Introduction
Back in 2022, the UK Metrology Board was incorporated to provide an Independent UK- based Conformity Assessment Body for the placement of weighing and measuring instruments on the market in England, Scotland and Wales.
We were born out of the need to fill the gap that the withdrawal of service from the National Measuring Office left, and to support weighing and measuring companies with the changes to legislation after the UK departs from the EU. But most importantly, the UKMB was created to provide the fast, professional and reliable certification service that was so desperately needed in the weighing and measuring industry.
The Early Days
The first year of the business was focused on achieving UKAS accreditation to offer the weighing and measuring industry NAWI Module D & D1, MIR Module A2, Module D, Module D1 and Module E1 and the Weights and Measures Act Section 11A in England, Scotland and Wales.
Becoming UKAS accredited takes time, and as an organisation, we needed to invest in a robust quality system, demonstrate proficiency in the technicalities of legal metrology and ensure we had appointed experienced auditors who could help our clients to achieve and maintain the highest level of compliance. We also wanted to create an easy to follow system and process that enabled us to provide a fast, professional and cost-effective certification service that truly helped our clients.
We were slightly set back by the UK Government’s decision to retain the CE marking in 2023, a decision that was not only a blow to us but also had implications for our client base, who had already invested significant time and money in achieving UKCA certification.
However, on a more positive note, this did mean we had to take a more strategic approach to our business and ensure we offer the highest possible level of service. Something that is highlighted by the testimonials we get from our customers and our highly experienced technical and auditing team
Our Fourth Year
Despite the challenges in the early days, our 4th year in business has been one of sustainable growth, improvements to our systems and processes, and onboarding new clients. The real highlight for us was being granted accreditation from UKAS to offer ISO 9001 Certification for the legal metrology sector.
We are passionate about the importance of ISO 9001 Certification to ensure our clients can remain compliant in an ever-changing world and have a robust and proven quality management system in place to inform and shape future business decisions. We were also granted an extension to our scope to offer CE + NI marking applicable to Northern Ireland.
This, combined with our commitment to our customers and quick turnaround, means we now have over 50 clients on our books. As well as helping you to achieve the relevant marketplace certification, we also support you in other ways.
These include:
- Ensuring we have a highly experienced auditing team – many of whom currently work or have worked as Trading Standards Inspectors, meaning your audit comes with an implied level of guidance.
- Putting you in direct contact with your auditor as soon as your auditing plan is agreed, enabling you to ask any questions in advance and understand exactly what is required from you on the day.
- Making sure you know when your surveillance audit is due, giving you plenty of time to prepare.
- Providing regular updates via our client communications that help you to stay on top of current industry news, changes to legislation and opportunities for improvement.
So, as a present to you on our fourth birthday, we have collated all the important industry updates we have via our newsletters, in the past 12 months.
A Year in Review
February 2025:We published our first article on Manufacturing Capacity Serving Measures: What you need to know, which contains a useful explanation of the legal requirements for manufacturing capacity serving measures and a breakdown of what each of the markings on your glass means.
March 2025: We announced that we had been granted an extension to our scope, and we became a notified body for CE+UKNI markings applicable to Northern Ireland. We also ran a webinar entitled ISO: 9001 What will it do for your business? A live discussion between one of our Technical Advisors, Ian Turner and two of our auditors, Phil Thomas and Damian Chester.
The webinar turned out to be extremely topical as it coincided with the release of Hexagon- ETQ’s White paper entitled: Beyond the Surface: Visible and Hidden Costs of Quality. The report highlighted the need to invest in quality and found that…’ the cost of poor quality systems can be 10 to 20 per cent of total revenue, with the hidden costs as much as four times greater than the visible costs’.
April 2025: April was an exciting month for us, as we achieved UKAS accreditation to offer ISO 9001 Certification. As a globally recognised standard for Quality Systems, ISO 9001 provides a framework to help you establish, implement, maintain and continually improve your Quality Management Systems.
April also saw the publication of Government Guidance on the use of AI in manufacturing, which was updated in January 2026. The new report looks at how the UK can use AI to secure innovation and technology in the UK business sectors. You can read more about the action plan and AI opportunities in the private sector here.
May 2025: Marked 150 years since the first Metre Convention in Paris. This was the first time a Global Treaty had been signed to encourage the standardisation of Weights and Measures across the World, establishing a consistent and globally recognised system that promoted fairer trade, encouraged collaboration on a global level and unified local weighing systems. To mark this World Metrology Day, which is celebrated across the world every year on the 20th May – this year’s theme is still awaiting confirmation,n and we will update you as soon as we know what it is.
Additionally, Hexagon- ETQ released their annual pulse of quality survey, building on the findings in March’s white paper. The report found that quality is now a key driver in compliance and that 60% of businesses planned to invest more in quality in the near future, with a focus on accreditation and structured systems and processes.
June and July 2025: In June and July, two key reports were released – the first was the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan. This was the first UK government Industrial Strategy since 2017. The plan’s ambition is to nearly double annual business investment in this sector and is designed to help UK manufacturers invest, grow, and compete through advisory bodies, better investment and a recruitment drive to attract talent in the sector.
July also marked the publication of Make UK’s also published their Regional Manufacturing Outlook report, which highlighted a lot of positives within the sector, including the fact that the number of jobs in manufacturing had actually increased despite the cost of living crisis and technological advances.
September 2025: In September, the government launched the Made Smarter Programme. This is a government-backed programme designed to help businesses in the manufacturing and tech sectors grow and prosper through the use of Digital Tools and Innovations. We would highly recommend checking out their website to find out how you can get the support you need to grow your business.
October – December 2025: As expected, late 2025 was quieter in terms of updates and White papers being published, but it was a busy quarter for UKMB with the release of our brand new website and, our first International Audit in Wuhan, China.
January 2026: In contrast to the previous quarter, January 2026 has seen several confirmed updates to legislation, with several more expected to be announced in the next few months. First up was the confirmation of the proposed update to the ISO 9001 Standard, with the key confirmed changes as follows:
- Integration of Climate Considerations: The impact your business has on the environment needs to be factored into your infrastructure. However, what this actually entails in terms of requirements has not yet been outlined.
- More focus on Leadership Responsibilities: It is now a requirement of ISO 9001 for senior management to promote and demonstrate that the company’s culture is focused on quality and ethical behaviour. This is good news as it aids staff retention and creates a culture of continuous improvement. The new standard will also include guidance on this area.
- Tweaks to Quality Policy: The new standard states that organisations must ‘take into account the context of the organisation and support its strategic direction.’ Strengthening the relationship between your quality management system and business strategy.
- Clarified Risk and Opportunity Management: Actions for addressing risk and pursuing opportunity need to be clearly separated, with documentation provided on both. Expanded guidance will be available on both.
- Improved Awareness of the Standards Internally: In order to demonstrate and maintain compliance, it will also be a requirement that all employees understand what a quality culture is and maintain ethical behaviour.
Make UK also released their annual Executive Survey. The survey looks at current business attitudes towards British Manufacturing, predictions for the year ahead and the importance of a clear Industrial Strategy for the manufacturing sector as a growth driver.
We found the report to be really interesting reading, and despite rising costs, most businesses’ surveys believe that opportunity outweighs risk when it comes to manufacturing in the UK in 2026.
Here are some of the highlights from the survey:
- Manufacturers are investing in digital transformation to enable them to ‘…meet real customer real needs and deliver commercial impact’. Although the response to market changes and consumer demand needs to be more agile.
- Businesses are becoming increasingly customer-focused; they are refining their processes to better engage with customers and invest in marketing, quality systems and processes that enable them to do so.
- Growth is a clear focus for businesses within the sector, and 68% of those surveyed are planning on investing in new product development to drive this.
- Despite concerns around rising costs, many businesses plan to invest in new technologies and focus on sustainability in order to future-proof their business.
January also saw the release of new guidance on the Product Safety & Metrology Act, which became law in July 2025. The act works to make products safer, placing the responsibility on businesses to make sure their products are safe and aims to avoid harmful products being produced or sold in the UK. There will be further updates on this later this year. However, this article from Clyde&Co clearly explains the reforms and what they mean for your business.
We do hope you find some of these updates useful. If you would like the most up-to-date regulatory and industry news direct to your inbox, then you can sign up for our newsletter by clicking here, and we’ll make sure you get the latest news direct to your inbox