IRS expands range of certification services in Sri Lanka

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) India's top ship classification and certification body, has extended to its Sri Lanka office several new areas of expertise that go beyond its core competency, and will now offer industrial surveys and certifications for quality management systems, environment management systems and security systems.

The company, which opened its Sri Lanka office in association with the Hayleys Group seven years ago, announced this week that local companies can now access its expertise in plant, equipment process and certification in many fields of industry including automobile assembly.

On offer in Sri Lanka through the IRS will be some of the most critical certifications stipulated by international buyers, such as the occupational safety and health management certification OSHAS, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), the ISO 9000 series of Quality Management Systems, ISO 14000 Environment Management Systems and ISO/TS 16949 for the automobile industry (for which IRS is the only certification body in the region).

"This represents a huge expansion of the range of expertise we are offering in Sri Lanka," IRS, Senior Surveyor and Country Manager in Sri Lanka Ephrem Jose Carri said. "With the expansion of our portfolio, IRS possibly offers the widest range of certification services through a single window in this country," he added.

He said IRS, in partnership with its local representative Hayleys Advantis, the Hayleys Group's transportation sector company, could now tap into several business sectors that have not had local access to some of these certification services before. "We believe that the market potential is substantial," Carri said.