DVGW Test Laboratories
Striving jointly to provide better service
The DVGW Certification Body gives pride of place to service, continuously enhancing its range of services to better meet customers' requirements through improved organisation and uniform procedures.
One current example illustrating this point is the Integrated Certification and Testing Body, which encompasses the DVGW Certification Body, the DVGW Gas Test Laboratories in Karlsruhe and at the Institute for Gas Heat (GWI) in Essen and, in future, the DVGW Water Test Laboratory in Karlsruhe. On the basis of this new structure, all test and certification procedures will be controlled centrally by the DVGW Certification Body in conjunction with the above-mentioned test laboratories. The value to the customer is quite obvious:
- One contact person handling everything, from quotation to invoice, and
- Economising on time thanks to optimum harmonisation of individual procedure steps.
In the product testing sector, the DVGW Certification Body co-operates with more than 30 gas and water test laboratories, some of which are accredited by the German authorities. The DVGW Certification Body recognises and supervises these laboratories on the basis of a uniform and precisely defined procedure. Some of these test laboratories have specialised in certain areas, in which they also work for other certification bodies. Their geographical distribution across the entire Federal Republic ensures a high degree of closeness to the customer.
By the way, our test engineers' work covers more than just the mere comparison of actual and ideal data when testing products for compliance with standards. While it is true that technical rules, standards and other regulations constitute the basis of all tests, the general objective envisaged by all regulations, i.e. guaranteeing protection, is also taken into account: All test engineers actively represent their specific area of work on the important national and European standardisation bodies, and are therefore well informed about the latest trends and developments. This provides a sound basis for an up-to-date and holistic product assessment.