Accreditation in the United Kingdom: responding to needs or 'changing the goalposts'?

The requirements for establishing the competence of organisations involved in testing, calibration, certification and inspection, and the criteria for their assessment and accreditation are specified in international guides a nd European standards. As these guides and standards are intended for use b y a range of organisations and accreditation bodies, operating in different disciplines, they are written in general terms in order to be widely appli cable. It follows that some interpretation of the requirements is needed in order to address the different ways in which both organisations and accred itation bodies operate. This: may be seen by accredited organisations as pr oviding an opportunity for accreditation bodies to 'change the goalposts : the needs of these organisations and of their clients must be accommodated as far as possible, without diminishing the value of, or undermining confid ence in, accreditation. The United Kingdom Accreditation Service has been l istening to its customers, reviewing its activities and is offering a more flexible pragmatic approach to assessment and accreditation; some of the ne w developments are described.