The Standard on which SGL’s UKAS Testing accreditation is based ISO17025, was revised and re-issued in 2017. While most of the stipulations are similar, the structure of the standard has been completely revised and new requirements have been added, particularly regarding management of risks, impartiality and confidentiality.
All UKAS accredited laboratories must transition to the new standard by 30 November 2020.
SGL decided to make the transition at the first opportunity in August 2018. We re-wrote our quality manual in line with the new standard and implemented the new requirements. The UKAS Transition Template (available on the UKAS website) was very useful in identifying the areas UKAS consider to be most significant.
At our recent (August) UKAS visit, SGL was assessed against the new standard and no findings were raised. The transition has proceeded very smoothly and SGL were reported by UKAS to be only the second laboratory in our sector to attempt the change.
After the normal review by the UKAS decision making team, our transition has been granted (on 19/9/18), and our UKAS certificate and schedule of accreditation have been updated. These are available to view on the SGL website.
