Landmark New Drone Accreditation: First UAS Operations Gold Certification Granted in the UK

[LONDON, UK] IQ Verify are delighted to announce that Crowded Space Drones are the first to be granted the new IQ Verify UAS Operations Gold certification in alignment with the requirements of BS ISO 21384‑3:2019, the International Standard for UAS (Drone) Operations.

BS ISO 21384‑3:2019 outlines the requirements for unmanned aircraft (UA) operational procedures which, when applied together with any other current and future standard, forms a robust UA safety and quality standard. It applies to all commercial UAS operations regardless of size, categorization, application or location and represents the international best practice for the safe operation of all types of use and missions.

Owing to the breadth of consideration within any UAS operation, these requirements fall within a number of key areas including; Safety and Security, Data Protection and Cyber Security, Operator Documentation and Insurance, Operations (from planning to operation and journey logs), Maintenance and Privacy.

Through a comprehensive audit process which includes the review of previous deployments and a live flight assessment, UAS organisations now have the opportunity to be independently verified against the highest industry standards. It is perhaps for this reason that two major insurers within the sector, Coverdrone and Moonrock, have already confirmed that they will offer discounts to those organisations certificated by IQ Verify to UAS Operations Gold.

Laurie Clarke, Director of IQ Verify, explained more about UAS Operations Gold: “As an independent and international Certification Body, IQ Verify is extremely proud to be able to offer this route of recognised certification to UAS organisations looking to meet the latest operational standards. In any industry, particularly one expanding as rapidly as drones, the opportunity to showcase organisational compliance above and beyond the competition is extremely valuable- both at an operational and commercial level.

Having received a number of applications from interested parties already, it is exciting to see that the industry is responding so positively to this unique opportunity for formal certification. We congratulate Crowded Space Drones on their benchmark achievement as the very first organisation to have been independently verified and certificated against the requirements of BS ISO 21384‑3:2019.”

Andrew McQuillan of Crowded Space Drones explained why the drone industry needs independent certification: “As soon as ISO 21384-3 was published, we looked to obtain certification as we know that in other sectors certification of compliance to International Standards is crucial to demonstrating quality and winning competitive tenders and quotes with clients. This scheme from IQ Verify comprehensively audited our entire operations and has given our clients additional confidence that they are utilising the leading drone services company in the United Kingdom.

Having recently been certificated by IQ Verify to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, it was encouraging to see the alignment between this standard and the privacy etiquette requirements of BS ISO 21384‑3:2019, creating an eco-system of complementary accreditations & certifications which customers can rely on as the first independent quality standards for the industry.”

• Crowded Space Drones is the trading name of TCMC Crowded Space Ltd
• Established in 2013, IQ Verify are an independent and recognised Certification Body specialising in the audit and certification of management systems, organisations and persons.
• Crowded Space Drones were established in 2015 and work on various high-profile projects including the recent television series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Queen Elizabeth Christmas Broadcasts and for major events such as the Wimbledon Championships.
• BS ISO 21384‑3:2019 was released in 2019 and IQ Verify UAS Operations Gold is the first certification framework to formally assess against its requirements
• For more information above, please contact IQ Verify on info@iqverify.org.uk or visit https://iqverify.org.uk/uas