Following assessment by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), LRQA has successfully extended their accreditation to deliver accredited certification for the latest version of the Competence Management System Standard (CMS).
CMS version 5 was issued in August 2021, and was developed after close collaboration between Energy & Utility Skills and LRQA.
For organisations currently certified to version 4 of the standard, there is a three-year transition period from the official issue date and all certifications to older versions will therefore expire or be withdrawn on 31 August 2024.
CMS is a management systems-based standard approved by Defra, the Environment Agency (EA), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Natural Resources Wales, and the Welsh Assembly Government as a method for organisations from any industry to demonstrate technical competence of their permitted waste sites.
CMS enables operators to demonstrate that they have the technical competence to manage all permitted activities, satisfy regulatory requirements and comply with the environmental permit for waste activities.
The standard also ensures that all individuals whose work contributes to the conditions of an environmental permit are competent to carry out the work of their role.
Judith Turner, Quality Assurance Systems Manager at LRQA, said: “Extending our UKAS accreditation for CMS version 5 demonstrates our sector-specific expertise and commitment to provide clients with the confidence that the CMS services we provide meet the regulatory requirements of the standard”.
Denise McGlynn, Client Manager, Energy & Utility Skills, said: “We are delighted that the new version of the standard has achieved UKAS accreditation.
“This brings it in line with other management system standards using the High Level Structure, and is a benefit to operators with existing management systems.
“UKAS accreditation drives confidence by underpinning the quality of results, ensuring their traceability, comparability, and validity.”