratories who are qualified to do so according to specific standards and mechanisms. This was emphasized in the new version of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, as the requirements included the commitment of calibration and testing laboratories to carry out internal auditing work according to specific plans. The quality units and departments within these bodies and laboratories, headed by quality managers, are committed to developing procedures and plans for internal auditing and implementing them with the help of internal auditors, which necessitates the qualification of these workers and auditors on the internal audit activities of laboratories, starting from developing procedures and plans to implementation mechanisms and following up on the outputs of audit work, which helps improve the performance of these laboratories. Internal auditing is considered an effective and sustainable means to ensure the effectiveness of quality systems within laboratories, as well as the main means for the continuous improvement work required by these laboratories.

Internal auditing ensures the correct implementation and continuous follow-up of laboratory performance quality standards and their requirements in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the requirements of national accreditation bodies and regional and international accreditation organizations.

Qualifying employees in quality departments and units and internal auditors in various laboratories to perform internal auditing work in accordance with these requirements is the cornerstone for the success of internal auditing activities. Within the framework of the Arab Industrial Development, Standardization and Mining Organization’s interest in following up on everything new and related to developing Arab capabilities in the industrial sector, preparations have been made to hold this specialized workshop in the field of “The role of internal auditing in raising the level of laboratories and how to prepare internal auditors in industrial bodies and companies”, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo at the request of a number of Arab companies and institutions.