Product category:
Testing and Calibration Services and Information
News Release from: Sira
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 23 January 2002
Certification firm handles IEC 61508
compliance
Sira has become the first body in the UK to be accredited by UKAS to certify the Functional Safety Capability of organisations against IEC 61508, using the CASS scheme as the vehicle
Sira Test and Certification has become the first body in the UK to be accredited by UKAS to certify the Functional Safety Capability of organisations against IEC 61508, using the CASS scheme as the vehicle The CASS scheme (Conformity Assessment of Safety-Related Systems) which is supported by the DTI, UKAS and HSE will provide Europe's first accredited functional safety management conformity assessment scheme which interprets the IEC 61508 standard
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 10 Apr 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Sira's unique position as the only body in the UK to have achieved this accreditation confirms its standing as the UK's leading supplier of conformity assessment solutions.
Sira offers a range of services including testing, calibration and certification and the significance of being the sole supplier of this service in the UK adds further momentum to the growth of Sira's certification business.
The process for Sira to achieve accreditation is comprehensive, and includes UKAS attending and assessing Sira's audits of customers, where UKAS paid particular attention to the procedures Sira adopted in carrying out its audits, to ensure it offers consistency and compliance with IEC61508.
This whole process from start to finish took more than 18 months before UKAS determined it was satisfied that Sira is deserving of this first unique accreditation.
David Lewis, Managing Director of Sira comments "It has been worth all the hard work and time invested to become accredited, as already there is a rapidly rising demand for IEC 61508, and our expectation is that this will continue to rise until IEC 61508 compliance is achieved across manufacturing, end users and all associated parties involved with safety related systems." Compliance to the criteria set out in IEC 61508 allows manufacturers, systems integrators and end users to demonstrate to customers and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that good practice has been followed through the whole lifecycle and that risks are being managed.
Purchasers of systems, or system components, are already using the standard to specify their performance requirements in terms of safety functions that have to be considered.
For more information on IEC 61508 certification procedures please contact Sira directly.
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