This bulletin is for all Conformity Assessment Bodies offering certification under the Railway Interoperability Directive.
As you may be aware, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) has been monitoring the consistency of the assurance mechanism implemented across all European Member States for the delivery of conformity assessment in compliance with the Railway Interoperability Directive. Following its monitoring programme, ERA has introduced mandatory requirements for Conformity Assessment Bodies (CAB’s) that are defined in the document: MNB – Assessment Scheme 000MRA1044 ver.1.1. Requirements for CABs seeking Notification.
EA Resolution 2017 (40) 16 mandates the MNB – Assessment Scheme as accreditation criteria and therefore, CAB’s performing certification against the Railway Interoperability Directive will need to demonstrate compliance with the scheme requirements by no later than 1st July 2020.
The ERA Scheme is reflective of current UKAS practice and therefore it has been decided that a formal transition is not required, however from 1st January 2018 all UKAS assessments will utilise the ERA scheme criteria against which CAB’s will need to demonstrate compliance, which, once confirmed, will be reflected on accreditation schedules.
Should you require any clarification on the above, please contact; Alan Webb: Development Project Manager – [email protected]; or Kevin Belson: Technical Manager – [email protected]
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