When you are choosing an engineering inspection supplier, you want the best. With so many companies to choose from, it can be difficult to assess which is right for you. Making the wrong decision can be both costly and time consuming, so it is important to be as clued up as you can about what you need from a supplier.
Not only this, but you have a responsibility to your employees and company to make the best decision - an accredited company that can offer you the best all-round service, with efficiency and compliance.
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the National Accreditation Body in the UK, responsible for determining the technical competence and integrity of organisations that offer testing, calibration and certification services.
They are a long established company with a transparent assessment protocol that makes their accreditations highly valued, which in turn makes them a great indicator of competence, particularly in the engineering sector.
There are three types of certification: A, B and C. Here’s what each of them determines:
Type A - refers to inspection bodies that are third party services that only provide impartial and independent inspection
If you have any equipment that requires regular inspection, it is important that the organisation you hire to do this has qualified and experienced inspection engineers that are able to certify your equipment to the relevant legislation. The competence of the company you are hiring is crucial when it comes to maintaining your company’s standards and reputation.
Any company can set itself up as an inspection body and you may not have the resources to assess their competence. This is where accreditation helps. You can check the technical competence of an inspection body through what accreditation they have.
The internationally recognised standard for the competence of inspection bodies is ISO/IEC 17020 and this is the standard against which UKAS awards inspection bodies. UKAS is recognised by the UK Government for high quality accreditation work. It enjoys excellent reputation internationally. Therefore, accreditation is a form of a guarantee that the awarded businesses will be trustworthy and reliable in their inspection. Some of the benefits of using these accredited businesses are:
While there is always going to be a potential for accident, a UKAS accredited company will reduce risk significantly because they are suitably qualified
A UKAS accredited inspection body will be able to demonstrate a full audit trail for
the inspection, can use best practice within its particular sector and they will only use trained and experienced people to perform their inspections
You can demonstrate that you have exercised all due diligence in who you decide to choose as your inspection body when they have a UKAS accreditation, which can help you with any legal issues you could encounter.
Ultimately, the UKAS certification demonstrates that a company is compliant, reliable and trustworthy. Not only this, but choosing an accredited company means you will receive inspection services at the highest level of competence.
Unlike Type A and B bodies, Type C companies are able to provide maintenance as well as inspection of products. This creates a more flexible and streamlined approach, because it is only a single company dealing with the entire process - saving time and ensuring both inspection and maintenance are fully compliant with relevant legislation.
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While a UKAS Type A accredited company will have high inspection standards, they are limited in the complementary services they can provide. This means that duty holders are forced to start over to find a supplier who can perform the maintenance of any defects identified during an inspection.
With Type C companies, which also offer high inspection standards, they are also able to provide maintenance of equipment, as well as additional complimentary services including (but not limited to) manufacturing, design and consultancy.
Type C bodies ensure that inspections are done by a competent and impartial person, meaning that assigned inspectors will remain neutral throughout the whole process. The competent person won’t be closely related to your company, therefore, there is no conflict of interest which reduces the chances of decisions being made that may compromise safety - ensuring compliance throughout the entire process.
When you have other responsibilities to focus on, not being fully aware of how to choose the best company for the job, being let down by suppliers and having to reschedule inspections that have not been satisfactory can be damning.
When you choose a Type C body, you are not just ensuring your products are compliant, but you are gaining access to all the services that you need to keep your assets in check. It makes sense to choose one of these companies because they are guaranteed to be reliable and compliant when it comes to inspections.
Type C bodies make the process as simple and efficient as possible for their clients and an accredited company should be able to complete their services on-site or at certified facilities - ensuring a quick, efficient and quality service, with minimum disruption to day-to-day business.
We understand that choosing an inspection body can be difficult, especially with so many companies offering a variety of services.
With Lloyds British, we can guarantee our expert engineering inspectors will ensure consistency and competency across every aspect of the examination process. Our inspectors have a wealth of experience across the sector, backed up by an array of accreditations from leading industry bodies, including UKAS Type C for our national contracts division. We are fully committed to providing a fully rounded service, saving you time and money and ensuring your company maintains an excellent reputation.