Ricardo Certification comprises a set of companies within the Ricardo group that perform independent assurance and testing services in rail and other sectors.

Companies within Ricardo Certification are accredited against inspection and certification standards enabling them to offer accredited assurance services in line with national and international rules and approval processes. Performing these services gives our clients the independent scrutiny they require to bring their systems into service or to sell their products into global and local markets.

For clients in the rail sector, Ricardo Certification's accredited bodies offer the following independent assurance services, including:

• Notified Body, Designated and Assessment Body services, principally for railways and products/systems to be used across Europe.
• Independent Safety Assessment and Railway Product Certification services, for the safety approval of global products, systems and railways.

Our approach is based on a belief that assessments should not be ‘box-ticking’ exercises. Nor a burden on your teams.

Experience has shown that the early involvement of a proactive team of assessors adds value to projects and offers an important source of insight for Project Managers. By maintaining open and constructive dialogue throughout the process, we can help remove unnecessary paperwork and reduce the risks of delays and cost overruns.

Pioneering assessment technology

The Ricardo Compliance Tool (RCT) is central to our vision of creating a collaborative relationship with our clients.

Developed for the rail industry, and unique to Ricardo Certification, the RCT provides a secure, cloud-based environment to share checklists, evidence, compliance arguments, reports and conclusions, enabling your team and our assessors to perform assurance activities, exchange feedback and access 24/7 status updates during every stage of the project.

For more information about RCT click here.

Ricardo Certification's companies operate as separate and independent businesses within the Ricardo group. Each assignment is accepted in full recognition of the need for impartiality and confidentiality, both of which are necessary to ensure the client, and its key stakeholders, have full confidence in the assessment performed.

Strict internal controls require that any potential conflicts that may arise are identified, reviewed and controlled, or even avoided, where they may bias an assessment. This ensures all assessment work is impartial and performed in accordance with the accredited body's processes.

To view Ricardo’s independent assurance policy in full visit ricardo.com/policies.