UKAS Technical Advisory Committees

The internal technical expertise held within UKAS is supplemented by a number of Technical Advisory Committees, whose role is to provide advice on technical matters related to the development and operation of UKAS activities.

The committees are advisory and non-executive and provide a forum for input from various bodies and individuals with an interest in UKAS’ technical activities, for example, professional bodies, accredited organisations, customers, and regulatory bodies. A Technical Advisory Committee normally comprises invited members capable of providing technical advice from the perspective of:

• UKAS assessors
• UKAS accredited bodies
• Customers of UKAS accredited bodies
• Independent specialists
• Governmental specialists
• Academia
• Government regulators
• Relevant professional institutes
• UKAS staff

UKAS may seek advice from these committees on a number of specific technical issues, including:

• The formulation and review of specific technical criteria to facilitate effective and consistent application of UKAS’s activities
• The acceptability of particular procedures as a basis for accreditation
• The identification of potential assessors and sources of assessors
• The need for and conduct of proficiency testing and inter-laboratory comparisons
• The impact of international initiatives
• The need for the establishment of specialist task forces

The UKAS Technical, Quality & Risk Director appoints the Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee and UKAS formulates the membership in conjunction with the Chairman. Service on a committee is by personal invitation of UKAS.

In some cases, existing committees run by other groups may be identified as holding the necessary skills and expertise sought from a Technical Advisory Committee. With the agreement of the committee owner and committee members UKAS shall look to set up a formal arrangement for that external committee to provide UKAS with the advice normally provided by a UKAS Technical Advisory Committee, these are considered to be Technical Advisory committee alternative mechanisms.

The Chairman of the TAC is appointed by the UKAS Technical, Quality & Risk Director for a three-year term and may be re-appointed for a further term or terms. He or she shall be independent from UKAS and the appointment must be approved by the TAC membership.

The members are invited by UKAS. They are selected on the basis of having the necessary technical knowledge and expertise to contribute to the work of the TAC, and, when relevant, for their ability to act as representative of their organisation, sector or other interest. The Committee Members represent a range of stakeholder interests as detailed above. Membership is reviewed by UKAS in conjunction with the Chairman at least every three years. Members are required to exercise discretion in respect of information received in the course of their duties as TAC members and to treat as confidential any information so marked or related in confidence. The confidentiality requirement is also a requirement when alternative mechanisms are used to fulfil the TAC function.

UKAS provides the secretariat role for all TACs, and the secretariat will also monitor the effectiveness of the TACs and any alternative mechanisms that are in place

The TACs may establish sub-committees in order to undertake projects within its terms of reference in specific areas of activity. The sub-committees may co-opt members from outside the TAC membership. The TAC will select the Chairman of the sub-committees from within its membership and the UKAS secretariat will act as secretary to each sub-committee.

At the invitation of the Chairman, and with the agreement of UKAS, other parties may attend meetings of the TAC. On such occasions the minutes shall clearly state the affiliations of the invited participants.

Details of UKAS’s current Technical Advisory Committees and alternative mechanisms, together with contact details of the committee Technical focal person, are provided below. Further committees may be formed as required to meet new technical challenges.