Lloyd’s Register Announces Changes

David Moorhouse, chairman of Lloyd's Register (LR), announced a major overhaul of the classification society. While LR's underlying financial position remains strong, it has recently been losing nearly £2 million per month at the operating level. The changes being introduced are designed to reduce these losses in the short term and to return LR to a position of market leadership and financial prosperity in the medium term.

To date, Moorhouse has discontinued the centrally coordinated industrial inspection business, although local and in-service inspection will continue and even increase where it can demonstrate a satisfactory financial return. The corporate support function has been reduced significantly and activity, especially in the IT area, not essential to maintaining control and not forming part of the core services, will be outsourced.

Moorhouse continued: "At the heart of what we are trying to achieve is one LR, through a new structure capable of delivering our objectives of simplicity, transparency and flexibility. The fundamental components of this new structure will comprise four main business streams, three regional operating groups and a small corporate support facility."

The four global business streams will comprise Marine, Oil and Gas, Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) and Industry. Services in these global businesses will be delivered through three geographical regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia; and the Americas.The main differences in this new structure are the absence of a central HQ and a significantly smaller and more effective corporate support service. In principle, nothing will be owned or accounted for remote from the business or operating region and nothing will be operated outside the control of the regions.