Overview: ABCB is the leading Trade Association for Accredited Certification Bodies operating in the United Kingdom. A part-time post of ABCB Chief Executive will be falling vacant at the end of June 2024 and a replacement is being sought. This varied and diverse role presents an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to play a […]
Award wining ABCB is proud to celebrate its 40th year. Founded in 1984 in response to a UK Government request that CBs should work together to provide a collective input to the then newly established National Accreditation Council for CBs (NACCB). ABCB continues to be recognised by Government, UKAS, and a wide range of organisations […]
ABCB Chief Executive Wayne Terry was delighted to announce another added value member benefit. ABCB has partnered with Croner who will provide a free Business Support Helpline. This is a fantastic service for those who don’t have their own staff in house, but also a great way to get a second opinion for those who […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-Partnership-with-Croner-Logo.jpg16822312Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2023-04-14 11:24:072023-04-14 11:24:29ABCB Announce Partnership with Croner to Offer Free Business Support to Members
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is pleased to announce the launch of a publication titled “Remote conformity assessment in a digital world: Opportunities, challenges and implications for developing countries”. The publication provides a high-level overview of how remote assessment/audit techniques have developed in recent years and applied in different conformity assessment contexts. It […]
ABCB are delighted to announce that they are proud winners of the Association Awards 2021 for ‘Business Member Association of the Year’. Wayne Terry, Chief Executive of ABCB said “we are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award, and we thank the Association of Executives and the judging panel for bestowing the award on […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Associate-Awards-UK-small-1.png800800Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2022-01-04 15:39:272022-01-11 09:01:29ABCB Receive Association of the Year Award
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ABCB-News-01.png12512084Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2021-07-23 10:00:012021-08-05 15:03:49ABCB calls for an exemption for Certification Body Staff
The big question facing the world of accreditation is what will the new normal look like when travel restrictions are lifted following the current COVID-19 pandemic. Undoubtedly, during the pandemic the industry responded quickly and moved to remote auditing to ensure business and supply chains could continue. But what will happen once travel restrictions have […]
ABCB and HRP (Hinton Recruitment Partners) are delighted to announce their strategic alliance bringing preferential recruitment services to members of ABCB. HRP offer a personal and transparent recruitment service, building long term partnerships and working as a resource partner to their clients. HRP’s staff have extensive experience working within Certification and Testing sector and have […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hinton-Recruitment-Partners-Logo-reduced.png7001200Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2021-01-12 14:11:262021-01-12 14:28:43Preferential Recruitment Services for ABCB Members
During the COVID-19 Pandemic we saw a dramatic change in the way audits were delivered in order to maintain accreditation and certification and to keep supply chains operational, necessity required the significant adoption of remote auditing in many countries around the world. There is no doubt that speed with which the industry adapted was in […]
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABCB developed a remote auditing guide for its members that continues to serve them well, but what will be the norm post lockdown? The UK conformity infrastructure is conscious that post lockdown the value and integrity of accreditation remains intact, so we need to start preparing for what […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ABCB-News-01.png12512084Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-06-19 12:12:272020-06-19 12:12:30ABCB Lead the Way on Remote Auditing
June 9th 2020 marks World Accreditation Day (#WAD2020), a global initiative established by ILAC and IAF to promote the value of accreditation. This year’s theme focuses on how accreditation supports food safety, bolstering the confidence of consumers, suppliers, purchasers and specifiers in the quality and safety of food. A joint statement released by the IAF and ILAC […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/WAD-Poster-1-e1585889309734.jpg850601Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-06-08 12:05:412020-06-08 12:05:44ABCB Celebrates World Accreditation Day 2020
Rules are rules and the accreditation world has more than most, and rightly so. COVID-19 has already seen total shut down in some parts of the world so it’s vital that elsewhere the wheels of industry continue to turn. Accredited certification plays a big part in this and Accreditation Bodies must lead to ensure national […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ABCB-News-01.png12512084Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-03-15 13:22:142020-03-15 13:22:15ABCB Calls on Accreditors to Act Now
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) has officially launched the world’s exclusive global database for accredited management system certifications, providing businesses and governments the ability to digitally validate an organization’s certification(s) to determine if a certificate is valid and if the Certification Body issuing the certificate is accredited to issue certifications to that standard. IAF CertSearch, the […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IAF-logo.png177284Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-02-18 17:17:392020-02-18 17:17:41IAF CertSearch – A Single Source of Truth
UKAS BREXIT Statement: 24 January 2020 The UK will have left the EU on 31 January 2020 after which the UK will be in a transition period until 31 December 2020. During the transition period nothing will change; there will be no impact on the awarding of UKAS accreditation certificates. The UK Government has confirmed […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/brexit.jpg334500Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-02-18 12:36:242020-02-18 12:38:47Latest BREXIT Position from UKAS
Industry Position Statement: Over 2.4 million organisations across the globe benefit from certification against management systems standards agreed and published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The most widely adopted of these is ISO 9001, the management systems requirements standard for quality, the latest version of which was published in 2015. Using management systems […]
ABCB are delighted to confirm that the British Assessment Bureau, one of the UK’s most progressive certification bodies, has announced its decision to become a Gold Member of the Association. Kent-based British Assessment Bureau (BAB), which provides a range of ISO certification services, has been enjoying the benefits of being a member of the ABCB […]
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/BAB-for-website-V1.png565852Wayne Terryhttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngWayne Terry2020-01-29 17:50:432020-01-29 17:50:45ABCB Welcomes BAB as a Gold Member
2020 is underway and ABCB’s diary is already filling up representing members interests at the most important meetings for Accredited CBs. Dates confirmed so far include: UKAS Surgery (ABCB members only): February 27th IAF Mid Term Meeting (Beijing): March 30th – April 2nd EA General Assembly (Luxemburg): May 13th – 14th UKAS Policy Advisory Council: […]
In its 35 year history ABCB has traditionally focused on Management Systems, representing third party accredited CB’s that specialise in ISO/IEC 17021, such as ISO/IEC 9001. However, in today’s global marketplace, it is important that all aspects of accredited certification included the IAF Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) is reflected in the activities of ABCB membership.
The 9th June marked World Accreditation Day, an initiative jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to promote the value of accreditation, accredited conformity assessment and standards.
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/worldaccreditationday-1.jpg434434Lyndon Darkeshttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngLyndon Darkes2019-10-16 16:06:552019-10-17 11:33:24ABCB Celebrates World Accreditation Day
UKAS, the National Accreditation Body (NAB) of the United Kingdom, is a member of EA and a signatory to the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA). With the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, UKAS will no longer meet the EA membership criteria as they are not a NAB in a Member State or candidate country. EA has expressed the importance of having UKAS as member, even after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
ABCB Chairman and Managing Director of NQA, Matt Gantley, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of UKAS, taking over from Paul Stennett on 1 September 2018. ABCB would like to thank Paul Stennet for his support and assistance in significantly improving the relationship
Trevor Nash will be retiring as Chief Executive of ABCB at the end of 2018, after nine years. He will be replaced by Wayne Terry who will take over on 1 January 2019.
In the middle of 2011 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills issued a consultation document on transforming regulatory enforcement. ABCB responded to the consultation to promote the use of accredited certification to support regulatory enforcement.
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/uk-government.jpg334500Lyndon Darkeshttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngLyndon Darkes2019-10-16 16:02:172019-10-17 11:35:48THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION ON TRANSFORMING REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT
ABCB has been successful in prompting the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to state the UK Government’s support for UKAS accredited certification. BIS has published a statement on its website in which it encourages UK businesses, Government and local authorities seeking third party certification to do so with a certification body that is accredited by the UK’s national accreditation body, UKAS.
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/businessandskills.jpg434434Lyndon Darkeshttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngLyndon Darkes2019-10-16 16:01:142019-10-17 11:36:00THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS ISSUES GUIDANCE TO UK BUSINESSES ENCOURAGING THEM TO USE NATIONALLY ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION.
It came to the Association’s notice that there was a certification organisation using the name ISO in its company name. It was quite likely that some people reading this organisation’s web site and promotional literature could believe that it was part of ISO. This organisation was not accredited by a national accreditation body.
https://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ABCB-News-01.png12512084Lyndon Darkeshttps://www.abcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/abcb-logo.pngLyndon Darkes2019-10-16 15:59:572019-11-10 16:12:32CAMPAIGNING AGAINST MISREPRESENTATION AND MISLEADING CLAIMS
Recently it came to the Association’s notice that in Northern Ireland the Buildsafe-NI Action Plan had a requirement that all contractors seeking to tender for public sector works contracts shall have a health and safety management system certified by a third party.
The long awaited ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirments for Guidance and use was published in MArch 2018. A three year period has been agreed for OHSAS 18001 accredited certification bodies to upgrade their accreditation
ABCB – Seeking a New Chief Executive
Overview: ABCB is the leading Trade Association for Accredited Certification Bodies operating in the United Kingdom. A part-time post of ABCB Chief Executive will be falling vacant at the end of June 2024 and a replacement is being sought. This varied and diverse role presents an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to play a […]
ABCB Celebrating 40 Years
Award wining ABCB is proud to celebrate its 40th year. Founded in 1984 in response to a UK Government request that CBs should work together to provide a collective input to the then newly established National Accreditation Council for CBs (NACCB). ABCB continues to be recognised by Government, UKAS, and a wide range of organisations […]
ABCB Announce Partnership with Croner to Offer Free Business Support to Members
ABCB Chief Executive Wayne Terry was delighted to announce another added value member benefit. ABCB has partnered with Croner who will provide a free Business Support Helpline. This is a fantastic service for those who don’t have their own staff in house, but also a great way to get a second opinion for those who […]
UNIDO Publish Remote Conformity Assessment Paper
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is pleased to announce the launch of a publication titled “Remote conformity assessment in a digital world: Opportunities, challenges and implications for developing countries”. The publication provides a high-level overview of how remote assessment/audit techniques have developed in recent years and applied in different conformity assessment contexts. It […]
ABCB Receive Association of the Year Award
ABCB are delighted to announce that they are proud winners of the Association Awards 2021 for ‘Business Member Association of the Year’. Wayne Terry, Chief Executive of ABCB said “we are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award, and we thank the Association of Executives and the judging panel for bestowing the award on […]
ABCB calls for an exemption for Certification Body Staff
TPS 74 – A Triumph in Collaboration
The big question facing the world of accreditation is what will the new normal look like when travel restrictions are lifted following the current COVID-19 pandemic. Undoubtedly, during the pandemic the industry responded quickly and moved to remote auditing to ensure business and supply chains could continue. But what will happen once travel restrictions have […]
Preferential Recruitment Services for ABCB Members
ABCB and HRP (Hinton Recruitment Partners) are delighted to announce their strategic alliance bringing preferential recruitment services to members of ABCB. HRP offer a personal and transparent recruitment service, building long term partnerships and working as a resource partner to their clients. HRP’s staff have extensive experience working within Certification and Testing sector and have […]
Collaboration – the Future of Audits Post-COVID-19
During the COVID-19 Pandemic we saw a dramatic change in the way audits were delivered in order to maintain accreditation and certification and to keep supply chains operational, necessity required the significant adoption of remote auditing in many countries around the world. There is no doubt that speed with which the industry adapted was in […]
ABCB Lead the Way on Remote Auditing
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABCB developed a remote auditing guide for its members that continues to serve them well, but what will be the norm post lockdown? The UK conformity infrastructure is conscious that post lockdown the value and integrity of accreditation remains intact, so we need to start preparing for what […]
ABCB Celebrates World Accreditation Day 2020
June 9th 2020 marks World Accreditation Day (#WAD2020), a global initiative established by ILAC and IAF to promote the value of accreditation. This year’s theme focuses on how accreditation supports food safety, bolstering the confidence of consumers, suppliers, purchasers and specifiers in the quality and safety of food. A joint statement released by the IAF and ILAC […]
ABCB Calls on Accreditors to Act Now
Rules are rules and the accreditation world has more than most, and rightly so. COVID-19 has already seen total shut down in some parts of the world so it’s vital that elsewhere the wheels of industry continue to turn. Accredited certification plays a big part in this and Accreditation Bodies must lead to ensure national […]
IAF CertSearch – A Single Source of Truth
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) has officially launched the world’s exclusive global database for accredited management system certifications, providing businesses and governments the ability to digitally validate an organization’s certification(s) to determine if a certificate is valid and if the Certification Body issuing the certificate is accredited to issue certifications to that standard. IAF CertSearch, the […]
Latest BREXIT Position from UKAS
UKAS BREXIT Statement: 24 January 2020 The UK will have left the EU on 31 January 2020 after which the UK will be in a transition period until 31 December 2020. During the transition period nothing will change; there will be no impact on the awarding of UKAS accreditation certificates. The UK Government has confirmed […]
Accredited and Non-Accredited Certification
Industry Position Statement: Over 2.4 million organisations across the globe benefit from certification against management systems standards agreed and published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The most widely adopted of these is ISO 9001, the management systems requirements standard for quality, the latest version of which was published in 2015. Using management systems […]
ABCB Welcomes BAB as a Gold Member
ABCB are delighted to confirm that the British Assessment Bureau, one of the UK’s most progressive certification bodies, has announced its decision to become a Gold Member of the Association. Kent-based British Assessment Bureau (BAB), which provides a range of ISO certification services, has been enjoying the benefits of being a member of the ABCB […]
ABCB Welcomes 2020
2020 is underway and ABCB’s diary is already filling up representing members interests at the most important meetings for Accredited CBs. Dates confirmed so far include: UKAS Surgery (ABCB members only): February 27th IAF Mid Term Meeting (Beijing): March 30th – April 2nd EA General Assembly (Luxemburg): May 13th – 14th UKAS Policy Advisory Council: […]
ABCB OPENS ITS DOORS
In its 35 year history ABCB has traditionally focused on Management Systems, representing third party accredited CB’s that specialise in ISO/IEC 17021, such as ISO/IEC 9001. However, in today’s global marketplace, it is important that all aspects of accredited certification included the IAF Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) is reflected in the activities of ABCB membership.
ABCB Celebrates World Accreditation Day
The 9th June marked World Accreditation Day, an initiative jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to promote the value of accreditation, accredited conformity assessment and standards.
EA & THE IMPACT OF BREXIT STATEMENT
UKAS, the National Accreditation Body (NAB) of the United Kingdom, is a member of EA and a signatory to the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA). With the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, UKAS will no longer meet the EA membership criteria as they are not a NAB in a Member State or candidate country. EA has expressed the importance of having UKAS as member, even after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
NEW UKAS CHIEF EXECUTIVE
ABCB Chairman and Managing Director of NQA, Matt Gantley, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of UKAS, taking over from Paul Stennett on 1 September 2018. ABCB would like to thank Paul Stennet for his support and assistance in significantly improving the relationship
NEW ABCB CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Trevor Nash will be retiring as Chief Executive of ABCB at the end of 2018, after nine years. He will be replaced by Wayne Terry who will take over on 1 January 2019.
UKAS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY
The results of the UKAS customer satisfaction survey for quarter 1,of 2015/16 are available through the following link
THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION ON TRANSFORMING REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT
In the middle of 2011 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills issued a consultation document on transforming regulatory enforcement. ABCB responded to the consultation to promote the use of accredited certification to support regulatory enforcement.
THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS ISSUES GUIDANCE TO UK BUSINESSES ENCOURAGING THEM TO USE NATIONALLY ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION.
ABCB has been successful in prompting the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to state the UK Government’s support for UKAS accredited certification. BIS has published a statement on its website in which it encourages UK businesses, Government and local authorities seeking third party certification to do so with a certification body that is accredited by the UK’s national accreditation body, UKAS.
CAMPAIGNING AGAINST MISREPRESENTATION AND MISLEADING CLAIMS
It came to the Association’s notice that there was a certification organisation using the name ISO in its company name. It was quite likely that some people reading this organisation’s web site and promotional literature could believe that it was part of ISO. This organisation was not accredited by a national accreditation body.
ABCB CONTINUING TO PROMOTE NATIONALLY ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION
Recently it came to the Association’s notice that in Northern Ireland the Buildsafe-NI Action Plan had a requirement that all contractors seeking to tender for public sector works contracts shall have a health and safety management system certified by a third party.
ISO 45001 PUBLISHED
The long awaited ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirments for Guidance and use was published in MArch 2018. A three year period has been agreed for OHSAS 18001 accredited certification bodies to upgrade their accreditation