Siderise Innovation Centre gains UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation

Siderise has announced that its Innovation Centre in South Wales has received UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation.

As reported by Project Scotland, this accreditation confirms that the facility meets international standards for technical competence and the reliability of its results.

The centre, opened in March 2023 by the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, is located at Siderise’s headquarters.

The Innovation Centre has conducted over 180 fire tests since its opening.

It features a specialised fire test furnace and advanced data logging equipment, enabling it to test materials against a variety of fire resistance standards.

UKAS audit process and fire tests at Siderise

To achieve the UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation, the Siderise Innovation Centre underwent a thorough audit by UKAS.

This audit included a detailed review of the centre’s quality management systems, training procedures, and records.

UKAS also observed three fire resistance tests during the audit process, specifically the EN 1366-3, EN 1366-4, and prEN 1364-6 tests.

The accreditation process began in November 2023, with the final audit taking place in January 2024.

SIDERISE received the certification in July 2024 after the successful completion of the assessment.

Key objectives of Siderise Innovation Centre

Chris Mort, director of testing at Siderise, explained the centre’s purpose: “We constructed the Innovation Centre to meet the increasing demand for testing and data for projects and product development, and a shortfall in available furnace time with the longer-term goal of making fire performance testing more accessible to our key industry stakeholders.”

Mort also highlighted that the centre was designed to address the growing needs of the industry by providing faster access to critical fire performance data.

SIDERISE aims to contribute to improving fire safety through more efficient testing services.

Importance of team expertise at Siderise

The accreditation process was made smoother by the expertise and dedication of the Siderise testing team.

Mort said: “This is in part thanks to the hard work of our testing team, whose skills, knowledge and experience have been invaluable in establishing robust SOPs.”

The team’s focus on developing effective standard operating procedures was crucial in ensuring the successful accreditation of the Innovation Centre.

Their combined experience helped streamline the application and audit processes.

UKAS accredits Siderise Innovation Centre for fire safety testing in South Wales: Summary

The Siderise Innovation Centre, located in South Wales, has achieved UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation.

This recognises its technical competency and ensures that the results generated at the centre are reliable.

Opened in March 2023, the centre features a specialised fire test furnace and equipment that allows it to conduct fire resistance tests to various standards.

UKAS awarded the accreditation after auditing the centre’s quality management systems and observing key fire resistance tests.

The expertise of the Siderise testing team played a crucial role in achieving this certification.