Accreditation costs
Testing laboratory larger scope
Customer type: Testing laboratory
Sector: Environmental testing
Scope: Environmental testing providing a comprehensive analysis service to a single sector (i.e. Food Safety and Composition) such as:
- Full Range of Wet Chemistry Techniques – Acidity, Ash, Chloride, etc..
- Full Range of Food Microbiology Analysis – Coliforms, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, etc..
- Full Range of Organic Chemistry Techniques for Food Analysis – Gas and Liquid Chromatography using Mass Spectrometer, UV-VIS and other varying detectors
- Full Inorganic Chemistry Techniques – ICP with OES and Mass Spectrometry detection, Atomic Absorption Analyser, etc…
Application fee: £1,685
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Pre-assessment (optional)
- Office effort: £2,805 – 2.5 assessment days (includes review of quality manual and associated technical documents, preparation of reports and associated assessment paperwork)
- Site effort: £3,366 – 3.0 assessment days (includes Lead Assessor and 2 x Technical Assessor on-site for one day each to discuss the application with the customer, review implementation of the requirements of the standard and identify any significant gaps in customer interpretation or implementation of the standard requirements)
- Expenses: £720 (flat rate of £240 per assessor per site day)
Total pre-assessment cost: £6,891
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Initial assessment
- Office effort: £2,805 – 2.5 assessment days (includes review of quality manual and associated technical documents, preparation of reports and associated assessment paperwork)
- Site effort: £8,976 – 8.0 assessment days (includes Lead Assessor and 3 x Technical Assessor on-site for two days each to conduct full assessment of all activities applied for)
- Close-out effort: £1,122 – 1.0 assessment days (review of single submission of evidence to clear findings raised at the initial assessment)
- Expenses: £1,920 (flat rate of £240 per assessor per site day)
Total initial assessment cost: £14,823
Following clearance of any non-conformities raised at the initial assessment, accreditation is granted for a period of 4 years in which there will be 3 surveillance assessments and 1 reassessment conducted approximately every 12 months, with the first assessment taking place 6 months after the date of grant of accreditation.
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Surveillance assessment (years 1-3)
- Office effort: £2,140 – 2.0 assessment days (includes review of customer documentation relevant to the surveillance visit, preparation of reports and associated assessment paperwork)
- Site effort: £4,815 – 4.5 assessment days (includes Lead Assessor and 2 x Technical Assessor on-site for one and a half day each to conduct a sampling assessment of a selection of activities for which accreditation is held)
- Close-out effort: £802.50 – 0.75 assessment days (review of single submission of evidence to clear findings raised at the Surveillance assessment)
- Expenses: £1,080 (flat rate of £240 per assessor per site day)
Total cost per year: £8,837.50
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Reassessment (year 4)
- Office effort: £3,210 – 3.0 assessment days (includes review of quality manual and associated technical documents, preparation of reports and associated assessment paperwork)
- Site effort: £8,560 – 8.0 assessment days (includes Lead Assessor and 3 x Technical Assessor on site for two days each to conduct full assessment of all activities for which accreditation is held)
- Close-out effort: £1,070 – 1.0 assessment days (review of single submission of evidence to clear findings raised at the reassessment)
- Expenses: £1,920 (flat rate of £240 per assessor per site day)
Total reassessment cost: £14,760
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Case study assumptions:
- Costs are based on the 2024-25 price list and are exclusive of VAT. UKAS reviews pricing on an annual basis and the day rate may increase for subsequent years.
- A normal level of compliance is observed at the organisation, where additional issues are identified, extra assessment or additional close out effort may be required.
- The organisation is single site and has no activities requiring assessment which are based outside of the United Kingdom.
- The organisation is not conducting any niche technical activities which UKAS may need to employ external expertise at a rate higher than £600/day.
- All costings provided are estimates and should be used for guidance purposes only. UKAS provides a bespoke quote for each customer based upon their specific application and circumstances. Actual quotes may be higher or lower than those provided above.
