Kitemark Take-up Increasing

The Kitemark Garage Services scheme – for servicing and repair of vehicles (PAS80) – has become the first to be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). UKAS is the sole national accreditation body recognised by Government to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations – such as BSI – that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. To achieve UKAS accreditation, BSI had to pass a rigorous audit to demonstrate its competence, impartiality and performance capability.

BSI is currently working towards gaining a second accreditation – from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) under the OFT Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS). Following UKAS Accreditation, Kitemark Licensees will also be able to use the UKAS logo in association with the Kitemark to distinguish their business.

Meanwhile, BSI reports that the number of applications from independent garages for the Kitemark Garage Services scheme has grown considerably. At present, there are reportedly over 500 applications being processed.