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In our ‘meet the people’ series, UKAS looks at the people behind the UK’s accreditation body. Today we meet Tracy Pia, Quality Manager.
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As Quality Manager, Tracy’s main role is proactively maintaining, monitoring, developing and improving the UKAS quality management system, the hub for all essential documentation.
Tracy and the Quality Team are responsible for more than 1,300 documents stored in the management system, including policies, procedures, guidance and information documents and forms, as well as the administration of UKAS Publications and Technical Bulletins.
In addition, Tracy manages the internal audit programme and organises a management review every year that identifies key trends and feeds into the organisation’s strategic planning process. She oversees the programme monitoring assessment teams and decision-makers, managed on a day-to-day basis by UKAS’s Accreditation Support Manager.
Tracy also has an external focus, ensuring that changes to accreditation body and conformity assessment body (CAB) requirements are reflected in the UKAS management system and plays a key role in the organisation, preparation and conduct of peer evaluations of UKAS.
What is your name? Tracy Pia.
What UKAS department do you work in? Technical, Quality & Risk (TQR).
What is your job title? Quality Manager.
How long have you been with UKAS? 12 years.
What do you like most about your job? My UKAS colleagues and other people I meet through my work are the best thing about my job, and our common goal of providing confidence in services and products. our people have such a wide range of expertise and experience that I feel I am learning all the time.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I play oboe in a local orchestra, which is always my highlight of the week and I also play piano/keyboard at home. I love going to concerts (classical or indie/rock). I go to the gym several times a week, mainly to do spin classes. Recently I have started painting; I don’t consider myself to be very artistic but it is very therapeutic! finally, I must mention my love of gin.
Why is accreditation important? Accreditation plays a vital role in providing independent third party assurance of the competence of bodies providing services including testing, certification, validation, verification and inspection. This provides confidence to the international market. The assessment process is effective in identifying areas of weakness and driving continuous improvement.
What’s your most memorable moment at UKAS? Travelling to Abu Dhabi to work with local accreditation body ENAS. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with some amazing people. Their hospitality was fantastic and I learned so much. A great experience!