Quality with FransWhat has been happening
| Case | What was faked | How it worked |
|---|---|---|
| Thanh Hoa, Vietnam (2026) | Construction material test result sheets | A local construction testing company and others prepared test results for tests that were never done properly. The sheets went into acceptance and as-built files handed to project owners. Police charged six more people in August, bringing the total to 15. |
| Essex, UK (sentenced June 2026) | 511 CITB health, safety and environment tests | Candidates paid up to £500 for a pass on a test that normally costs £23.50. CITB withdrew all 511 results, and the card schemes were told so that site cards could be cancelled. |
| Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (convictions 2019, sentences increased 2021) | Concrete cube compression test records | Lab staff under workload pressure changed the computer clock on the test machines and crushed substitute high-strength cubes or a steel calibration cylinder instead of the real samples. The Court of Appeal raised the sentences to up to two years in prison. |
| UK rebar supply chain (CARES warning, 2021) | Third-party approval certificates for reinforcing steel | Forged or altered CARES approval documents, mainly for imported bar, were found during routine checks. In one case a trader edited a genuine certificate. |
The pattern is the same each time. The paper looked right, it was signed, and it went into the file. In Hong Kong, the senior officers who signed the reports did so in good faith. They were not the ones who faked the tests, but their signatures made the false results look official.
Why this matters for QA/QC
We spend a lot of time checking that a certificate exists. We spend much less time checking that it is true. When an inspector or QA/QC engineer accepts a certificate, it becomes part of the project's evidence of compliance. If the material later fails, "the supplier gave it to us" is a weak defence, and the handover file is only as strong as its weakest certificate.
A mill certificate (for example an EN 10204 type 3.1) is the manufacturer's own statement that the product meets the order, with its test results. It does not prove that the bundle on your site came from that heat, because bars and plates can be mixed up when stock is cut, re-bundled or re-labelled by a stockist. Traceability from the certificate to the physical marking is your job, not the supplier's.
Six checks before you accept a certificate
| Check | What to look for | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Verify with the issuer | Scan the QR code or use the issuer's online check. CARES approval documents carry a QR code linked to its database; UKAS publishes each lab's accreditation online. | No QR code where one is expected, a code that leads nowhere, or details that do not match the database |
| 2. Check the scope | The specific test (for example cube compression, tensile, chloride) and the method appear on the lab's schedule of accreditation, not just its certificate. | An accredited lab, but the test you need is not on its schedule, or the report says the test was done outside its scope |
| 3. Check it is current | The approval or accreditation is valid on the date of the test and on the date of supply. | Expired approvals, old issue numbers, or accreditation suspended or withdrawn |
| 4. Match it to the material | The heat or cast number, bar mark, size and grade on the certificate match the tags and rolled-in marks on the steel delivered. | Tags missing or handwritten, heat numbers that do not match, one certificate "covering" every delivery |
| 5. Read the numbers | Results that sit naturally within the range, with normal scatter between samples and dates that make sense. | Identical results across many samples, round numbers, tests dated before casting or on public holidays, batch dates that do not match delivery tickets |
| 6. Check the document itself | Consistent fonts, logos, report numbering, signatory names and contact details, all of which the issuer can confirm. | Edited fields, mismatched fonts, scanned copies only, contact details that differ from the issuer's own website |
None of these checks needs special software. Most take one or two minutes, and every one is a fair question to ask a supplier. A genuine supplier will not mind.
Check on your site tomorrow
- Pick the last three rebar deliveries. For each, match the heat number on the certificate to the tag and the rolled-in marks on the bars in the yard.
- Scan the QR code, or check online, the third-party approval for your rebar supplier and the accreditation of your concrete testing lab. Confirm both are valid today.
- Open your testing lab's schedule of accreditation and confirm that every test it reports to you is listed on it.
- Look through a month of cube results. Are any results identical across many samples, or dated on days when no samples were taken?
- Add "certificate verified with issuer: yes/no, by whom, date" to your material receiving inspection form, so the check is recorded, not just done.
Bar sizes, spacing, cover and laps, checked against the approved drawing before the concrete arrives. The 31-point checklist I use before every pour.
Download the checklist
Sources: Báo Mới: Thanh Hoa police charge six more in the forged material test records case (Vietnamese) · Báo Mới: director and staff charged over forged test sheets (Vietnamese) · Construction Enquirer: test scam boss jailed over 500 fake safety passes · ICAC Hong Kong: 19 charged over false concrete tests (2017) · ICAC Hong Kong: sentences increased on review (2021) · Construction Enquirer: alarm raised over fake rebar certificates · UKAS: choosing an accredited supplier · Mill test report (EN 10204 overview). Case details summarised in my own words from the reports above; follow your project specification and approved procedures for material acceptance.