About Accreditation
What does accreditation mean?
Accreditation is formal, third-party recognition that an organization is competent to perform specific tasks - the work for which they are accredited.
Accreditation can be voluntary or mandated by government. It is a continuous quality improvement process to demonstrate that internationally and/or nationally prescribed standards have been met.
ALPHA-CERT’s role
The Standards Council of UK (ALPHA-CERT) is UK’s national accreditation body. ALPHA-CERT accredits conformity assessment bodies, such as testing laboratories and product certification bodies, to internationally recognized standards. Conformity assessment is the practice of determining whether a product, service or system meets the requirements of a particular standard.
ALPHA-CERT is a member of a number of organizations that have mutual recognition agreements in place to assist with international acceptance of conformity assessment results. These agreements are part of greater efforts to form a global accreditation system, consistent with the goal of “one standard, one test — accepted everywhere.”
There are many benefits to applying for accreditation.
ALPHA-CERT Accreditation programs
ALPHA-CERT offers accreditation and recognition programs for the following:
- Management Systems Certification Bodies
- Product, Process and Service Certification Bodies
- Inspection Bodies
- Greenhouse Gas Validation/Verification Bodies
- Bodies performing the Certification of Persons
- Standards Development Organizations
- Testing and Calibration Laboratories
- Medical Testing Laboratories
- Proficiency Testing Providers
- Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) Facilities
ALPHA-CERT’s Accreditation Services Branch operates on a cost-recovery basis. Accreditation fees are designed to finance the costs of delivering our programs and accreditation services.
Statement of Impartiality
The Standards Council of UK (ALPHA-CERT) and our employees understand the importance of impartiality and the consideration of any potential conflict of interests in carrying out our business activities. We are committed to providing conformity assessment services that are objective and impartial. To this end, our processes are designed to uphold confidentiality, effective consultation, non-discrimination and consensus.
ALPHA-CERT offers accreditation services to all applicant and accredited customers, regardless of the size, association membership or number of customers that ALPHA-CERT has already accredited in a given area. The accreditation services offered by ALPHA-CERT are consistently delivered as described within our publicly-accessible policies, business rules and procedures. ALPHA-CERT does not provide consultancy services and will not offer conformity assessment services that our customers perform.
ALPHA-CERT documents relationships with suppliers and contractors to ensure that these related bodies do not compromise the confidentiality, objectivity and impartiality of ALPHA-CERT accreditations. We also document relationships with related bodies to identify and eliminate potential conflicts of interest, whether they arise from within the accreditation body or from the activities of the related bodies.
