My Reading on ASQ CQA HB Part I-IA~IE-s

Part IA3
UKAS The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national
accreditation body recognised by the British government to assess the competence of organisations that
provide (1) certification, (2) testing, (3) inspection and (4) calibration services. It evaluates these conformity
assessment bodies and then accredits them where they are found to meet the internationally specified standard.
An organisation accredited by UKAS can demonstrate competence, impartiality and reliability in its ability to
deliver results. Accreditation ensures that everyone from specifiers, purchasers, and suppliers (?) to consumers
can have confidence in the quality of goods and in the provision of services throughout the supply chain. It was
set up in 1995 under a memorandum of understanding with the British government (between UKAS and the
Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills). It resulted from the merger in 1995 of NAMAS (National
Measurement Accreditation Service) and NACCB (National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies).
NAMAS was itself the result of a merger in 1985 of NATLAS (National Testing Laboratory Accreditation Scheme)
formed in 1981 and BCS (British Calibration Service) formed in 1966.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang