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In Thailand nearly 1,000 public health laboratories serve 65 million people. A qualified indicator of a good quality laboratory is Thailand Medical Technology Council certification. Consequently, Chiang Rai Regional Medical Sciences Center established a development program for laboratory certification for 29 laboratories in the province. This paper seeks to examine this issue.

The goal was to improve laboratory service quality by voluntary participation, peer review, training and compliance with standards. The program consisted of specific activities. Training and workshops to update laboratory staffs' quality management knowledge were organized. Staff in each laboratory performed a self‐assessment using a standard check‐list to evaluate ten laboratory management areas. Chiang Rai Regional Medical Sciences Center staff supported the distribution of quality materials and documents. They provided calibration services for laboratory equipment. Peer groups performed an internal audit and successful laboratories received Thailand Medical Technology Council certification.

By December 2007, eight of the 29 laboratories had improved quality sufficiently to be certified. Factors that influenced laboratories' readiness for quality improvement included the number of staff, their knowledge, budget and staff commitment to the process. Moreover, the support of each hospital's laboratory working group or network was essential for success.

There was no clear policy for supporting the program. Laboratories voluntarily conducted quality management using existing resources.

A bottom‐up approach to this kind of project can be difficult to accomplish. Laboratory professionals can work together to illustrate and highlight outcomes for top‐level health officials. A top‐down, practical approach would be much less difficult to implement.

Quality certification is a critical step for laboratory staff, which also encourages them to aspire to international quality standards like ISO. The certification program is an important mechanism for addressing inadequate knowledge, budget, planning, policy and staff required to improve laboratory services.

The article aims to give an overview of the system of public health laboratory quality management in Thailand and to produce a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis that is relevant to public health laboratories in the country.

The systems for managing laboratory quality that are currently employed were described in the first component. The second component was a SWOT analysis, which used the opinions of laboratory professionals to identify any areas that could be improved to meet quality management systems.

Various quality management systems were identified and the number of laboratories that met both international and national quality management requirements was different. The SWOT analysis found the opportunities and strengths factors offered the best chance to improve laboratory quality management in the country.

The results are based on observations and brainstorming with medical laboratory professionals who can assist laboratories in accomplishing quality management.

The factors derived from the analysis can help improve laboratory quality management in the country. This paper provides viewpoints and evidence‐based approaches for the development of best possible practice of services in public health laboratories.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the activities needed to meet specified requirements to assist laboratory staff running tests and calibrations and to obtain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

The relevant literature that contributes to establishing activities that help laboratory staff to obtain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation was studied. Laboratory researchers specializing in electro-medical equipment quality control were questioned about the criteria to be observed when selecting, developing and validating analytical steps.

Results revealed the analytical method criteria to be observed, which demonstrated their essentially quantitative nature.

This study presents a model that improves selecting, developing and validating analytical steps and contributes to producing reliable test and calibration results. These improvements can help laboratory testing and calibration to meet clients’ needs, satisfy specified requirements and provide reliable results.