UKASCB Limited accreditation activities UKASCB 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 UKASCB Limited if it meets the requirements of the corresponding international standards.

Accreditation activities of UKASCB Limited: Laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025) Medical Laboratories (ISO 15189) Inspection Bodies (ISO/IEC 17020) Certification Bodies for Person (ISO/IEC 17024) Certification Bodies for Management Systems (ISO/IEC 17021) Certification Bodies 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) Accredited once, accepted everywhere

The international harmonisation of these standards warrants that the accreditations are carried out on a global basis according to the same criteria. As a result of these harmonised standards, and thanks to international agreements, the assessment services of bodies accredited in Germany are accepted in many European and non-European countries.

This ability to overcome technical barriers to trade facilitates cross-border trade and warrants the acceptance of conformity assessments results at an international level without requiring further inspections.

How to become Accredited

UK Akkreditering Forum Limited accepts applications for accreditation from “Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and Further Education & Training Institutions (FETI)” (referred as an “Applicant”) around the world.

The application process for the UK Akkreditering Forum Limited accreditation is as follows:

• Applicant to download Accreditation Scheme Manual and the Application Pack
• Applicant reads and understands UK Akkreditering Forum Limited’s Accreditation Scheme Manual especially the Requirements for Granting and Maintaining Accreditation and the current fee structure
• Applicant makes sure that they comply with the relevant requirements of ISO/ IEC 17021:2006 and other accreditation requirements such as “Responsible Education Provider”™ as specified by UK Akkreditering Forum Limited in their Accreditation Scheme Manual and that they have essential resources to undertake activities throughout the scope requested and will pay all fees to UK Akkreditering Forum Limited, whether or not accreditation is granted.
• Applicant CAB completes and returns their application, including relevant documentation demanded within the application form, along with payment to Accreditation Commission For Conformity Assessment Bodies Private Limited
• Upon receipt of the Application Forms and Requisite Fees, UK Akkreditering Forum Limited reviews the application documents against the relevant accreditation criteria and provides a report to the applicant. The next stage of assessment will not progress until the documented systems meet necessities.
• Applicant CAB makes all necessary arrangements for conducting the office and witness assessment including access to all areas, records and personnel.
• UK Akkreditering Forum Limited selects an assessment team who undertake an on-site assessment at the applicant’s offices and other locations as appropriate. At the completion of the assessments the assessment team writes a report of their findings along with recommendations to the Accreditation Approval Committee (AAC).
• The AAC reviews the report and makes a decision regarding accreditation.
• If accreditation is approved a Certificate of Accreditation is allotted to the applicant on signing the Accreditation Agreement.
• If accreditation is not approved, the applicant is advised of the reasons for the decision. A further application may be considered at a later date.
• Once an applicant is accredited consistent visits are made to assess the Accredited Organization’s ongoing compliance with the accreditation criteria.
• A complete reassessment takes place each three years.

How to become accredited?

A typical process is as follows:

• Initial inquiry
• Preliminary response
• Submission of application request together with an administration fee. Please note: Applicants are expected to comply with the requirements of applicable standards (e.g. ISO 17021). Personnel competence will require demonstration.
• Application performance of accreditation routines dependent upon assessment and certifying standards.
• Send manual, procedures, require formats or applicable documents in hard or softcopy.
• We shall review and comment. If necessary we will require you to amend and respond before the next step.
• Demonstrate impartiality of your organization in respect of independence from ‘related bodies’ and that it is a legal entity.
• For the first six assessments you must advise UASL beforehand that you intend to carry out an assessment.
• You send us photocopies/e-mails of all the documents related to those assessment and certification assignments demonstrating compliance with the documents that we had earlier reviewed.
• We shall issue a draft accreditation certificate. Your accreditation reference will be defined at this time. This will be subject to a satisfactory site witness of your activity.
• UASL witnesses your next assessment and certification activity.
• You conduct a further four assessments and send us copies of the paperwork.
• We witness the next convenient assessment.

During the course of the preceding actions we would have expected to conduct several faces to face meetings and visits to your operating premises.