Quality Policy

Within the scope of our activities our aims are as follows:

• Maximum benefit of our services for our customers with highest possible quality,
• We want to fulfil the customers’ requests to their entire satisfaction by using state-of-the-art technical scientific knowledge,
• Strictly confidential treatment of all information obtained within the scope of our activity,
• Raise to our competence by intensive development of the quality of our services,
• Continuous improvement of our technical knowledge by continuous training of our staff,
• Cooperation in committees for the support of our technical-scientific progress,
• Cooperative partnership with our customers,
• The best possible involvement of the professionalism of our Advisory Board.

IfEP GmbH provides all necessary resources for the realisation of these aims.

Furthermore IfEP makes sure by suitable measures that the results of its work are presented technically correct independently from commercial interests and foreign influences. The payment of the staff is regardless of the achieved results.

The management of IfEP GmbH sets highest importance to ensuring the communication inside the institute, to our customers and to other outside bodies like the Advisory Board, subcontractors, technical committees and working groups. The management has introduced and maintains the following communication processes:

• Annual strategy meetings in which all executive staff participates. Minutes of meeting will be issued and signed by the participants.
• Annual management review according to the requirements of the standard. The content and the results are recorded in the minutes of this review.
• Regular internal staff meetings which are also recorded in minutes of meetings.
• Meetings with participants.
• Annual meeting with the members of the Advisory Board.
• Regular participation in meetings of external committees and working groups. During the internal meetings the results which are relevant for IfEP are informed to the participants.

We constantly improve the efficiency of the QM system by using our quality policy, our quality aims, the audit results, the data analysis, corrective and preventive action, the intensive exchange of information inside the institute as well as the management review. The management of IfEP is always looking for an improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes and does not wait until such improvement opportunities are identified by means of disturbances. Our employees are obliged to collect all possibilities for improvement and problems they notice during their daily work in a form. The proposals are examined and evaluated by the management in agreement with all employees.

IfEP itself does not run a test laboratory. The customers are assured that all materials used by IfEP correspond to the highest quality requirements. For the characterization exclusively competent subcontractors are selected who fulfill at least the requirements of EN ISO/IEC 17025 in the current valid edition.

IfEP undertakes to follow and implement all safety and environmental restrictions to be applied on its activities. No environmental damaging substances are used by IfEP. All environmentally hazardous products / substances / means are marked accordingly.

The quality aims are adapted every year to the current requirements.

The quality manager carries out annually an instruction on health and safety.

The participation in the proficiency tests organised by IfEP as well as the reference material certified by IfEP are open in general to all interested expert laboratories, except there are proficiency tests which are organised by order of a customer for a limited circle. Hereto belong also tests ordered by laboratories for internal purposes. The participants are informed in writing about the further use of the samples.

IfEP takes part in the work of national and international committees to grant that the performance as provider of proficiency tests and interlaboratory comparisons also in future will be at a high professional level. The cooperation with the national and international committees is subject to the same requirements. In all publications, statements and expressions of opinion IfEP pays strict attention to the confidentiality of the customers‘ data and the maintenance of the independence.