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Launch of UKQI

UK Quality Infrastructure: how developing and transition economies benefit and which UK organisations to contact.

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How the UK Quality Infrastructure benefits developing and transition economies

The National Measurement and Regulation Office, along with The British Standards Institution (BSI), The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), oversee standardisation, testing and measurement, and certification and accreditation in the UK as part of the UK’s National Quality Infrastructure (UKQI).

Elements of the UK’s National Quality Infrastructure

The 4 elements that make up the UKQI are:

  • standardisation, creates the national and international standards that specify how things should be made and done in a way that is mutually acceptable
  • testing and measurement, implementation of specifications and standards to ensure validity and consistency
  • certification, ensures that those who use standards and codes are applying them in the right way
  • accreditation, ensures that those who carry out testing, certification and inspection are competent to do so

Services that UKQI provides

UKQI partners provide a comprehensive range of consultancy services to overseas governments wanting to build the capacity of their own National Quality Infrastructure. This includes:

  • needs analysis in order to target the intervention in the most efficient and effective way
  • legislative review and advice on how the regulatory framework can be improved
  • consultancy and training
  • technical assistance covering standards, accreditation, metrology and quality assessment

Specialist services

The specialist services provided by the UKQI are:

  • the full range of UKAS accreditations
  • advanced accreditation services such as of medical laboratories, diagnostic imaging services and other healthcare activities
  • training and development to help organizations reach International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF) signatory status
  • assistance with standards’ development
  • research to identify published or in-development standards in a specific area of interest
  • support with developing a standards and metrology strategy in an innovative area or emerging technology
  • standards’ implementation training
  • consultancy in defining, setting up and commissioning testing facilities
  • measurement training needs analysis
  • measurement skills training
  • training for legal/regulatory metrology personnel
  • type approval services to companies manufacturing measuring instruments
  • consultancy on which measurement equipment to buy
  • measurement facility design, build, implementation and commissioning

For more information on these services please either contact NMRO on the details below or visit the UKQI website.

Who to contact at NMRO

National Quality Infrastructure

Anne Kearney
Office for Product Safety and Standards
Stanton Avenue
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 0JZ

Email opss.training@beis.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 8943 7216

Website: http://www.ukqi.org/

Updates to this page

Published 8 June 2015