UKAS is responsible for “mass life critical” safety testing processes and standards used in nuclear power stations, transport safety systems, aircraft safety and the testing of our drinking water.
UKAS is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the British government to assess the competence of organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.
Sportsafe, the leading Physical Education, School Sport and Physical Activity (PESSPA) Inspection Company, based in Colchester, has been working for the last three years with UKAS, the government standards agency, to create the accreditation, which holds inspectors and Sportsafe to greater accountability.
Expanding the manual on how to thoroughly inspect sports and play equipment across schools, parks and councils, Sportsafe inspectors are now the only ones in the industry to receive accredited training and qualifications.
Andy Bickerstaff, Technical and Quality Manager at Sportsafe, said: “It has been really confusing for clients to know who to trust when it comes to inspecting their sports equipment.
“Up until now there has been no recognised industry standard holding all inspection bodies in this field to account, with different standards being specified in indoor and outdoor safety inspections.
“For the last three years, Sportsafe has been working hard to rectify this situation and we are proud to say we are now the only provider in the UK and across Europe to hold the coveted ISO 17020:2012 standard across all indoor and outdoor sports and play areas.
“We know this will give schools, councils and facility management companies greater confidence in knowing who is best placed to carry out their essential inspections.”
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has worked tirelessly to prevent accidents since 1914 and was the first to introduce a variety of playground inspections and indoor soft play which support the BS EN1176 recommendation of an annual inspection.
Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII) took it one step further by introducing the inspection for Children’s Fully Enclosed Play Equipment (FEPE) and Inflatable Annual inspections.
The advantage of being a UKAS accredited inspector is the accreditation is audited annually and is impartial from all commercial influences. Sportsafe has taken the next step and now brought together Indoor and Outdoor accreditation with the ISO 17020:2012 standard being accredited by UKAS.
UKAS is a non-profit-distributing private company, operated in the public interest as a company limited by guarantee. Its parent organisation is the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
