Capacity building in analytical laboratories: the challenges of metrology and quality to ensure the traceability and reliability of measurement results

The development of structures involved in evaluation and control, in particular in the field of medical biology analyses and the control of sanitary and environmental conditions, is a way to progress. It is now necessary to strengthen the reliability and traceability of test results, enabling effective decision-making. Metrology' and 'Quality' are two essential keys to progress. These key skills contribute to the paradigm shift to improve health and environmental conditions, integrating a sustainable health system and ensuring the development of credible, innovative and trustworthy laboratories. as a guarantee of fair trade, metrology is a vector of competitiveness; as the key to an efficient approach and reasoned development, quality is essential for shared progress. It is around these two related skills that several capacity building projects have been built (European projects QESAMED, AFREQEN, AUF projects MAQMET, PROLACQ, etc.), aiming to ensure their place in training and practice for the advancement, mastery and deployment of analyses. In this respect, the development of generic or applied training modules specific to the reinforcement of the reliability of analyses in different fields is original and fundamental, as well as the implementation of training means for pilot actions for trainers and the professional world. Any quality approach whose scope includes laboratories, and therefore measurements, requires control of measurement processes guaranteed by the effective implementation of a metrology function. The deployment of this function involves diagnosis, definition of needs, staff awareness and training, design and implementation of tools, establishment of lasting relationships with all interested parties and, finally, aspects related to verification (internal audit, etc.). The efficiency of this function implies a control of the metrological connections (internal or external) relating to all the critical equipment of the laboratory. This paper describes the methodology developed in the different capacity building projects for the integration of transversal quality and metrology skills in the training of laboratory technicians.