LRQA (formerly “Lloyd’s Register QA“) is a mess. I have a number of investigations running related to clients of LRQA’s conformity assessment business, but can’t get the evidence needed because LRQA cannot provide accurate information. Worse, they don’t seem to be participating in IAF CertSearch as required by that group’s mandate (published here) that all IAF accreditation bodies upload their data by October of 2024. That isn’t going so well.
In the case of LRQA, I couldn’t find any of the certs I was looking for; they were like droids at Mos Eisley. This has been going on for some time, too, since I wrote to them back in 2024 about this, and then again just last week. The exchange with LRQA last week was frustrating, too, as I was forced to communicate with them through some lame website complaint form. I explained that I was asking to know why LRQA certificates — as a whole — aren’t appearing in CertSearch despite the IAF mandate, but their idiot representative, Vishal Pandey, hadn’t bothered to read my actual request. Instead, he asked me for the number of the certificate I was checking.
When I clarified that I wasn’t checking a single certificate, but asking about LRQA’s conformity with the IAF mandate, he then said he thought the certs were uploaded to UKAS’ version of CertSearch, called “CertCheck.”
I haven’t heard back since that.
The problem is that unless there are special dispensations issued to LRQA, the data in UKAS CertCheck is supposed to get ported over to IAF CertSearch. I mean, the IAF mandate applies to UKAS, too, so they have to upload all their CBs’ data, whether or not it resides in CertCheck.
A 2021 FAQ by UKAS makes it appear that while UKAS CertCheck is mandatory for UKAS-accredited bodies, subsequent uploading to IAF CertSearch is optional. But that was back in 2021, before the IAF mandate, and I can’t find an updated version. I’ve reached out ot UKAS to clarify whether or not they are still making participation in CertSearch optional, despite the mandate.
Back at IAF CertSearch, things within LRQA’s listings get really weird, really fast. First, they list their accreditation to issue ISO 9001 certificates as being for the “Aerospace Sector Certification Scheme.” Obviously, ISO 9001 is not an aerospace sector certification, and they are referring to AS9100. But no one at LRQA, UKAS, or IAF could be bothered to check the data before it was uploaded, so here is what the official listing for LRQA looks like:
Next, LRQA appears to be trying to get around the whole messy prohibition on operating in Russia by, well, hoping no one has ever looked at a map. They list their office in St. Petersburg, Russia, as actually being in the United Kingdom.
Just to make sure my High School geography teacher wasn’t wrong, I checked Google Maps and plugged in the address for LRQA’s St. Petersburg address. That’s indicated by the red pin icon on the map. Sure enough, the UK has not yet annexed Russia.
Next, the St. Petersburg office shouldn’t appear in IAF CertSearch at all, since it’s been shut down “due to sanctions.” From a 2023 listing of official LRQA offices:
Finally, there’s this bit of strangeness. In CertSearch, when you click to verify the list of countries that LRQA can operate in, it indicates “1” but then lists exactly none. The space where the listing should be is entirely blank.
The IAF, meanwhile, is insisting that CertSearch is the “single source of truth” in the ISO certification scheme. The actual data in the system undergoes no quality checks at all, so CBs like LRQA can upload nonsensical, incomplete, or outright false data all day long. UKAS isn’t required to validate that data, and then the IAF — despite its press releases to the contrary — denies all responsibility anyway. Their Terms and Conditions page makes it clear that the data in IAF CertSearch is not to be trusted or relied on.
I am pretty sure that’s fraud; you can’t announce a commercial product like CertSearch calling it a “single source of truth” to “validate” certificates and then hide language in your Terms and Conditions that says, in effect, “we were only kidding.” Someone needs to test this in court.
Anyway, if LRQA gets its shit together I will update this accordingly. Don’t hold your breath.
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
