First of all, what does
“TÜV” mean?
TÜV is the
abbreviation for Technischer Überwachungsverein (Technical
Inspection Association). This is an official term for independent multinational
companies from Germany and Austria that focus on hazard prevention and
mitigation by offering their services for testing, inspecting and
certifying systems, facilities and objects.
Worldwide a
TÜV certification is viewed as a qualitative trademark that ensures
trust and quality that the product/service/process it applies to has been
deemed safe and compliant to regulations by experts. In other words, as
a consumer you can be certain that a product marked with the TÜV certification
is safe and up to standard with legal requirements.
As an
example of how widespread TÜV is: next time you visit the local playground with
your kids, chances are that the playground and the car you’re driving in to get
there, are both carrying TÜV certifications.
First inspection society on
European mainland
TÜVs were
originally created during the industrial revolution with the escalating
number of accidents due to bursting boilers. This increase was caused by
the use of high-pressure boilers that were getting more powerful which brought
along a higher risk. Finally, after the incident of an exploding boiler at the
Mannheim Aktienbrauerei in January 1865, the idea was put forward to have boilers
regularly inspected as industries in Great-Britain were already doing at
that time.
One year
later the first inspection society on European mainland was created as the the
Gesellschaft zur Überwachung und Versicherung von Dampfkesseln (Society for
the Supervision and Insurance of Steam Boilers). Seeing their success in
terms of accident prevention, the concept of independent regional
monitoring societies quickly spread through other German regions. Further
along, they were also entrusted with safety inspections in a broader range
of technical assets such as periodic testing of cars and even driver’s
license testing.
These
associations would later use the “TÜV” brand, together with the regional suffix
(hence TÜV AUSTRIA).
TÜV AUSTRIA Group
TÜV AUSTRIA
realizes their mission by offering relevant services:
- Audit & certification: TÜV AUSTRIA conducts company audits as an independent and accredited
certification body for management system, personal and product certification.
- Guidance:
TÜV AUSTRIA eagerly employs their in-house expertise to accommodate you with
guidance regarding all aspects of “safety” using the latest technology.
- Testing & inspection: companies from all over the world can entrust TÜV AUSTRIA for independent
testing and inspection.
- Training:
TÜV AUSTRIA Academy offers more than 2,400 practical courses for every continuing
education goal (E-learning programmes, apprenticeship training, militia
certification, engineering certification and in-house training in your company
complete the wide range of services.)
METALogic, your corrosion
partner from the very beginning
At the
start, METALogic was founded in 1991 as a spin-off company of the
department Metallurgy and Applied Materials Science of the Catholic University
of Leuven. The focus was
originally to develop an AI software that would have functioned as a material
expert. However, it was quickly noted that human expertise cannot be fully
replaced by a computer and especially in the field of corrosion where every
nuance matters. Thus that is where METALogic anchored itself on: in-house
material experts who are backed by highly technological equipment to aid any
potential corrosion or material concern.
METALogic's
knowledge and expertise in specifically Risk-Based Inspection, corrosion
technology and coating testing are a prized addition to TÜV AUSTRIA Group's
Inspection and Asset Management portfolio. In return, TÜV AUSTRIA's
international network, extensive experience and expertise in certain specific
techniques enable METALogic to serve its customers even better.
How is this
put into practice? By combining a strong set of services:
- Team of seasoned material experts
who personally assist you to tackle all your questions.
- Quality is our priority throughout, from initial
contact to the final report.
- State-of-the-art laboratories and
inspection tools
that offer both standardized and custom solutions.
- Flexibility and speed for when you need to have the
problem fixed ‘yesterday’.
Combined forces and
expertise for an all-round solution
So what
does this mean for you who needs assistance with corrosion and materials? This
video explains how our combined services are beneficial to you.
TÜV AUSTRIA
and METALogic combine their forces to guide you through all decisive stages
of the lifecycle of your equipment or plant with the goal of safely prolonging
its lifetime.
- Design stage: assisting you in finding the right material (i.e. for your reactor, vessel, pipeline etc.) or coating via both state of the art lab testing and theoretical expertise. Next to material assets, the design stage also includes checking the compliance of people.
- In service stage: a range of NDT and structural health monitoring techniques to check the health of your assets. Furthermore Risked Based Inspection (RBI) is included to secure the integrity of your plant.
- Failure: destructive testing, visual inspections and theoretical studies are used to figure out the root cause of failure in order to prevent similar damage in the future.
In a
nutshell, the collaboration of TÜV AUSTRIA and METALogic offers an A-Z approach
to help you throughout the lifecycle, from beginning to the end. This synergy
will bring more to come in the future so stay tuned for further news!
Do you have
a question for either METALogic or TÜV AUSTRIA Belgium? Do not hesitate to reach out to us!
