International Certification
World-wide Activities
European certification procedures are becoming increasingly significant, especially so in the gas products industry. The DVGW Certification Body takes this extremely seriously, which is demonstrated by its active commitment in all major European certification bodies.
GADAC
In 1995, the DVGW Certification Body assumed the chair of GADAC (Gas Appliance Directive Advisory Committee), in which capacity it has worked towards a more efficient conformity assessment procedure ever since, producing the proposal for EDP-supported information exchange between the Notified Bodies, for instance
MARCOGAZ
The DVGW co-ordinates its European activities with those of other gas federations mainly within the MARCOGAZ association (Technical Association of the European Natural Gas Industry). The DVGW Certification Body holds the chair of the Standing Committee on Gas Usage and Certification.
Co-operation agreements with Ã?VGW, SVGW, and KIWA
The DVGW, the Austrian Gas and Water Association (�VGW, �sterreichische Vereinigung für das Gas- und Wasserfach), the Swiss Gas and Water Association (SVGW, Schweizerischer Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches), and the Dutch Inspection and Certification Institute (KIWA) have agreed to accept mutually test reports applying to the testing of gas and water-related products in the absence of applicable legislation. This agreement gives manufacturers who want to trade on the Austrian, Swiss, Dutch and German markets the benefit of less complicated testing procedures for gas and water-related products or gas installation components even in product segments that up to now have not yet been harmonised on a European level. National co-operations include the DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Standardisation Institute); DIN-CERTCO, the DIN's certification body; the VDE Verein Deutscher Elektrotechiker (Federation of German Electrical Engineers); and DQS, Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Zertifizierung von Managementsystemen mbH (German Management Certification Society, Ltd.).
International Co-operation with IAS and MBVTI
The co-operation agreement, which was concluded with North American International Approval Services (IAS) in May 1997, marked an important step towards more international co-operation.
A similar agreement was concluded early in 1999 with the Hungarian Testing and Certification Institute MBVTI (Müszaki Biztonsági Vizsgáló és Tanúsitó Intézet Kft. There are plans for agreements with France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.