KAMPALA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards’ (UNBS’) accreditation to provide International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Management Systems Certification has been renewed by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS).
The SANAS accreditation renewal means that UNBS continues to be internationally recognised to provide credible certification services to organisations for ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems (QMS).
According to ISO, a Management System is “the way in which an organization manages the inter-related parts of its business in order to achieve its objectives including, among others, product or service quality, operational efficiency, environmental performance, health and safety in the workplace”. Implementing ISO Management System Standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 is applicable to all organisations and sectors irrespective of size and complexity. UNBS thus invites all organisations to implement ISO management systems and acquire credible certification services.
The accreditation gives Ugandan companies an opportunity to have their organisational systems and processes certified at an affordable cost, to demonstrate that their services meet international standards and are therefore capable of meeting customer expectations. This in turn facilitates trade, by improving competitiveness of Ugandan products and services on the domestic and international market, promoting Buy Uganda Build Uganda.
UNBS first acquired the SANAS accreditation for QMS and FSMS in 2019. The three-year accreditation has been renewed to 2025.
It should be noted that the UNBS Food Safety Laboratories are also accredited by SANAS, under the scope of chemistry and microbiological analysis. Results from the above mentioned laboratories are internationally recognised, and support various activities such as certification; imports inspection as well as the promotion of exports to various external markets.
About SANAS
The South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) which gives it world-wide recognition as a competent body for carrying out independent evaluation of certification bodies against recognised standards. International accreditation agreements provide a mechanism that allows accredited certificates to be accepted around the world which reduces the risk of products and services being rejected in international markets.