Certification, testing & accreditation

Certification and testing helps companies to demonstrate that they have met customers' requirements. STRD works to ensure that certification and testing in the UK is well managed, competent and market driven thereby contributing to the productivity and competitiveness of UK businesses.

Certification and testing requirements can differ from country to country; and, particularly when there are regulatory requirements, can create barriers to trade. STRD's work on the quality and conformity assessment infrastructure helps to reduce these barriers by providing mechanisms which allow for mutual recognition of certification and testing.

STRD works in three main areas to develop and promote national and international policy on certification and testing:
 

Through BSI, STRD makes input to the development of the ISO 9000 series of standards. ISO 9001 - the standard against which companies' quality management systems can be assessed was revised in 2000 and is available from BSI.

BS EN ISO 9001:2000 was published on 15 December 2000 and superseded three standards published in 1994 - BS EN ISO 9001:1994, BS EN ISO 9002:1994 and BS EN ISO 9003:1994. The transition period for changing over to the new version concludes on 14 December 2003 and from that date, certification will only be possible to BS EN ISO 9001:2000. Users should contact their certification body without delay, if they haven’t done so already, for advice on evaluation according to the new standard and how it can be incorporated into their existing surveillance visits.

A workbook, 'Quality Systems in the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME): A guide to the adoption of the ISO 9001:2000 standard' has been developed by the Association of British Certification Bodies (ABCB), the Institute of Quality Assurance (IQA) and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to introduce businesses, especially SME's, to the revised standard.

ISO 9001:2000 will provide a presumption of conformity to the requirements of Modules D, E and H in New Approach Directives and some explanation of how this relates to the transition period has been included in this link.

Further information on ISO 9001:2000 can be found on the ISO Website.

STRD also makes input to the development of the EN 45000 series for the assessment and accreditation of laboratories and certification and inspection bodies and to support the assessment of notified bodies under New Approach directives. Standards in this series are being progressively updated internationally and the revised versions will be renumbered in the EN ISO/IEC 17000 series.

To ensure that UK laboratories working in the regulated and voluntary sectors remain in step, the DTI has issued some Guidance on the replacement of BS EN 45001:1989 by BS EN ISO/IEC 17025:2000 for the purposes of assessment of notified bodies.
 

Through the European Commission, STRD contributes to the development of European policy on the use of conformity assessment and accreditation to promote the removal of barriers to trade in the single European market and worldwide.

On 7 May 2003 the European Commission issued a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on Enhancing the Implementation of the New Approach Directives which addresses issues including the operation of Notified Bodies and Conformity Assessment procedures. Click here for more details.
 

STRD also sponsors UKAS (the United Kingdom Accreditation Service). Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DTI, as amended (Feb 2002), UKAS is recognised as the sole body for the accreditation of certification, testing and inspection bodies to the EN45000 standards. Those bodies in turn certify, test and inspect companies' systems and products. UKAS also accredits laboratories involved in the calibration of measuring equipment. UKAS is licensed by DTI to use and confer the national accreditation marks which symbolise Government recognition of conformity assessment services. Information on UKAS and accredited organisations is available from the UKAS website. UKAS accredited certification bodies and companies registered by UKAS accredited certification bodies are listed in the United Kingdom Register of Quality Assessed Companies published by the Stationery Office.

UKAS accreditation provides an assurance of the competence, impartiality and integrity of conformity assessment bodies. UKAS accredited certification, testing, calibration and inspection reduces the need for suppliers to be assessed by each of their customers. UKAS' involvement in international groups provides for mutual recognition, further reducing the need for multiple assessment of suppliers and consequently helping to reduce trade barriers. DTI therefore recommends the use of UKAS accredited conformity assessment services wherever this is an option.

UKAS also assesses potential Notified Bodies on behalf of STRD and other Government Departments according to principles established by STRD. (Notified Bodies are conformity assessment bodies appointed under specific single market directives and "notified" to the European Commission and other Member States).
 

STRD, Department of Trade and Industry, Bay 334, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS.

Fax 020 7215 1529.

Accreditation - Lois Hicks
Telephone 020 7215 2828

Conformity Assessment - Peter Rutter
Telephone 020 7215 1444