UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited

Accreditation Process

What is an Accreditation
Webster defines accreditation as "to give trust or confidence to: to vouch for; to recommend; to furnish with credentials, as an envoy or ambassador"

According to ISO17011:2004 Accreditation means: Third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific assessment tasks.

UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited accreditation of the Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and Further Training / Educational Institutions convey formal demonstration to carry out specific certification, inspection, registration verification/validation, assessment, testing, and calibration and Training/Educational activities. This independent assessment and recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and Further Training / Educational Institutions may permit the accredited organizations tests, examination reports and certificates to be recognized as equivalent to organizations in other countries.

Who can be accredited?

UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited provides accreditations to conformity assessment bodies (CAB). These bodies consist of laboratories, certification and inspection bodies, providers of proficiency tests and reference material producers.

A CAB may be accredited by UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited if it meets the requirements of the corresponding international standards.

Laboratories: Testing and Calibration Laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025)
Medical Laboratories: ISO 15189
Inspection Bodies: ISO/IEC 17020
Certification Bodies for Person: ISO/IEC 17024
                                      for Management Systems: ISO/IEC 17021
                                      for Products: ISO/IEC 17065 (or EN 45011)
Validation and Verification Bodies: ISO 14065
Providers of Proficiency Tests: ISO/IEC 17043
Producers of Reference Materials: ISO Guide 34

Process 1 – Applying for Accreditation

UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited is the national body with responsibility for accreditation in accordance with the relevant International Organization for Standardization ISO 9000 series of standards and guides.

Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.

The Benefits of Accreditation
Confidence in the market place and in our public services is essential. Trust is placed in the products and services on offer often without a second thought by the customer, such are the regulations and standards against which products are manufactured and services provided.

For Government
There are many duties placed on government departments, local authorities and other agencies to confirm that trust is maintained. Whether it is health, water quality, food, consumer goods or transport safety, for example, the public sector delivers the framework for the assurance that goods and services are safe and the environment we live in is clean and protected.

Accreditation by UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited can also limit the need for government to regulate industry and the professions. It provides an alternative means of ensuring the reliability of activities that have the potential to impact on public confidence or the national reputation. UK Akkreditation and Certification Board Limited, where requested, assesses organizations and recommends to government their appointment as Notified Bodies as required by EU Directives and Regulations.

For Business
Companies big and small buy independent evaluations either through choice (to reduce the risk of product failure for example) or as a consequence of legal requirements (such as health and safety regulations). Most commonly these evaluations are calibration of equipment, product testing, and inspection of equipment and certification of quality management systems.