Development of the NDT Railway Certification Program (W.S. cert)

In 2010, W.S. Werkstoff Service GmbH underwent an assessment by the DGZfP’s “NDT in the Railway Industry” Technical Committee and the regulatory authority (EBA), and was recognised as a technically competent body that same year.

Since 2010, we have audited more than 100 workshops in 18 European countries and granted recognition in accordance with DIN 27201-7.

The NDT recognition procedure carried out by technically competent bodies over many years was essentially a certification process, as it includes:

• Evaluation of the conformity of NDT processes with normative requirements through an assessment at the workshop.
• Planned collection of information (objective evidence of conformity) based on a checklist, particularly through document review, discussions with NDT personnel and observation of the practical performance of NDT at the workshop.
• If there are deviations from the normative requirements: definition and implementation of corrective actions and, where necessary, on-site follow-up audits.
• Preparation of an assessment report by the assessor.
  Evaluation of the assessment results in the report and a decision by a second person who is not the assessor (four-eyes principle).
• Confirmation of recognition by sending a certificate of recognition to the workshop.
• Monitoring of conformity through regular surveillance – in the case of W.S. Werkstoff Service GmbH, midway through the three-year recognition period.
• Renewal of recognition after the recognition period has expired.

Following the revision of DIN 27201-7 in 2014, the standard no longer provides for the concept of a technically competent body or, consequently, for recognition of workshops by such a body. Recognition by independent third parties (DGZfP, EBA) also no longer exists.

However, the newly established ECMs (see EU Regulation 445/2011) must demonstrate the conformity of NDT processes as part of their workshop assessments, as must workshops seeking their own certificate. From the perspective of the market and interested parties, a competent third-party body is helpful and desirable for this demonstration of conformity.