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Why use an Accredited Certification Body
What is UKAS?
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations such as SGS that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.
Accreditation by UKAS means that bodies have been assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality and performance capability.
UKAS is a non-profit company, limited by guarantee, and operates under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government through the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) naming UKAS as the UK’s sole recognised accreditation body. “The MoU underpins UKAS’s unique position within the UK and demonstrates the international recognition that UKAS enjoys,” says Jon Murthy, head of communications, UKAS.
What are the benefits of choosing a UKAS accredited certification body?
In today’s large competitive business market, reassurance is needed to maintain trading confidence.
Independent evaluation of organisations that issue certificates as assurance of a company’s compliance with established standards and of business excellence is the principal source of this reassurance and such confidence is underpinned by UKAS accreditation.
By using a UKAS accredited certification body your customers will be reassured and confident about your services. It will send out a strong message to your customers that you are serious about the markets you operate in and will not compromise your company’s integrity.
In short, using a UKAS accredited certification body provides advantages, such as:
- Minimising risk
- Saving money
- Enhancing reputation
- Opening up opportunities
- Being internationally recognised
- Decreasing potential product failure
- Increasing market access
- Helping gain larger contracts/tenders
- Increasing your organisation’s reputation
Companies that do not use a UKAS accredited certification body may find themselves less successful at winning larger contracts. Certificates issued by non-accredited bodies may well not be recognised by existing and prospective clients, resulting in a company being more susceptible to losing market share. In short, without UKAS accreditation, the competence of a supplier’s certification body is not known.
SGS United Kingdom Ltd is a UKAS Accredited Certification Body Number 005 and provides UKAS accredited certification in a number of key areas, including:
- Quality
- Environment
- Customer Service
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Integrated Management Systems (IMS)
- Highway Agency
- Food
- Information Security
- Aerospace
- Product Conformity
“Accreditation deals with impartiality, competence of auditors and independence. At SGS, we are subject to regular auditing and surveillance by UKAS – they come to our offices to interview management and staff, review client files and also witness our auditors performing audits at clients’ sites. Customers know that they are getting a certification recognised in this country but known globally. They can be confident that we have well-qualified, well-trained auditors familiar with the standard and legislation,” Graham Walford, EMS Product Manager, SGS.
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