Our History
Formed in 1996, the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) is the national authority for the independent accreditation of conformity assessment bodies in Singapore. Operating under Enterprise Singapore, a statutory board of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, SAC also builds trust in Singapore products and services by strengthening Singapore’s technical infrastructure for conformity assessments and forging mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with our economic partners. SAC’s primary function is to accredit conformity assessment services, such as testing, calibration, inspection and certification.
Our Journey & Milestones
1986
November: The Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (SINGLAS) was launched under the then Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research (SISIR).
1996
29 January: Signing of bilateral agreements with National Accreditation for Testing Authorities (NATAS) Australia, Telerc (now called International Accreditation New Zealand, IANZ), American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) & Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS) for laboratory accreditation.
2 February: Singlas hosted APLAC 1st General Assembly.
11 October: 1st SAC Council was appointed.
24 October: SAC was established with the signing of MOU between the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the then Singapore Confederation of Industries (SCI).
Launch of Accreditation Programme for Quality Management System (QMS) Certification.
1997
19 November: SINGLAS becomes one of the inaugural signatories of the APLAC MRA.
1998
1 April: SINGLAS was transferred from the then Singapore Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) to SAC.
27 July: Launch of Registration Scheme for QMS Auditor.
5 November: SAC signed the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) MLA for QMS.
1999
29 September: SAC signed the IAF MLA for QMS.
30 November: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Environmental Management System (EMS) Certification.
2000
27 March: SAC signed the Bilateral MRA with the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA) for laboratory accreditation.
27-28 March: SAC hosted the ILAC Accreditation Policy Committee Meeting.
2 October: Launch of Registration Scheme for QMS Internal Auditor.
2 November: SAC signed the inaugural ILAC MRA for laboratory accreditation.
2001
9 April: Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Inspection Bodies.
SAC signed a Letter of Understanding (LOU) for Technical Cooperation with the Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam.
6 September: SAC served as a member of the PAC Executive Committee.
15 November: Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Product Certification Bodies.
2002
11 March: SAC signed the MLA with International Auditor and Training Certification Association (IATCA) for QMS Auditor Registration.
1 April: SAC was transferred to the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore).
29 August: SAC signed the Agreement for Joint Accreditation of Medical Laboratories with the College of American Pathologists.
2003
13 October: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Certification of Bunker Supply.
13 November: SAC became one of the inaugural members of the APLAC MRA for Inspection.
2004
6 - 10 September: SAC hosted the 10th IATCA Plenary Meeting.
2005
1 January: SAC served as a member of the APLAC Board of Management.
8 March: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Structural Steelwork Inspection.
1 July: Launch of Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS) Accreditation Programme.
31 August: Launch of SAC-CAP Joint Accreditation Programme for Medical Testing.
9 September: Launch of HAACP-based Food Management System Accreditation Programme.
2006
22 - 26 May: SAC hosted the 17th APLAC MRA Council Meeting and Board of Management Meeting.
19 October: SAC celebrated its 10th anniversary and 20 years of laboratory accreditation.
Launch of Accreditation Programme for ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System (FSMS) Certification.
19 December: SAC signed the PAC MLA for Product Certifcation.
2007
23 January: SAC signed the IAF MLA for Product Certifcation.
7 - 13 July: SAC hosted the 14th PAC Plenary Meeting.
5 November: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Cargo Inspection and Medical Imaging.
2008
28 April: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Certification of Ready-Mixed Concrete.
6 - 12 December: SAC hosted the 14th APLAC General Assembly and Technical Meetings.
2009
6 April: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Certification of Good Distribution Practice for Medical Devices (GDPMDS).
1 October: Launch of Gaming Testing Accreditation Programme.
2010
13 January: The Singapore GLP Compliance Programme was admitted to OECD Mutual Acceptance of Data.
6 April: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Business Continuity Management (BCM) Certification.
25 May: Launch of Functional Food Testing Accreditation Programme.
2011
1 January: SAC took on the APLAC Chairmanship.
19 May: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Central Alarm Monitoring Stations (CAMS).
2012
10 May: Launch of Site Investigation (SI) Accreditation Programme.
3 July: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Energy Management System (EnMS) Certification.
10 August: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Technical Audit of Extension Schemes for Pressure Vessels.
24 October: SAC signed the ILAC MRA for Inspection Bodies.
2013
14 - 15 March: SAC hosted the APLAC Mid-Year Meetings for APLAC MRA Council and Board of Management.
24 May: SAC elected to the PAC Executive Committee.
27 June: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Water Efficiency Management System (WEMS) Certification.
14 August: Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP).
Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Personnel Certification.
SAC signed a MOU with Temasek Polytechnic to upgrade industry capability.
2014
7 May: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Hook-Lift and Container (HL) Inspection.
25 June: SAC signed the APLAC MRA for Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP).
5 August: SAC signed a MOU with Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) for closer collaboration.
SAC signed a MOU with Singapore Polytechnic to upgrade industry capability.
Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Learning Service Providers (LSP) Certification.
9 September: SAC signed a MOU with the GCC Accreditation Centre (GAC) for closer collaboration.
29 October: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Multi-Tiered Cloud Computing Security (MTCS) Certification.
12 November: Launch of Accreditation Programme for End-of-Life ICT Equipment Management (EIMS) Certification.
2015
12 August: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Asset Management (AM) Certification.
13 August: SAC signed a MOU with the Chemical Metrology Division (CMD) of Health Sciences Authority for closer collaboration.
5 November: SAC signed the IAF MLA for Food Safety Management System (FSMS).
2016
9 June: SAC organised its 1st Regulator Workshop to promote accreditation as a tool to support public policy.
16 June: SAC elected to PAC Chairmanship.
27 July: SAC celebrated 30 years of the Singapore Accreditation Programme.
2017
25 March: SAC signed the PAC MLA for Energy Management System (EnMS) and Environmental Management System (EMS).
8 June: SAC signed a MOU with Myanmar's Department of Research and Innovation (DRI) and appointed as their partner accreditation body.
27 July: SAC signed the IAF MLA for Environmental Management System (EMS).
14 August: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Medical Devices Quality Management System (ISO 13485) Certification.
15 September: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Auditing Organisations.
26 December: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Anti-Bribery Management System Certification.
2018
2 January: Launch of Online Learning Portal.
2 April: Merger of IE Singapore and SPRING to form Enterprise Singapore.
24 August: Launch of Accreditation Scheme for Greenhouse Gas Validation & Verification Body.
28 September: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Information Security Management System (ISMS) Certification.
1 October: Expanded Auditing Organisation Scheme to include Risk Management Audit and expanded Product Certification Scheme to include Organic Primary Produce certification.
26 October: SAC and the Automation Standards Compliance Institute (ASCI) signed an MoU to facilitate industry recognition of SAC-accredited conformity assessment bodies (CABs) providing ISA/IEC 62443 Industrial Automation and Control Systems Cybersecurity Certification under ASCI's ISASecure Scheme.
12 November: Expanded Product Certification Scheme to include certification of Structural Steelwork Fabricators.
2019
1 January: APAC was established by the amalgamation of APLAC and PAC.
4 January: SAC expanded Laboratory Accreditation Scheme to include Robustness Testing under the Information Technology Field and ISASecure Certification under Product Certification Scheme.
14 - 22 June: SAC hosted the inaugural Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) 2019 Annual Meeting.
17 June: Launch of Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) - Chain of Custody Certification.
26 June: SAC was admitted to APAC MRA for Medical Device - Quality Management System, Occupational Health & Safety Management System and Information Security Management System.
30 September: SAC was admitted to IAF MLA for Medical Device - Quality Management System and Information Security Management System.
3 October: SAC was admitted to ILAC MRA for Proficiency Testing Providers.
2 & 27 October: SAC was admitted to APAC MRA and IAF MLA for Certification of Persons.
2020
30 May: SAC was admitted to IAF MLA for Occupational Health & Safety Management System.
2021
10 September: SAC was admitted to APAC MRA for Business Continuity Management and Anti-bribery Management System.
16 November: Launch of Accreditation Programme for Cold Chain Management System (CCMS) Certification.
25 November: Expanded Product Certification Scheme to include Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) and Clean & Green Urban Farms.
30 November: Expanded Product Certification Scheme to include In-situ Post Tensioning Works and Alternative Structural Steel in BC 1.
2022
14 February: Expanded Inspection Body Scheme to include Food Cargo Inspection.
22 February: Expanded Auditing Organisation Scheme to include Food Establishments Audits.