Sira is a
UK-based
notified body, specialising in
ATEX,
IECEX and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n product approvals.
Foundation
Sira began life as the British Scientific Instrument Research Association (BSIRA). It was founded in 1918 by a Committee of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
for the promotion of scientific and industrial research and supported by the
DSIR Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development.
* Department of Scientific and Industri ...
. The first members of the association were representatives of the
optical industry
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
, but these were joined in the same year by the electrical
scientific instrument, electromedical, and
X-ray industries. Its first director of research was
Sir Herbert Jackson (1863–1936).
BSIRA's London headquarters were destroyed in the
Second World War and, in 1947, the association moved to a site in South Hill,
Chislehurst
Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...
, a
Grade II Listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
former private house called 'Sitka' By the 1960s, the association had become better-known as 'Sira',.
[Collins, A.H., ]
A cell design for radio-frequency titrimetry
', accessed 2014-06-29 It evolved into a group of British
engineering companies, based in south London, that designed test equipment and provided calibration services.
Fate
In 2006, Sira Test and Certification Ltd, Sira Defence and Security, and Sira Environmental were owned by
Volveré
Volveré is a song previously sung by Diego Verdaguer. It was the first single off the album '' Pensando En Ti'' of K-Paz de la Sierra. It was also inspired by the Italian song " Tornero" by I Santo California. It remains their biggest hit to date ...
plc. In July 2009, Volvere sold Sira Test and Certification Ltd, Sira Certification Service and Sira Environmental Ltd to
CSA International.
Similar organizations
*
Baseefa — a similar organization in the UK
*
Canadian Standards Association a similar organization in Canada; also serves as a competitive alternative for USA products
*
ETL SEMKO — a competing testing laboratory, part of Intertek; based in London, UK
*
IAPMO R&T — certification body based in Ontario, California, USA
* MET Laboratories, Inc. — testing laboratory based in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
*
NTA Inc — certification agency based in Nappanee, Indiana, USA
* NCC — a similar Brazilian approvals organisation
*
TÜV — a similar German approvals organisation
*
Underwriters Laboratories — testing organization, based in Northbrook, Illinois, USA
* TRaC Global — a test laboratory and certification body based in the UK
See also
*
ANSI
*
Consumers Union
*
Good Housekeeping Seal
''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...
*
NEMKO
*
Product certification
*
Quality control
Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements".
This approach places ...
*
RoHS
*
Safety engineering
References
External links
Sira CertificationSira Consulting LtdSira Defence and SecuritySira Defence and SecurityCSA International
British research associations
Companies based in Cheshire
Engineering companies of the United Kingdom
1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1918
Product-testing organizations
Research institutes in Cheshire
Runcorn
Scientific instruments
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