Kenya - Apply for Accreditation of Testing and Calibration Laboratory

Advertisement

Procedure

• The Testing and Calibration Pillar in KENAS provides accreditation for the recognition of the technical competence of a testing and calibration laboratory for a specific task following ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
• KENAS testing and calibration has been established with the objective to provide Government, Industry and Private laboratories in general with a scheme for third-party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories to carry out specific testing, measurements and calibrations.
• The government of Kenya has authorized KENAS as the sole accreditation body for Testing and Calibration laboratories.

Apply In-Person

1. The applicant has to submit his/her accreditation enquiry to a Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) Staff. This can be either through telephone, email or visiting KENAS offices. Contact information of KENAS can be obtained in our “office and contact “ information section of this page or through the following link
2. This is followed by a formal response by KENAS Officer on the terms and conditions applicable to provision of accreditation services.
3. The applicant should submit the duly filled and signed formal application. The application from can be obtained from KENAS Offices or downloaded from their website through the following link. You submit the application form with all the required documents.
4. This is followed by review of the application including support documents provided by the applicant.( desk assessment /document review)
5. After review, there is a formal response to the applicant regarding the outcome of the review of the application and documentation.
6. This is followed by an on-site assessment visit. Corrective Action Requests will be made to the applicant for review.
7. Follow up assessment of the client is done to determine effective implementation of the corrective action requires (CAR’s) raised.
8. An independent accreditation commitee will then make a formal accreditation decision as outcome and/or report of the assessment.
9. After this a formal communication will be made to the applicant on the decision made.
10. Upon a successful assessment. The applicant will be issued with an accreditation certificate.
11. Periodical surveillance assessments are done of the accredited conformity assessment body.

Advertisement

Required Documents

1. Application form
2. Cross reference matrix of internal documents against the normative standard
3. Quality Manual
4. Operating Procedures/ Methods
5. Evidence of PT / ILC
6. Application Fee paid

Office Locations & Contacts

Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS) - Head Office
Embankment Plaza, 2nd floor,
Longonot Road, Upper Hill
P. O. Box 47400 - 00100 Nairobi
Telephone: +254 725 227 640
Fax: +254 787 395679
Email: [email protected]
Contact details.

Eligibility

KENAS provides accreditation to:

• Laboratories undertaking any sort of testing or calibration in the specified fields.
• Private or government laboratories.
• Small operations to large multi-field laboratories.
• Site facilities, temporary field operations and mobile laboratories.
  

These include:The following TESTING LABORATORIES

1. Biological
2. Chemical
3. Electrical
4. Electronics
5. Fluid-Flow
6. Mechanical
7. Non-Destructive
8. Photometry
9. Radiological
10. Thermal

Fees

• Gazetted Fees

FIRST SCHEDULE Assessment fees

• Application - KShs. 40,000
• Document Review - KShs.95, 000
• Assessment (initial) - KShs. 250,000
  

Second Schedule Other Charges

• Pre-assessment - KShs.50,000
• Additional Assessor per day - KShs.60,000
• Application for Extension (all inclusive, except for VAT) - KShs. 250,000
• Review of re-submitted Documents - KShs. 45,000
  

Third Schedule Annual fees

• Annual Accreditation Fee - KShs.192,500
  

NOTE:

• Any fee charged shall be subject to value added tax.
• The assessment fee has taken into account one assessor unit for two days.
• The assessor unit consists of one lead assessor, a technical expert/assessor and Kenya Accreditation Service support required to facilitate the assessment. For complex assessment or wider scopes, the additional assessor/expert shall be charged based on the rate indicated on other charges.
• These fees do not cover the cost of travel and accommodation outside Nairobi. The fees shall be borne by the client in the event that there are no established assessors within the region or location.
• The Kenya Accreditation Service shall retain as penalty ten percent in value of accreditation assessments that are cancelled less than five days to the assessment date.

Validity

• Accreditation is valid for a period of three years.

Documents to Use

• Application Form for Accreditation

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• Feedback on receipt of an application is within 5 working days.
• Processing of application is done within Sixty (60 days)
• Refer to the service charter through this link

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since january 1908.

Required Information

• Contact details
  • Organization
  • Address (Physical)
  • Address (Postal)
  • Telephone
  • Email
  • Website
  • Contact person
  • Position within the organization
  • Type and Nature of business
  • If organization operate on several sites
• Organization details
  • The Legal Status of your organization
  • Total Number of Staff
  • List the conformity Assessment Services offered
  • If your conformity Assessment activities are part of a larger organization
  • Other organization activities
• Scope of accreditation
• Declaration
• Signature

Need for the Document

• KENAS testing and calibration has been established with the objective to provide laboratories in general with a scheme for third-party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories to carry out specific testing, measurements and calibrations. The government of Kenya has authorized KENAS as the sole accreditation body for Testing and Calibration laboratories.

Benefits of Accreditation

1. Formal recognition of competence of a laboratory by an Accreditation body in accordance with international criteria has many advantages:
2. Increased confidence in Testing/ Calibration Reports issued by the laboratory.
3. Better control of laboratory operations and feedback to laboratories as to whether they have sound Quality Assurance System and are technically competent.
4. Potential increase in business due to enhanced customer confidence and satisfaction.
5. Customers can search and identify the laboratories accredited by KENAS for their specific requirements from the KENAS Web-site or Directory of Accredited Laboratories.
6. Users of accredited laboratories enjoy greater access for their products, in both domestic and international markets.
7. Savings in terms of time and money due to reduction or elimination of the need for re-testing of products.

Information which might help

• Accreditation is a formal third party confirmation that Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) are competent to carry out specific conformity assessment activities. Conformity Assessment Bodies are those bodies that assess the compliance and or conformance of products, services and suppliers to guided specifications and requirements e.g. Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Proficiency testing Laboratories, Inspection and verification bodies, Medical Laboratories, Certification bodies etc.
• Accreditation is distinct from certification because certification focuses on an organization overall compliance with systems and products standards rather than the technical competence which is what accreditation focuses on. Therefore accreditation becomes a formal recognition to the CABs that they are competent to carry out conformity assessment tasks.
• Testing and Calibration Laboratory accreditation is a process by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition of technical competence for specific tests/ measurements, based on third-party assessment and following the international standard.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• Accreditation Process
• Step by step Process
• Service Delivery Charter

Others

Laboratory Accreditation

• Laboratory accreditation is a process by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition of technical competence for specific tests/ measurements, based on third-party assessment and following the international standard. In the current global scenario, an essential pre-requisite of trade is that any product or service accepted formally in one economy must also be free to circulate in other economies without having to undergo extensive re-testing. WTO recognizes that non-acceptance of test results and measurement data is a Technical Barrier to Trade. Global sourcing of components calls for equivalence of measurement, which can be facilitated by a chain of accredited calibration laboratories. Accreditation is considered as the first essential step for facilitating mutual acceptance of test results and measurement data. Confidence in accreditation is obtained by a transparent system of control over the accredited laboratories and an assurance given by the accreditation body that the accredited laboratory fulfills the accreditation criteria, at all times. Accredited laboratories can objectively state conformance of product or service to specified requirements. It is important for the purchaser, regulator, government, and the public to be able to identify accredited testing and calibration laboratories.
  

'Objectives

• KENAS testing and calibration has been established with the objective to provide laboratories in general with a scheme for third-party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories to carry out specific testing, measurements and calibrations. The government of Kenya has authorized KENAS as the sole accreditation body for Testing and Calibration laboratories.
  

'Laboratory Accreditation

• The globalization of the Kenyan economy and the liberalization policies initiated by the Government in reducing trade barriers and providing greater thrust to exports makes it imperative for Accredited Laboratories to be at international level of competence.
• For Accreditation, the laboratories should be legally identifiable & appropriately registered. They can be a part of a big organization or an independent entity. KENAS can provide accreditation to:

1. Laboratories undertaking any sort of testing or calibration in the specified fields.
2. Private or government laboratories.
3. Small operations to large multi-field laboratories.
4. Site facilities, temporary field operations and mobile laboratories.

• Classification of the Testing Laboratories has been done on the basis of basic fields of testing. The laboratories doing inter-disciplinary testing of products, for e.g. textiles, plastics, building materials, metallurgical products, shall have to apply in relevant field(s) separately depending upon to which field(s) the test(s) belongs.
• The accreditation granted to a laboratory shall remain valid for a period of 3 years subject to satisfactory periodical (annual) surveillance. Laboratory also has an option to increase the scope of accreditation in terms of specific tests and calibrations. KENAS has established policies and procedures for granting, suspending and withdrawal of accreditation of accreditation in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011
• Directory of KENAS Accredited Laboratories is published at regular interval, which contains laboratories’ contact details and information on their Scope of Accreditation.