5. What are the disadvantages of accreditation?

The major drawback is certainly that acquiring and maintaining accreditation comes at a cost. On the one hand, this cost results from the number of hours spent by staff on this task, and on the other, from the additional cost of linking the laboratory's standards to the national standards imposed by the accreditation commission.

In total, the cost of COFRAC "Calibration" accreditation has been estimated. The cost of acquisition is thus estimated at around 100,000 euros, followed by around 20,000 euros in subsequent years to maintain the laboratory in compliance with the accreditor's requirements. It should be noted that funding is generally taken from the company's "overheads" budget, which is not appreciated by management. The latter quite rightly sees accreditation as a burden that increases hourly rates, thus reducing competitiveness.