Sira is a UK-based notified body, specialising in

ATEX The ATEX directives are two EU directives describing the minimum safety requirements for workplaces and equipment used in explosive atmospheres. The name is an initialization of the French term ''Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmos ...

, 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 A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research. History Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...

, electromedical, and

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

industries. Its first director of research was Sir Herbert Jackson (1863–1936). BSIRA's London headquarters were destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

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 The CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association; CSA) is a standards organization which develops standards in 57 areas. CSA publishes standards in print and electronic form, and provides training and advisory services. CSA is composed ...

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 ETL SEMKO (formerly Electrical Testing Laboratory) is a division of Intertek Group plc (LSE: ITRK) which is based in London. It specializes in electrical product safety testing, EMC testing, and benchmark performance testing. ETL SEMKO operates mo ...

— a competing testing laboratory, part of Intertek; based in London, UK *

IAPMO R&T IAPMO R&T was started in 1936 as a third-party listing agency specializing in plumbing and mechanical products. IAPMO R&T is accredited to certify products that meet the criteria of the Uniform Plumbing Code, Uniform Mechanical Code, Uniform Sol ...

— 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

References

External links

Sira Certification

Sira Consulting Ltd

Sira Defence and Security

Sira Defence and Security

CSA 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 {{UK-company-stub

Foundation

Fate

Similar organizations

See also

References

External links