United Kingdom Accreditation Service - UKAS News

As the nation moves towards stronger responsibility and accountability for fire safety measures, the BAFE Fire Safety Register reiterate their message on the significance of UKAS accredited third-party certification. BAFE’s ‘Don’t just Specify, Verify’ campaign launched in March 2020 identifies the important second, and sometimes overlooked, verification stage when premises management source competent third-party certificated organizations to help comply with their fire...

UKAS welcomes the government’s announcement of the creation of a new Construction Products Regulator, which will be housed within the Office of Products Safety & Standards (OPSS) within the Business Department (BEIS). The new Regulator’s role will be to ensure that products used throughout the construction sector are safe.  This move is intended to address the shortcomings and issues exposed by the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017. overarching framework for safety Matt Gant...

Amthal has appointed Deane Sales to the position of Group Sales Director, following the company’s strategic shift to its senior management team and approach to fire safety and security. As one of the nation’s trusted commercial fire protection and security partners, Amthal welcomes Deane to lead the Group in its new direction, introducing his extensive insight into compliance to forge key partnerships and identify opportunities for business development. life safety solutions Deane...

Following the expansion of its testing facilities with the addition of two fire resistance test furnaces, in collaboration with global safety science pioneer, UL Solutions, the FPA is now UKAS accredited to perform fire resistance testing. Reaching temperatures in excess of 1000°C, the large scale (4m wide x 3m high) vertical furnace and small scale (1.5 × 1.5m) vertical and horizontal furnace can test to a range of fire resistance standards for numerous product types including: BS...

The UK government is committed to achieving its legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. As net-zero policies are designed and implemented, and collaborative initiatives to achieve ambitious carbon emission targets are developed, credible standards and accredited conformity assessment will be key enablers of their robustness, effectiveness, and sustained impact. UN Sustainable Development Goals UKAS has an established track record in deploying accreditation t...

On 25th March 2022, UKAS published the outcome from their 31st January 2022 call for Expression of Interest for certification bodies looking to underpin the certification to ISO 37301:2021 (Compliance Management System Certification) with accreditation. The initial conclusion was to consider including the development of accredited certification to ISO 37301 within its development program for 2022/2023, but this has been deferred to the 2023/2024 program, due to operational reasons subject to th...

The Built Environment Quality Management Systems standard was published in July 2022 and UKAS published an initial Expression of Interest in September 2022.  The feedback from this indicated that there was only limited interest from CB clients, and this has been underpinned by related feedback from other stakeholders.  Updated Expression of Interest This updated Expression of Interest is published to ascertain if the level of interest has increased This updated Expression of Intere...

UKAS welcomes the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement, which was signed by the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch and the Ukrainian First Minister. This agreement will further support reconstruction efforts within the region, as well as the facilitation of cross-border data flows and enhanced trade with the UK through electronic transactions, e-signatures, and e-contracts. business and regulatory needs The use of technology to overcome technical barriers to internation...

The ability to trade across borders is vital to the UK’s success. To do so, businesses need to understand the rules-based system of trade and have confidence in market frameworks based on standards and accredited conformity assessment.  In signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and the Institute of Export and International Trade have agreed to strategic cooperation in sharing knowledge and supporting the dissemination of good business pract...

UKAS has accredited the first organization in the UK to undertake Forensic Cell Site Analysis activities to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, including consideration of ILAC G19, UKAS Publication LAB 13, and the Forensic Science Regulators Code of Practice and Conduct (including FSR-C-135). Following a second development pilot assessment program, which started in 2021, two Forensic Units were assessed with IntaForensic Ltd successfully gaining accreditation. Quality assurance mechanism Devel...

In January 2021, UKAS launched its new national accreditation symbols, designed to better illustrate the diversity of what UKAS accreditation encompasses and to reflect UKAS as a modern, international and forward-thinking organization. A timeframe was provided for all accredited customers to transition their use of the UKAS symbols of accreditation from the old branding into the new. Confirming accreditation status As of 1st February 2022, it has been expected that all digital materials relat...

The development team received a significant number of enquiries from a range of stakeholders in 2021/2022, notably regarding personnel certification, stemming from government initiatives such as Net Zero.  UKAS accredited the first Certification Body delivering an ICO-approved GDPR scheme, alongside work on new projects in Data Assurance Identity and Internet of Things. New accreditations were also granted in the food/farming and environmental sectors, such as Protected Food Names, FAMI-QM...

In order to meet increased demand following the introduction of the statutory code, all forensic work previously managed by the Corporate Customer Team (CCT) at UKAS, has been taken into the Forensic section with immediate effect. This handover has been supported by a re-deployment of key staff from CCT to Forensics. Consolidate forensic operations within a single team This will consolidate the majority of forensic operations within a single team to allow them to focus on the expansion requir...

Following on from the November announcement made by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that it was introducing legislation to continue recognition of the CE marking and reversed epsilon marking until 31 December 2024 for most goods being placed on the GB market, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has now confirmed that it shall be following suit with respect to construction products. DLUHC has now stated its intention to en...

A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) team is working to enable the use of trusted digital identity products across the UK economy. This means ensuring there are secure digital ways to prove that people are who they say they are, or are entitled to do particular things, without repeatedly having to present a mish-mash of documents and bills. Right from the start, they have been asking people what they want from these products. They heard time and time again that people want...

The NHS Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Mid-Point Event, celebrated last week on November 17, offered a unique platform for KTP Associates, Program Partners, and Senior Health Authorities to meet in person and learn about the development of the KTP projects over the past nine months. UKAS was represented at this event by Accreditation Director, Lorraine Turner; Accreditation Specialist, Alyson Bryant; Head of Development, Dave Compton; and Senior Assessment Manager, Martin Stearn. NHS KTP...

In early 2021, UKAS saw the culmination of an important project in which they re-launched their Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values, as well as updating their strategic priorities to align with the updated strategy. Once launched, the challenge of the past year has been to live up to these values and statements, while delivering their strategic priorities. UKAS’ values contained within their ‘PRIDE’ acronym UKAS’ values are neatly contained within their ‘PRIDE&rs...

In his article for UKAS’s 2021/2022 Annual Report, Marcus Long, Chief Executive of the Independent International Organisation for Certification (IIOC), shares his perspective on the role of conformity assessment in emerging technologies. The fourth industrial revolution is opening a wealth of technologies that will benefit both the assurance industry and, more importantly, users of conformity assessment services. Accredited conformity assessment Organizations of all shapes and sizes re...

In the article for UKAS’s 2021/2022 Annual Report, Emanuele Riva, Chair of the International Accreditation Forum, shares his perspective on the importance of collaboration and IAF and ILAC’s decision to come together as a joint entity. To paraphrase the philosopher Plato: "Each problem has three solutions: my solution, your solution and the right one."  For centuries this has been the basis of collaboratively increasing collective knowledge, where democratic and peaceful debate...

Running from 7th to 11th November 2022, World Quality Week offers the chance to celebrate and highlight the vital role that quality plays in all aspects of people's daily lives. The theme for the event is ‘Quality Conscience’; something which either gaining accreditation or using accredited services both indicates and helps to develop. Accreditation Working in tandem with standards and measurement, UKAS accreditation is one of the pillars that the UK’s national quality infra...

UKAS is delighted to announce the appointment of Caroline Hamilton, Chief Executive of SAFed, as the new Chair of their Policy Advisory Forum and Policy Advisory Council. Caroline’s extensive experience as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer in the nuclear and manufacturing industries, coupled with her leadership of SAFed, ideally qualify her for this position. As the trade association for the UK independent engineering inspection and certification industry, SAFed plays a key role in maintain...

UKAS is proud to have published its Annual Report for the financial year 2021/2022. Building on last year’s new format, the Annual Report contains a range of articles that reflect on UKAS’s activities and demonstrate the value accreditation brings to many areas of society. All articles share a common theme of technical rigor, individually examining aspects of how it is embodied, applied and delivered by accreditation. UKAS Annual Report 2022 The report contains articles from the U...

In June 2022, UKAS launched its online database of accredited management system certifications. UKAS CertCheck is a free-to-use and publicly accessible tool, allowing users to quickly search and verify the validity of claims of UKAS-accredited certification. Commonly searched standards include: ISO 9001 (Quality Management) ISO 14000 (Environmental Management) ISO 45001 (Health and Safety Management) CertCheck project Over 15 other global ideals and tasks can also be secured on UKAS Ce...

The UKAS Training Academy launched its eLearning offering at the end of June 2022 with a starting portfolio of eight courses. These courses cover a number of key topics across several technical sectors, including medical laboratories, metrology, product certification (UKCA), and Quality Management Systems (QMS). Since the launch, the Academy has supplemented this portfolio with five additional courses, including micromodules focusing on the specific topics that customers have fed back as requir...

The Built Environment Quality Management Systems standard was published in July 2022. UKAS has recently been asked if it is able to offer accreditation for this new management system standard. Accreditation would be to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 (Conformity assessment–Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems). It is understood that the responsible BS Committee is developing guidance for the standard, with an anticipated timescale of 12 months. Certificati...

It is with great sadness that everyone received the news of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. UKAS now reflects with the deepest admiration and gratitude on her 70 years of unprecedented service, in which the Queen has remained a constant and unwavering figure of stability and public service in times when so many other things have changed. UKAS offers its sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this time of national and personal grief. Over the coming days and weeks, UKAS wi...

Amthal has worked in partnership with Abels Moving Services Ltd to deliver an all-encompassing takeover and upgrade of the fire safety and security solution at its central site. Based in London, Abels Moving Services is one of the UK’s pioneer specialist international moving companies.  Recognized for its high commitment to quality, since 1988 and renewed in 2016, it has held a royal warrant to Her Majesty the Queen for removals and storage services. With specialist teams also renow...

UKAS with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would like to invite laboratories to express an interest in joining a pilot program to become accredited by UKAS to perform non-targeted food /feed authenticity testing against the conformity assessment requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and UKAS document Lab 13 for expressing opinions and interpretations. This program presents an excellent opportunity for laboratories to demonstrate the...

On Monday 19th September, the UKAS offices will be closed for all but essential business cover, to allow them all to pay their respects and commemorate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her state funeral. Information regarding UKAS This notice outlines important information regarding the arrangements UKAS will be making: Office Closure: Their office will be closed for normal business, but will remain open for essential business cover. On-site/remote activities: UKAS will aim to...

The Institute of Biomedical Science has published an article that provides further detail about the updated ISO 15189 standard ahead of its publication. new standards The article, which featured contributions from UKAS’s John Ringrow (Senior Assessment Manager) and Alyson Bryant (Healthcare Accreditation Specialist), provides a great deal of information relating to the reason for the review, the process, as well as what can be expected in the near future. When the new standard is publis...