The Laboratory for Chemistry of the Institute for Metrology of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been accredited since 2017 by the Accreditation Body of Germany - DAkkS in accordance with the requirements of the International Standard EN ISO / IEC 17043: 2010 for Proficiency Testing (PT) provider (https://www.dakks.de/as/ast/d/D-EP-20480-01-00e.pdf). This achievement of the Institute was realized within the PTB-IMBIH bilateral project "Strengthening Metrology and Quality Infrastructure in BIH" (2015 - 2017), which enabled the engagement of the PTB experts who supported the further development of the Institute's Laboratory for Chemistry in the field of interlaboratory testing and assessed the readiness of laboratories to acquire the status of accreditation. The long-term cooperation with PTB experts within the mentioned project and other projects, which continues with the new project starting this year that will include bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of metrology and quality infrastructure at all, has enabled the realization of many set goals for development of metrology system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and for raising awareness and expertise in this area.
This accreditation is applied in the organization and realization of a regular PT Scheme organized by the Laboratory for chemistry on a yearly basis for the last 4 years, and this scheme is dedicated to the analysis of the precious metals content in jewellery alloys. The PT Scheme is of international character, and regular participation in it is carried out by national metrology institutes from the region that retained quality testing and assessment of the conformity of jewellery alloy within its competence, as well as a large number of assay offices and accredited laboratories in Europe and beyond which are appointed by national ministries for the control of precious metal articles.
At the beginning of this year, the Institute's Laboratory for Chemistry was subjected to a surveillance audit by DAkkS technical experts on the status of accreditation, and the accreditation was successfully confirmed. Additionally, all test methods applied in the work of the Institute's Laboratory for Chemistry related to the quality of precious metals jewellery alloys have been accredited in accordance with the requirements of International Standard EN ISO / IEC 17025: 2005, and the Institute has also published CMC in this field in the BIPM database as one of the two institutes that have formalized their technical competence in the field worldwide.
It should be stressed that the area of accreditation under EN ISO / IEC 17043: 2010 acquired by the Institute of Metrology of Bosnia and Herzegovina is unique in Europe. Namely, as one of the reasons for establishing this service is a good knowledge of the needs of laboratories conducting test activities in the field of precious metals articles control. Lack of opportunities for participation in specialized and adequate interlaboratory comparative tests i.e. PT schemes that provide laboratories with the opportunity to prove their technical abilities has inspired the Institute of Metrology to develop this area and provide this service to laboratories in the region and beyond. In this regard, the PT Scheme is also listed in the international EPTIS PT Scheme (https://www.eptis.bam.de/eptis/WebSearch/view/444411), enabling participation by all interested laboratories throughout the world. The Institute Chemistry Laboratory is planning to continue its activities through the extension of accreditation and other types of samples and matrices both in the field of precious metals and other fields of testing in chemistry.