Effectiveness of analytical quality control is related to the subsequent performance of laboratories in proficiency tests

Abstract

This paper describes an experiment designed to demonstrate that the rigour of the quality control procedures used in an analytical laboratory is related to the laboratory's subsequent performance in a proficiency test. The effectiveness of the quality control procedures in a number of laboratories was scored on the basis of a questionnaire. As all of the laboratories were participants in a proficiency testing scheme, an independent measure of analytical performance was available. It was found that the group of laboratories with the strongest quality control procedures scored significantly better in the proficiency testing scheme.