The British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC), the international leader in product certification services for electrical, data and signal cables and ancillary products, has extended its United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditations to include ISO/IEC 17025:2005, an international standard that specifies the competence and quality management system requirements for laboratories that provide testing and calibration services. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation is one of the highest levels of recognised quality any testing or calibration laboratory can attain.
Laboratories that are accredited to this international standard must have demonstrated that they are staffed, equipped, technically competent and able to produce precise and repeatable test and/or calibration data. They will also have the correct quality systems in place to manage everything from administration through to technical operations. BASEC’s scope of accreditation to 17025 includes its electrical, mechanical, chemical and fire/smoke tests on cables; further test categories will be added over time.
Dr Jeremy Hodge, chief executive at BASEC said: “With this accreditation, BASEC has demonstrated its fulfilment to meet the criteria for the highest quality laboratory systems and procedures. Our laboratory conducts a wide range of cable testing on a daily basis to serve the demands of cable manufacturers, users and standards authorities across the world. Achieving 17025 accreditation ensures that cable manufacturers, trade industry partners and end users have the utmost confidence in the integrity of the laboratory’s processes and procedures and it supports the BASEC mark of approval.”
Since the launch of its cable testing laboratory in 2012, BASEC has continued to make substantial investments in its laboratory equipment with the introduction of three new re-configurable fire test labs, and a 3.5 metre tall ladder rack rig for vertical fire tests on cables (IEC 60332-3-22 to 24 and BS EN 50399) complementing BASEC’s existing three metre cube chamber for smoke emission tests (EN 61034-2) and halogen testing facilities.
BASEC also holds UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17021 for both quality and environmental management systems, and to EN 45011 for product certification.
For more information, go to www.basec.org.uk and @BASECCables on twitter for regular updates.
