UK Accreditation Service

Did You Know that Certification Bodies also Need Accreditation?

Due to increased risks, but also safety and health hazards, it does not come as a surprise that construction and insulation products, systems and installation processes are subject to more rigorous control. This results in not only proper certification which is obligatory for various types of materials and products, but also in the fact that certification can be performed only by accredited certification bodies, that are authorized by the competent authorities. One such authority is the UK Accreditation Service, which makes sure that you can rely that the given certification is in accordance with applicable regulations and that the certification body is accredited for providing testing, certification and inspection services.

UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) is an independent organization, appointed as the sole national accreditation body, operating under the Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government, licensed by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovations and Skills. Although a profit company, it distributes all realized profits into new areas of assessment instead of distributing it to its members, which only enables further development of its activities. Its main objective is to make sure that the evaluation companies providing testing, certification and inspection services possess the necessary level of competence and capabilities against international standards shown through approved national accreditation symbols. This further on leads to greater uniformity since it reduces the need for individual assessments of each supplier or manufacturer, while also upgrading international trade through membership in various international organizations.

Accreditation is actually a recognition process that allows you to be sure that the certifying or testing company or organization you have chosen is able to perform the requested services in accordance with both national and international standards in a specific line of work. For example, it is not uncommon for applicable regulations to set some requirements that specific insulation products must fulfil, why they must undergo a series of tests, analyses and surveillance. This means that the manufacturer or the supplier of a specific product must engage a certification body to undertake necessary testing and issue a certificate which will include all the relevant information (such as safety or health risks, durability, reaction in extreme conditions etc). Well, the UK Accreditation Service makes sure that these evaluators are competent to provide such services. This is the case with the BBA (British Board of Agrément) which is an accredited certification, testing and inspection body.

UKAS services include assessments and accreditation of laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies, Proficiency Testing Scheme Providers, etc. In order of determining whether you have engaged an accredited body, you can easily browse their website in reference to the line of work you are interested in. For example, if you try to determine whether some certification body has the necessary approval and accreditation in regard to the construction and insulation industry, you will find out that Energy Saving Trust has the necessary accreditation for installation, process management and service provisions in regard to cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, internal and external wall insulation, roof insulation, draught-proofing etc. The same goes for BBA which is accredited for work in progress and post installation inspections in regard to doors and windows installation, cavity wall and loft insulation etc.

The available scope of services also includes:

• training courses and seminars for laboratory, certification and inspection staff;
• development services, which include not only developing new assessment methods but also constantly revising the existing ones in order of being up-to-date with new technologies or existing ones being upgraded.

Finally, another valuable fact is that UK Accreditation Service is also competent for assigning accreditation to Green Deal Advisors and Installers. Namely, if you are familiar with the Green Deal developed by the British Government, then you are aware of the fact that only certified advisors and installers can participate in the scheme and undertake prescribed advisory and installation services (certified bodies include BBA, BSI, Energy Saving Trust etc).

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