Following the announcement from Office for Product Safety and Standards back in September 2021 that the National Measurement Office (NMO) will be leaving the market and no longer providing commercial Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) services, they have now announced that the NMO will withdraw from the market on 30 April 2022.
For more guidance on the action, you will need to take to ensure your certificates remain valid. UKWF will be providing their members with further advice and guidance shortly as well.
Guidance
NMO Technical Services
Product certification, quality management system certification, pre-assessment, and standards calibration.
Changes to Conformity Assessment Body Services
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) announced on 7 September 2021 that the National Measurement Office (NMO) will cease to be a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) in 2022. The CAB market can now offer adequate alternative provision (full list of providers below) ensuring there is full coverage for current NMO clients. NMO will therefore withdraw from the market on 30 April 2022.
OPSS, through its laboratories in Teddington, will continue to uphold its statutory duties including those in Section 12 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. We will also continue to support local government with their needs. OPSS continues to be a world leader in Legal Metrology, playing an important role in representing the UK’s interests both nationally and internationally.
IMPORTANT ACTION – Next steps for NMO clients
To ensure NMO’s smooth withdrawal from the market and to avoid any confusion, the following guidance has been compiled in conjunction with UKAS. Please take action now to ensure your certificates remain valid.
1. Module D, D1, E, E1, H Certificates – TAKE ACTION NOW
To remain valid, current NMO certificates must be transferred to another CAB before 30 April 2022 or before expiry (whichever is sooner). We have received assurances that alternative providers will uphold the same audit cycle you currently hold with NMO, thereby ensuring minimal disruption. Please notify us of the transfer as we will need to deregister your current certificate certificationservices.nmo@beis.gov.uk.
The alternative providers are SGS United Kingdom Ltd, NMi Certin UK (TIC) Ltd and BSI Assurance UK Ltd.
Failure to transfer your current certificate before 30 April 2022 will result in us de-registering your certificate and you could be liable to enforcement action for non-compliance if you continue to use the certificate.
2. ISO9001 Certificates – TAKE ACTION NOW
ISO 9001 certificates are issued on the basis of a defined three year cycle, in line with ISO/IEC 17021-1 clause 9.1.3.2. The certificate remains valid until the next activity in the cycle is due, for example if a surveillance visit does not take place the certificate is no longer valid from that point, so you will need to find a new CAB to take on your case. If you currently have work in progress with us, you will be contacted shortly with more details.
The alternative providers are SGS United Kingdom Ltd and BSI Assurance UK Ltd.
3. Section 11A Certificates – TAKE ACTION NOW
Section 11A certificates are issued for 5 years on the condition that they are reviewed annually during that time. Your Section 11A certificate will remain valid until your annual review (if this is after we have left the market you will need to find a new CAB to take on your case). SGS United Kingdom Ltd is able to provide this service.
4. Module H1 Certificates – TAKE ACTION NOW
Design examination certificates and QMS certificates must be issued by the same CAB and therefore you must transfer these to another provider.
The alternative providers are SGS United Kingdom Ltd, NMi Certin UK (TIC) Ltd and BSI Assurance UK Ltd.
5. Module B Certificates
Module B certificates will remain valid until they expire and/or you require amendments to them, at which time you will need to find an alternative provider who can facilitate renewal/amendment. NMi Certin UK (TIC) Ltd is able to provide this service.
If you currently have work in progress with us, you will be contacted shortly.
6. CE to UKCA conversions of Module B certificates
If you currently have work in progress with us, you will be contacted shortly to discuss completion of these conversions. If you wish to start a new conversion then please contact NMi Certin UK (TIC) Ltd who is able to provide this service.
Any queries for the NMO team please email certificationservices.nmo@beis.gov.uk.
Alternative providers contact details:
Manufacturers can draw on our specialised conformity assessment services to enable them to place regulated weighing and measuring instruments on the market. These include items as diverse as beer glasses, fuel dispensers, precision balances, railway weighbridges, supermarket scales, taximeters and water meters.
The Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 (as amended) and the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments (NAWI) Regulations 2016 (as amended) supply the legal framework for conformity assessment within the UK.
Outside the UK, recommendations for specific weighing and measuring instruments are produced by the International Organisation for Legal Metrology (OIML).
Our client services
NMO Technical Services offers two main types of conformity assessment:
Product certification, sometimes called type examination, involves the rigorous assessment of instruments at the design stage to ensure they comply with the regulations
Quality management system certification is the approval of your processes for producing an instrument, or verifying it following its repair or modification
We also provide:
Pre-assessment, for those unsure whether their product or quality management system will satisfy certification requirements
Standards calibration for businesses and local authorities
Temporary closure of calibration laboratories during ongoing refurbishment
Due to the ongoing refurbishment programme in Teddington to upgrade all building facilities and services, the calibration laboratories will be shut down from 1 October 2021 until April 2022. During this time our statutory work will continue, however there will be an impact on our turnaround times. Local Authorities should email calibration.nmo@beis.gov.uk for further details on statutory work and estimated lead times. Non-statutory work customers should use the UKAS website to search by category for alternate calibration suppliers. NMO will be contacting customers whose goods have already been received to make suitable arrangements.
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