TÜV NORD Systems GmbH & Co. KG (TNS)
www.tuev-nord.de
Short description of the organization
TÜV NORD Systems GmbH & Co. KG (TNS) is a daughter company of TÜV NORD GROUP. TNS currently employs about 1221 employees. The turnover of financial year 2013 was approximately 153 million EURO. TNS is one of the leading companies in the area of testing and inspection services for a wide range of different industrial facilities and applications. The main activities of TNS belong to safety and quality related testing and inspection issues of plants and technical systems and the location-wide consultation on complex technical issues, in particular of testing and assessments. As an approved inspection organisation (in German “Zugelassene-berwachungs-Stelle, ZÜS”), the company offers its testing services nation- as well as worldwide. The focal areas of the activities include e.g. the inspection of pressure devices, which are mandatory subject of inspection monitoring, system technology, electronic and control technologies, conveyor
technology, filling station systems, material technology, and damage assessments. For the overall support of customers, the range of services has been extended to acceptance testing and recurrent testing. If required, customers also can be assisted in product development from the planning phase through to production. According to § 17 (5) of the “Equipment and Product Safety Act (GPSG)”, TNS also works as “Approved Inspection Organisation”. With over 140 years of inspection experience, the field of high-pressure steam boiler is one of the core competencies of the TÜV NORD GROUP. TNS is also involved in numerous research projects and the development of national and international standards as well as regulations.
Role in the project and main tasks
TNS intend to be a reliable partner in the field of the project management, development support of the new inspection system with respect to safety and quality necessary requirements (e.g. ATEX, NDT etc.), onside application and validation of the new inspection and maintenance technology, identification of proper refinery pipe systems and networks for remote sensor locations, validation of the new inspection concept with respect to its applicability and accuracy etc. TNS will have as third party its sister company TÜV NORD Cert to provide expertise in the frame of the development of a proper safety design concept with view to the future product certification process. This step is necessary as the consultancy services (TNS) and certification services (TÜV NORD CERT) are mandatory as well as strictly separated by the accreditation bodies (e.g. Dakks). The solution is to have two independent companies, TNS and TÜV NORD CERT.
Relevant previous experience
The TNS has been part of numerous R&D projects such as project coordinator etc., mainly in the area of material science and system technology. In 2014 TNS started to work on RPAS-based inspection of wind mill rotor blades.
Key publications before the project
- G. Rabe and G. Krage. Verification, Validation and Licencing of Safety Critical Systems, TÜV Nord e.V.Safety Symposium, Hamburg, 1993.
- J. Hülsing. Betriebsschutzverordnung – Das Explosionsschutzdokument §6 BetrSichV, Symposium IHK Lübeck, 10.11.2005.
- T. Brühheim, S. Beck. Bericht Stillstandsmanagement. 2. TÜV NORD Raffineriesymposium, Hamburg,30.09.2009
- V. Kaci. Online-Monitoring – Ein Tool für die Maschineninstandhaltung, 2. TÜV NORD Raffineriesymposium, Hamburg, 30.09.2009