In 1985 BCS merged with NATLAS, the National Testing Laboratories to form NAMAS, the National Measurement Accreditation Service. A decade later, NAMAS merged with the NACCB (National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies) and now yields to the internationally recognised title of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
UKAS is a company limited by guarantee and recognised by the British Government as the sole UK body for the assessment and accreditation of competence for organisations performing calibration, testing and sampling. Laboratories accredited by UKAS are regularly assessed and audited to ensure they comply with stringent UKAS criteria in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025.
The Taylor Hobson UKAS laboratory gained accreditation to ISO 17025 in February 2002, and testing laboratory accreditation in January 2004. September 2007 saw the laboratories re-established into newly designed ISO-graded cleanroom facilities.
Jon Leeman, head of the laboratory, says: ‘’Although I wasn’t there for the initial accreditation, looking back it’s a fantastic achievement for the laboratory, it’s personnel and my predecessors Clive Eager and Pat Kilbane.”
