The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the only national accreditation service in the United Kingdom (UK). Getting UKAS accreditation is highly valuable for people doing business anywhere in the UK. This type of accreditation is also beneficial for government organizations, as it ensures that quality is maintained throughout government products and services. The path to securing UKAS accreditation takes a considerable amount of time and resources for an organization. Nonetheless, it is worth it to secure one of the most rigorous types of accreditation available in the UK.
UKAS accreditation offers manufacturers and government entities alike the power to assure customers of top-notch services and products. Many governmental and professional bodies make up UKAS representing industries such as retail, environmental affairs, medicine, and measurement and testing. These bodies rely on the high standards set by the UKAS to maintain their reputation for clients and customers.
This organization is run by a board of directors consisting of high-profile executives from UK companies. An executive from the UKAS staff leads the board and manages the daily operations of the accreditation service. The Policy Advisory Committee and a host of Technical Committees handle internal matters. Technical Committees meet as needed, and the Policy Advisory Committee has a more established meeting schedule.
There are many benefits of UKAS accreditation. Accreditation allows businesses of any size to reduce the risks associated with selling a product or a service. Having an external body perform regular evaluations minimizes the chance that a company will sell a defective product or provide shoddy service to a client. In turn, such evaluation by UKAS provides the company with due diligence in case a legal charge is brought against it by a dissatisfied customer.
Accreditation also keeps governmental bodies accountable for their actions and mindful of their responsibility to the constituent base. Government organizations must take extra care to ensure that all services have been properly calibrated and measured for the safety and protection of the people. An independent assessment organization like the UKAS makes it much easier for these organizations to achieve the appropriate level of service.
In order to secure UKAS accreditation, a team will be deployed to the company or organization in question for a pre-evaluation assessment which lasts one to four days. During this visit the team gathers information about the company and makes an estimate as to the number and scope of resources needed to carry out the accreditation assessment. If the report is favorable, more visits will follow until the company has met all goals set by the UKAS accreditation team.