Based on the feasibility study of a Quality System carried out in 1991, the Politecnico di Milano developed a Quality System (SQP) to manage the multidisciplinary experimental activities supporting planning and technology development, in compliance with the requirements of the European quality standards.

The aim of the Quality Management System adopted by the Politecnico di Milano is to ensure that internal processes are performed in compliance with the rules of the University, of the accreditation and certification bodies, as well as of the international standards.

The application of the Quality System is of primary importance for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as it allows the following activities:

• the involvement of people, by means of processes of internal communication and training, with particular emphasis on the metrological traceability of the instrumentation;
• the metrological traceability of the instrumentation used in the testing and research activities;
• the correct and successful application of the process of management of the testing activities, with an approach aimed at improving;
• a management of the testing activities and of the relative instrumentation, which allows to obtain projects and/or orders proving for audits by a second subject to verify the correct management of the activities;
• the conclusion of contracts proving for accredited tests or the accreditation of the laboratory.

The Politecnico di Milano Quality Management System encompasses:

• multidisciplinary experimental activities concerning testing and calibration;
• calibration activities under Accredia accreditation;
• test activities under Accredia accreditation.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering plans and develops its own processes for service implementation. Based on scope and time frames, each service undertakes an activity planning programme based on annual objectives, available resources and validating and monitoring activities. The results of these planning activities are then modified to suit the needs of each single service.

The Quality System adopted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering guarantees the fairness, transparency and accuracy of all the management activities concerning the relationships with the users who provide a service realised by its own area in the SQP field, including – if necessary – those subcontracted both to internal and external customers, considered as activities of calibration, testing and training.

The Quality Management System implemented by the Department of Mechanical Engineering fully complies with the ISO 9001 standard for the processes regarding training activities, high academic education and some of the experimental activities of calibration and testing (Certificato Italcert n°121SGQ20).

The Quality Management System also involves the internal calibration of several types of measuring instruments. Among them we may mention: force measuring systems, extensometers, measurement circuits in strain gage applications, electromechanical manometers, geometric masters calibration by means of CMM.

The laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering complies with the ISO/IEC 17025 standard and is accredited by ACCREDIA for some of the testing activities (LAB N° 1275 D) as mentioned on the Accredia official website.

Furthermore, the Department also hosts the calibration section for acceleration of the Politecnico di Milano, accredited by Accredia (calibration laboratory number 104).