Inspection: making the invisible visible
You manufacture products, execute projects, work according to certain processes. How do you make sure they meet the relevant quality standards, requirements and legal obligations? Inspection by Kiwa can help you reduce risks, control quality, verify quantity and meet regulatory requirements. It makes the invisible visible and help you prepare for the unexpected.
Inspection brings confidence
Whether mandatory or voluntary, inspections yield essential data you can use to ensure the quality, safety, efficiency and optimal operation of your equipment and your organisation. The resulting information is valuable and provides early warnings for future problems. That way, you can avoid costs or, worse, accidents and emergency breakdowns. Thus, inspections bring confidence: in your employees, production processes and assets, as well as in how you affect your environment.
What can we do for you?
Our inspection services include all kinds of examination, measurement, gauging, and comparison of materials or items. We inspect practically everything, from small measuring devices to powerful pressure vessels. We carry out inspections at every level, ranging from design review, installation and manufacturing to modernisation, maintenance and in-service or batch inspections. Thus, we determine the condition of a certain material, an item, a process or a situation, and whether or not it conforms to the applicable or specified requirements, regulations and standards.
Independence
We act as a strictly independent third party when we inspect your products, (raw) materials, installations or anything else. We are also being ‘inspected’ ourselves by national and European accreditation institutions on a regular basis. Kiwa is a Notified Body (NoBo) for many European directives: we are authorized by a national accreditation body to perform inspections in compliance with international standards. Thus, we close the loop, bringing trust and confidence.
Advantages
- Inspection brings confidence
- Inspection improves reliability and safety
- Inspection improves efficiency
- Inspection prevents disputes
- Inspection reduces risk
- Inspection improves customer satisfaction
- Inspection safequards your reputation
Inspection Process
You want your product, installation or a situation to be independently and impartially inspected according to a certain regime, either because it's mandatory or because you have your own set of regulations. Kiwa helps you by carrying out all the necessary inspections and providing you with results that make sense. Read about the process of an inspection below.
Preparing for inspection
Many inspections are mandatory, others are voluntary and perhaps based on regulations you have drawn up yourself. In the latter case, it's up to you to decide what to have inspected. As we know how to navigate the world of inspections, we help you through the entire process, including communication with other parties involved, such as authorities.
Inspection itself
An inspection usually takes place on-site or can be performed remotely. It may be a visual inspection or involve sensing technologies such as ultrasonic testing. An inspector may be physically present on-site and perform the inspection manually. When performed remotely, cameras, sensors, drones or other automated devices are used.
Results
After the inspection, we'll interpret the results for you and provide you with a comprehensive inspection report.
Input for improvement
You use our findings as input for improvement.
Re-inspection
If desired or obliged, we return regularly to re-inspect.
Pricing
Our high-quality inspection activities have their price. How much you pay depends on the complexity and duration of the inspection process. Naturally, Kiwa will always provide you with an estimate of the time and cost involved. Usually, you can earn back these costs easily as an inspection brings efficiency, confidence and less down-time in general.
Frequently Asked Questions about Inspection
Why should I have my product, installation or process inspected?
Want to know quickly what inspection entails? Then check out the handy infographic below. Download the document by clicking on the image.
In this video Inspection Engineer Sanna Sandkvist inspects a power station from Ljungby Energy in Sweden. She tells: “You do inspections to make sure facilities are safe. I really love my job, you get to know a lot of different industries.”