OK not sure if it is going to happen but considering trying to go solo and do like a start up calibration company. Anyone know anything about the ISO process and costs?
Alot will depend on which AB you go with and how long your scope of accreditation is. What types of calibrations are you looking at getting into?
USMCPMEL,
To what ISO standard are you going to accredit?
ISO 17025 (specifically for testing and calibration labs) is much more involved than say ISO 9000.
At my current employer (a captive test lab within a larger company), we have looked into getting 17025 but found we would not benifit relative to the time and effort to get accredited.
I've been with two different ISO 9000 registered companies and the expense seemed geared toward the time to prepare documentation on your part,and the time it takes to conduct the audits (which for a one man op, shouldn't take long)on the part of your registrar. There are also some fees involved but I'm not up on how that works.
There is a wealth of knowledge at http://elsmar.com/Forums/index.php. There are discussion boards specifically for 9000 and 17025. You might need to do some digging, but it will be worth it. If, after you dig, you don't find your answers, then ask, but this board is kind of touchy about asking questions that have already been answered. Also another one of their pet peeves is that when you are talking 17025 it is "Accreditation" not "Certification. "
edit: fixed link
~hoopty
Not sure were you are in the process of going solo. One thing to keep in mind is that you do not have to do it all yourself.
On of the things I learned on a project from the past is that you can team up with another lab, adopt their process and way of doing business. In a sense you would be come a satellite lab. Then you could fall under their accreditation. Kind of like a franchise. You would be inspected as a second location.
The hard part is finding a lab, outside of your geographical are that would like to team up.