About UKAS

What's so special about a UKAS laboratory report or certificate ?

It's your assurance that the work has been carried out to the highest standards.
The laboratory issuing the certificate has been stringently assessed by independent experts.
You are assured that the agreed or specified methods and procedures have been followed.
Measurements are traceable to national and international standards. UKAS stands for the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Who can issue a UKAS report or certificate ?

Only a Laboratory that has been accredited by UKAS. The UKAS Concise Directory lists these laboratories and the services for which they are accredited.

Can a UKAS laboratory issue reports or certificates for all its activities ?

Laboratories apply for accreditation for specific tests or calibrations. They are assessed for that work. If the laboratory meets UKAS requirements, it will be accredited for those areas assessed. It can then issue UKAS reports or certificates for work done for clients in those areas.

What does UKAS assess ?

All technical aspects of the laboratory's practices. UKAS specifies criteria that laboratories must meet. These criteria deal with more than just the quality system and cover:

Organisation
Quality system
Quality audits and reviews
Staff
Equipment
Measurement traceability
Methods and procedures
Environment
Handling of samples
Records
Complaints
Sub-contracting and purchasing

How is this different from BS 5750/ ISO 9000 ?

Laboratories meeting UKAS requirements for calibration and testing activities comply with the relevant requirements of BS 5750 / ISO 9000 series of standards, including the model described in ISO 9002 when they are acting as suppliers producing calibration and test results.

Laboratories that are associated with manufacturing operations and offer a calibration or testing service need to be UKAS accredited to provide an acceptable level of confidence, even if the manufacturing operation holds BS 5750 / ISO 9000 approval.

Who does the assessing ?

UKAS appoints as many independent assessors as necessary for each laboratory. These assessors are expert in the work being assessed. The assessment team will usually include a member of the UKAS Executive in an advisory capacity.

Once a laboratory has been assessed is that it ?

Certainly not. It's just the beginning. UKAS conducts a surveillance visit six months after accreditation and annually thereafter. Four years after accreditation, UKAS undertakes a full reassessment. UKAS can make unannounced visits.

What if a laboratory no longer meets UKAS standards ?

Its accreditation is suspended. UKAS will reinstate accreditation only after it has been satisfied that the laboratory again meets UKAS standards.

Who sets UKAS standards ?

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)- and its Electrotechnical equivalent CENELEC - publish standards on the operation and accreditation of laboratories. These documents (EN45001 and EN45002) equate to ISO Guides 25 and 54 and are published in the UK as identically worded British Standards to the BS 7500 series. UKAS Standards are published in two documents (M10 and M11), which are available free of charge from UKAS. These documents define the criteria to be met by UKAS-accredited laboratories and encompass all the requirements of the EN and ISO documents.

OK, I"m convinced that UKAS reports and certificates are good. But do I really need one ?

Yes, for a variety of reasons:

Commercial: Many buyers specify UKAS reports or certificates for tests on products and materials, so they can be sure that they are getting what they pay for.
Technical: Manufacturers need to be sure that components will meet specification, which will save them production costs.
Legal: The European Community increasingly requires that products sold in the EC, including the UK, must comply with EC requirements regarding independent assessment of products or systems. Such assessment will be carried out by bodies approved for this purpose by Member States according to agreed criteria. In the UK, where testing is involved, UKAS accreditation will usually be taken as evidence that a laboratory meets these criteria.

Who accepts UKAS reports and certificates ?

Most people in the UK, including the major independent certification and assessment schemes. UKAS reports and certificates are widely accepted throughout the world. In particular there are Memoranda of Understanding recognising the equivalence of accreditation in the following countries:

Testing: Australia, France, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, New Zealand.
Calibration: Australia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand] Sweden, Switzerland.

The above text was taken from the UKAS leaflet "What's so special about a NAMAS laboratory report or certificate ? "

This site was originally set up with the aid of sponsorship from the Value for Money Unit, Welsh Office and an educational grant from Sophos Convatec.

URL: http://www.smtl.co.uk/MDRC/NAMAS/about-namas.html
Last Modified: Monday, 22-Mar-2004 11:38:21 GMT