UKAS United Kingdom

The preceding example demonstrates the importance of having well documented quality assurance procedures in place in the laboratory. Many laboratories choose to seek accreditation by way of a formal quality management system such as ISO/IEC 17025, which is available by application to UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). The processes involved and the choices available will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 9. 

UKAS Guidance on the Implementation and Management of Flexible Scopes of Accreditation within Laboratories , LAB39, United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), Feltham, UK, 2004. 

Accredited laboratories using the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) logo on their reports should make it clear to their customers whether the opinion and/or interpretation is part of their scope of accreditation. If the opinion or interpretation on a report is not within the scope, then there has to be a disclaimer, The opinions and interpretations indicated are outside the scope of UKAS accreditation . UKAS has published a guide to help interpret the ISO standard [3]. 

The AMFC Directive requires that food control laboratories should be accredited to the EN 45000 series of standards as supplemented by some of the OECD GLP principles. In the UK, government departments have nominated the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to carry out the accreditation of official food control laboratories for all the aspects prescribed in the Directive. However, as the accreditation agency will also be required to comply with the EN 45003 Standard and to carry out assessments in accordance with the EN 45002 Standard, all accreditation agencies that are members of the European Cooperation for Accreditation of Laboratories (EA) may be asked to carry out the accreditation of a food control laboratory within the UK. Similar procedures will be followed in the other Member States, all having or developing equivalent organisations to UKAS. Details of the UK requirements for food control laboratories are described later in this chapter. 

United Kingdom UK Accreditation Service UKAS http //www.ukas.com/... 

The most general laboratory accreditation standard is ISO 17025. This standard was published in December 1999 and is set to become the first truly international standard for laboratory accreditation. In this respect it replaces the UK s NAMAS MlO/Mll (National Accreditation of Measurement and Sampling) standard. In the UK the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) acts as the accrediting body for the NAMAS standard and will continue to do so for ISO 17025 when the NAMAS standard is superseded. 

Having collected or received samples from each location, each laboratory prepared and analysed the samples in accordance with their own routine analytical methods using their own quality assured procedures i.e. no attempt was made to enforce the use of completely consistent methods or the use of single procedures by both laboratories. All of the samples were analysed by gamma spectrometry. In addition, samples collected at Heysham and Cardiff were analysed for Tc and Total H, respectively. Both laboratories use methods that are acceditated by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the 18017025 2005 standard. 

To prepare the mixed alpha/beta sources, standardised single radionuclide solutions were combined and diluted as necessary. This was performed in accordance with established procedures that have been independently accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for the production of solution standards of radioactivity. The exact composition of the sources varied with each exercise, but in general consisted of a 1 - 2 M nitric acid solution containing 50 ppm Sr and 50 ppm Y as carriers for radioisotopes of these elements. 

Traceability. One of the requirements of laboratory accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is that all measurements necessary for the proper performance of a test should be traceable, where possible, to national standards of measurement. In practice this means that some laboratory equipment such as a balance, thermometer or pressure gauge, for example, must be regularly calibrated by an accredited specialist calibration company, if accurate weight, temperature or pressure measurements are necessary for the test. 

UKAS (1997), The Expression of Uncertainty and Confidence in Measurement, NAM AS publication M 3003, United Kingdom Accreditation Service, Feltham, UK. 

The laboratory should be accredited for the type of testing requested and be independently audited on a regular basis. Suitable quality control requirements are enforced by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and are required to comply with ISO 17025. 

Compliance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 2005 is essential if a laboratory is to become accredited for particular analytical procedures. External audit by a recognized national or international body is a prerequisite for this process. For example, in the United Kingdom, accreditation is awarded by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and in Canada by the Standards Council of Canada. The benefits of accreditation will be discussed in more detail below, but accreditation for a particular function by a recognized body means that the laboratory has been assessed against internationally recognized standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality, and performance capability. 

A national Accreditation Body, such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), accredits a certification body (e.g. Lloyds, BSI, etc.) who in turn certifies individual companies that make a voluntary application to them. This certification is based on successful audits by trained ISO 9000 auditors. The company maintains its ISO standards by means of internal auditors and by annual or biannual audits and regular follow-up audits from the certification body. 

Within the UK, the national primary standards are used to calibrate secondary standards and measuring equipment manufactured and used in industry. Thus calibration service is provided by NPL or through the approved laboratories of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). 

An independent body, having no other commercial interest in the organization it accredits, conducts third-party accreditation. In the United Kingdom, a testing (or calibration) laboratory would be accredited to ISO 17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). 

Accreditation for Chemical Laboratories (UKAS Publication ref LAB27). United Kingdom Accreditation Service, 2000. 

The result above rounded according to these rules would become 10.3 0.9, amore honest statement of what was achieved by the measurement. The recommendation by UKAS, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (1997), which is consistent with the broader advice in the NPL code, is to quote a 95 % confidence limit (coverage factor 1.96 - often rounded to 2) and to round to two significant figures. Thus, the result above would become 10.3 1.7. 

At the local level, we can achieve traceability by purchasing standards from laboratories that have been accredited for their preparation by the body responsible for the national standard. In the UK, the appropriate body is UKAS (The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, part of NPL) and in the USA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Each country has its own body which in turn participates in the international measurement system. (The overall scheme is shown in Figure 15.1.) By this means, traceability is maintained from local to international level. 

Each developed country has its own accreditation bodies and, in order to promote cross-border recognition of the individual national quality standards, there are mutual recognition agreements between the various bodies. In the UK, the appropriate body is UKAS, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. 

A national accreditation scheme - based on BS ISO 17020 - has been established for inspection bodies under the aegis of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). Inspection bodies operating within this scheme are required to establish and maintain a quality system within their scope of activities which is subject to ongoing assessment by UKAS. The scheme is supported by HSE and provides a good benchmark for the owners or users of plant to use if and when subcontracting inspections by a competent person to another company. 

Organisations that carry out this type of assessment work are known as certifying bodies and there are mechanisms in place whereby these bodies can be accredited as meeting appropriate standards, usually those in the EN 45000 series. The sole Government-approved accreditation body in the UK is the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which is a non-profit-distributing private company limited by guarantee. 

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