TÜV SÜD
journal EST #18 TO THE T driving omy: Is sharing really Sharing econ economic grow th? OVE #22 ON THE M How e-cars fill-up Inductive charging: ugs and cables. without electrical pl OINT #28 TO THE P work? How do 3D printers
# 02 2013
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Editorial
DEAR READERS, About three years ago, the topic of electromobility really began to pick up speed. Nearly all major automakers accelerated the pace of their development work and investments in this area. Model regions in Europe, America and Asia began to test the use of e-vehicles under real-world conditions. The German government and business world, including TÜV SÜD, joined forces to launch the National Platform for Electromobility. Today, the initial excitement surrounding the topic seems to have worn off, and all of the hubbub has died down. Is this the reason why the technology has become sidetracked? We at TÜV SÜD remain convinced of its future viability and are working with automakers and fleet operators to make e-vehicles safer and more feasible to use under real-world conditions. We are testing batteries for e-vehicles according to uniform standards at our laboratories around the world and putting the e-cars available in Germany to the test under real-world conditions. This edition of TÜV SÜD Journal also examines the issue – it takes a closer look at the charging infrastructure (see page 22). In early May, TÜV SÜD currently work at TÜV SÜD. In around 50 countries across the globe, they are very close to our customers – and are certainly in released its financial results a location near you! for 2012. At more than €1.8
Nearly 19,000 employees
billion, revenue grew once again. And I‘m particularly pleased to report that we are a job-creating machine: TÜV SÜD added more than 1,500 jobs around the world last year and created more than 250 in Germany. We will continue to grow – with our employees and our customers.
Best regards,
Dr-Ing Axel Stepken Chairman of the Board of Management of TÜV SÜD AG 2 TÜV SÜD Journal
Table of contents
#06
COVER STORY »Urban gardening« is no more than a hobby in industrial countries. Can such gardens help lead people out of poverty elsewhere?
To the
On the
To the
What drives people around the world? We take a close look at technical and societal trends.
A look at the world of tomorrow: These innovations could soon shape our lives.
Get to the bottom of it! Our »add value« pages make complex issues understandable.
#16 Is small dangerous? Nanoparticles make car paint scratch-proof and cause drops of water to bounce off clothing. The tiny scientific tots can pull off big things. But do they also pose a threat?
#22 Electromobility unplugged Electric cars still have to be hooked up to an outlet to recharge their batteries. Soon, however, the energy supply could come from the road itself – wirelessly, by using induction.
#28 3D coming into fashion Printing clothes instead of sewing them: 3D printers make it all possible. Right now, they are in the process of taking over the mass market. But what makes these devices tick?
#18 Ours, not mine Sharing economy is the name of a new trend in which people jointly use knowledge and products. Dr Harald Heinrichs, a professor of sociology, talks about the trend’s social benefits.
#24 Class from mass People and machines have never produced more data than they are today. Tremendous potential is slumbering in the wealth of information known as »big data.«
#30 A guide to cookouts The season for foil-baked potatoes, steaks and sausages on a grill has begun. Five tips for healthful, safe barbecues and great-tasting meat, fish and vegetables.
#4 TÜV SÜD in focus #14 5 minutes with TÜV SÜD
#21 On location #31 Dates/imprint
#32 5 Minutes with TÜV SÜD #34 The final say
Test
Move
PoinT
TÜV SÜD Journal 3
TÜV SÜD im in focus Bild
Heavenly
PLEASURE It is 22 meters high and has 2,452 holds: Hamburg‘s highest climbing wall is not located in a hall. You‘ll find it instead on the tower of the Martin Luther Church in Hamburg-Iserbrook. Just how did people come up with the idea of adding a sporting facility to a house of worship? »Climbing has always been a part of our youth programs,« Pastor Bernd Neumann says. »Over the last 10 years, we have driven to the Rhön and Harz mountains for that very reason. We now have everything we need right here.« The climbing facility – which the young people have dubbed »Martin Luther west wall« – has four routes with various degrees of difficulty. They attached the stepping stones for each individual route as well as the pulleys for ropes. When they were done, TÜV SÜD Product Service inspected the work to determine whether everything complied with safety standards. »An experienced engineer closely examined all of the materials being used and their load-bearing capacity,« Neumann says. It totals 800 kilograms, which means that several people can climb at any one time. »As a result, the church remains a community experience.« More information: www.tuv-sud.com/sports-facilities
4 TÜV SÜD Journal
TÜV TÜV SÜD SÜD in im focus Bild
TÜV SÜD Journal 5
Cover story
Something taking root here Text & Photos: Timour Chafik
Harvesting tomatoes and picking apples against a big-city backdrop: »Urban gardening« has been attracting growing numbers of city residents in Europe and North America. It‘s a trend that allows them to relax while growing some of their own food. But in São Paulo, the largest city in South America, such urban gardens are a way to meet people‘s basic food needs. A visit to the fringes of Brazil‘s megacity.
6 TÜV SÜD Journal
Cover story
Genival Morais de Farias has been cultivating an urban garden in São Paulo for four years now. He says fate has been kind to him.
TÜV SÜD Journal 7
Cover story
Businessman Hans Dieter Temp (above right) has set up a group in São Paulo called Cidades sem Fome, or Cities without Hunger. About 150 new gardeners are cultivating their crops of carrots, lettuce and herbs in the city.
I
n the eastern part of São Paulo, lettuce grows on pipelines and beets under high voltage transmission towers, right next to crops of coriander, bananas, radishes, cucumbers, carrots and savoy cabbage. On the fringes of South America’s largest city, back behind a heavy iron gate located on Rua Professor José Décio Machado Gaia, a street that runs loudly, diagonally and colorfully through the working-class district of São Mateus, people are busily going about the job of raking, weeding, watering and harvesting. More than 8,000 square meters of land are tucked behind the four-meter-high walls. The idea of turning a former industrial site into a community garden was the 8 TÜV SÜD Journal
»Urban Gardening has turned trash collectors in São Paulo into small businessmen who earn a really respectable income.« – Hans Dieter Temp
brainchild of the non-government organization (NGO) Cidades sem Fome, or Cities without Hunger. It all unfolds right there: an expanse located in the middle of the city that never stops growing and gobbles up land on its outskirts – not for the purpose of producing vegetables like cucumbers, but rather for creating favelas – shanty towns – or public housing. Gardens are actually not part of São Paulo’s growth plans. The fact that they exist at all is partially the result of work done by Hans Dieter Temp. And of a trend that has picked up the name of urban gardening in European and North American metropolitan areas. In places like Berlin, Paris,
New York and Montreal, this is a fashionable hobby practiced by the upper middle class, an avocation that allows them to wind down from their busy days at the office. You just take a little bit of the city and turn it into a plot of food-producing soil. Ideally, a cozy get-back-to-land feeling will arise on the weekend, and one or two of the selfgrown tomatoes can be actually be served with pride. Here, on the outskirts of São Paulo, urban gardening is not so much of a hobby. It is a survival tool. Hans Dieter Temp understood this when he set up the NGO nine years ago. The parents of the 49-year-old Brazilian whose ancestors came from the
Cover story
16.2
IN THE SÃO PAULO METROPOLITAN AREA,
percent of national GDP is generated.
20.6 million people live there.
2.2
million people live in slums.
MALNOURISHMENT IN THE SLUMS AFFLICTS
30 PERCENT OF ALL CHILDREN. Swabian region of southern Germany are farmers in Agudo, a small town in the country’s most southern state, Rio Grande do Sul. »In São Paulo, I saw all of this land where towering piles of trash had been dumped,« says Temp, who earned a degree in business administration and received further training in agriculture. »Why not do something useful with it? Something that people can live from by growing food for their own consumption and use by customers?« Today, Temp operates 21 such municipal gardens on the eastern edge of the city. About 150 people are profiting from his work. Many of them no longer have to buy fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. The yields of their own fields are now this good. Income or relaxation
The principle of urban gardening works completely differently in every region. »We primarily grow the fruits and vegetables that bring the most money in the marketplace,« Temp says. »Thanks to São Paulo’s good climate, we can plant and harvest throughout
the year.« He says just about every one of his gardeners used to work in »recycling« – a euphemistic way of saying picking up trash – and they may have earned 80 to 120 Brazilian reais a month at it, the equivalent of €30 to €45. »Today, most of them are earning six times that,« he adds. No matter whether the aim is to earn money or relieve stress, the trend toward urban gardening has generally germinated from the same seed: People pour into growing metropolitan areas and drive open spaces to the outskirts of town – usually just outside the city’s gates. More people, more industry, less self-sufficiency – why get your hands dirty after a sweaty day at the factory? But structural change, particularly the transition from industrial to service societies being seen in Western economies, has resulted in a new form of land usage: industrial sites are abandoned, former downtown factory sites become vacant, and gardening sites – including the illegal form known as »guerilla gardening« – became one of these new forms.
»Microbes don’t have weekends« Brazil could feed the world. The country has an extremely capable food industry »and is the main exporter of nearly everything that you can eat,« says Sergio Mello, the Chief Executive Officer of TÜV SÜD in Brazil and Director of the food laboratory TÜV SÜD SFDK in São Paulo. The lab is one of the country’s leading such organizations. It was established in 1988 under the name SFDK Laboratório de Análise de Produtos Ltda. and was acquired by TÜV SÜD in mid-2012. Brazil, the world’s fifth-largest country with a population of about 200 million, is also a nation of extreme contradictions: »Here in São Paulo, or in Rio de Janeiro, the food quality level is similar to the European standards. You will find good-quality foods here – but it might be a completely different story in other areas,« Mello says. In the cities, demand for healthful fruit and choice meat products will rise, he says. »This is something that is improving in Brazil. Consumers want more, better and safer products.« Each day, 130 people test about 500 samples at TÜV SÜD SFDK. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. »Microbes don’t have weekends,« the lab director says. Each sample undergoes a series of tests involving microbiological and chemical examinations as well as checks for residues and impurities. Complex testing processes are broken down into many small individual steps. The work has been clearly split up among biologists, chemists, food-processing engineers and pharmacists. Ninety percent food and ten percent cosmetics: This is the current ratio of products tested in São Paulo. Among the food-related group, one of the lab’s focus is beverages, particularly wines and hard liquors: In Brazil, every imported bottle of wine, gin, vodka, whiskey and even olive oil must be tested. TÜV SÜD SFDK is one of the few labs in the country accredited to inspect these imported goods. In the future, the ratio could lean more toward cosmetics, Mello says. The main reason for such a shift would be the country’s economic surge. »In Brazil, you can find a 50-year-old woman who is now using lipsticks for the very first time in her life.« And wherever make-up is increasingly being applied, tests will be conducted.
TÜV SÜD Journal 9
Cover story
Book tips on urban gardening New York Rooftop Gardens shows an
Syntax of Landscape explains how
extreme side of urban gardening: the creation of green oases and small plots almost solely for relaxation purposes. Charles de Vaivre, teNeues, 220 pages
gardens and green areas can be integrated into municipal areas in accordance with environmental, social and cultural conditions. Udo Weilacher, Birkhäuser, 200 pages
The Multidimensional Benefit of Urban Agriculture uses the example of Addis Ababa to show how urban gardening can fight poverty. Tamirat Assefa/Bezabih Emana, VDM, 104 pages
City residents of Brazil increasingly want quality food. Much of the fruit and vegetables sold in markets is produced by urban gardening.
10 TÜV SÜD Journal
Cover story
»This country could really
feed the world. We export nearly everything you can eat.« – Sergio Mello, CEO of TÜV SÜD in Brazil
»In the region around São Paulo, coffee and fruit bound for export markets are grown,« says Sergio Mello (photo). By contrast, the products grown by urban gardeners are destined for local markets or the farmers’ own consumption.
Urban gardens, a political tool
Legal activities are also an option – in São Paulo, where Cidades sem Fome reached a contractual agreement with the partially government controlled oil company Petrobras and the Brazilian energy group Eletropaulo to secure the rights to the land. For years now, such cities as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore have been promoting inner-city farming as a source of food and income. Cuba made urban gardens an official part of its government policies after the Soviet Union collapsed and its socialist source of fertilizer disappeared. In Havana and Santiago de Cuba, urban gardening has been producing 90 percent of fresh foods ever since. Brazil is not quite this far along yet. The country has indeed been an industrial country for years now. The middle class is growing, and improved standards of living
are spreading. But vegetables have gotten short shrift. The diets of large portions of the country’s population generally consist of traditional foods like black beans, rice and meat. A lot of meat, because the country has more than enough of it. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef and poultry. It does good business with pork steak, too. Why don’t many of the foods end up on domestic stoves? »Because people are investing the little bit of prosperity they’ve earned into cell phones, televisions and washing machines,« Hans Dieter Temp thinks. »Status symbols that people can see – you can’t necessarily show off healthful eating so well.« The second cell phone held in a carefully pampered hand makes more of an impres-sion: »People who have nothing to eat but are still willing to shell out a lot of money for manicures are no longer a rare sight.«
During a stroll through Horta São Mateus, Temp acknowledges that his small farms will not be able to solve the big problems. Twenty million people live in São Paulo, and 40 million in the metropolitan area. Many of them have come from the middle and northern sections of the country, driven by the hope of finding a better job with which they can feed their families and themselves. In the shanty towns, they try to flee from their poverty – or they have already given up hope. »The most difficult job we have is trying to persuade those people who have just accepted their lot in life to join our project,« he says. In the very same moment, a person who embodies the exact opposite traits of such people merrily swings a machete, the blade nearly as long as his arm, at a banana bush. It is Genival Morais de Farias, who has been a gardener at São Mateus for four years now. The father of eight children, a former paperfactory worker and now an urban gardener. It could have turned out much differently, as it has for so many others: from the factory to the favela. Morais de Farias says fate has been on his side. He was born 63 years ago in Bom Jardin, or the »Good Garden.« It must have been a good omen.
More information on the topic: www.tuv-sud.com/food TÜV SÜD Journal 11
Standpunkte Points of view
Points Herbert Lohner, an employee of the BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany)
»Cultivating Spreewald pickles in the city is an expression of community spirit in Berlin.«
G
ardening in the big city may be the hip thing to do right now – and dirt under your fingernails the latest status symbol. In Berlin, though, urban gardening is the product of a historical development and is now an institution that promotes a feeling of oneness within the city. In Berlin, something has grown, germinated at the turn of the century, at times on an abandoned train line and at other times on the roof of an empty factory building. Berlin has reasons for its urban gardens, not all of which are happy ones: Until the Berlin Wall toppled down, many people moved away from the western part of the city. Then, the industry in the East collapsed. The result: huge amounts of open space, abandoned plots of land, forgotten corners – the perfect places for urban gardens. Added to this was a new, communal yearning to get back to the land that surged through the city: people getting together to dig, sow, plant and harvest. The gardeners are just as diverse as the gardens are, colorful as their names: Allmende Branch, Princess Garden, the Heavenly Patch and Pyramid Garden. You’ll find intercultural gardens, citizens’ gardens, neighborhood gardens, healing gardens and generation gardens. Each shares one trait: These are community gardens. Today, Berlin is growing once more, by about 60,000 people in the last two years. The city’s political leadership has responded with increased apartment construction, a decision that has driven up land prices and and now poses a threat to urban gardens. Their social role is being lost in the process.
URBAN GARDENS Berlin and New York aspects 12 TÜV SÜD Journal
Standpunkte Points of view
M
odern big cities and gardening – just what can this couple possibly see in each other? For nearly 40 years now, New York has been showing that skyscrapers and private gardens do indeed make a very good match. From the start, it was all about creating a pleasant living environment. For a short time now, urban gardening has been the rave of the media, much more so than in the cityscape itself. In New York, urban gardens have been around since the 1970s, particularly in down-and-out parts of the city. Residents took over vacant plots of land and collectively filled them with crop and ornamental plants. In doing so, they improved the neighborhood and their living situation. In Germany, the move has only recently caught on. Many forms of urban gardens can be found. Small gardeners continue to form the largest segment of the urban gardening movement. Before starting a garden project, you should be sure to work out the terms under which the garden can stay in place and then to comply with them. Soil contamination should be checked as well. Occasionally, urban gardens will be integrated into large parks. Through urban gardening, the civil society expresses itself and makes clear that it intends to perform a rural activity, in a specific urban way. Because this is done for all to see within the city itself, these projects promote communication and urban diversity. The movement will continue to grow, and landscape architects are well-advised to take a constructive approach to them.
of view
Almut Jirku, Member of the Executive Committee of the German Association of Landscape Architects
»Apple trees in the Big Apple bring beauty to residential areas and are an expression of urban diversity.«
What role does urban gardening play in Western cities? We asked two experts in green landscape architecture to share their thoughts. One looks at Germany, the other at the United States. Both think urban gardens enhance the quality of city life.
TÜV SÜD Journal 13
5 minutes
More know-how for international rail projects
Germany’s healthiest companies sought
New airbag test lab in the Czech Republic
TÜV SÜD has acquired the European division of the energy-service provider DNV KEMA. The 60 specialists in the new TÜV SÜD subsidiary have been working on complex rail-transport projects for more than 20 years. The portfolio ranges from planning support in the area of train energy to the certification of complete systems.
The business newspaper »Handelsblatt«, EuPD Research Sustainable Management and TÜV SÜD are searching for Germany‘s healthiest companies for the fifth time. Companies and organizations in Germany can present and submit their concepts for occupational health management. The application period runs through June 30, 2013. The competition is free of charge. Information is available online at www.corporate-health-award.de.
Airbags installed in cars must be tested regularly to ensure that the installed safety components meet all requirements and values for years to come. TÜV SÜD has now opened a new lab in Nymburk, Czech Republic, to conduct such tests. The state-of-the-art facility tests airbags in an environmental chamber under clearly defined climate conditions.
klaus.bosch@tuev-sued.de
norbert.gierisch@tuev-sued.de
jiri.socha@tuv-sud.cz
Product testing center in Garching opened
New cutting-edge labs for more than 130 employees, an investment total of € 15 million and a clear commitment to the business location of Germany: With the opening in April 2013 of the new center of expertise at the Product Service Division in Garching near Munich, TÜV SÜD has expanded its international network of labs for testing consumer goods. The 3,600-squaremeter building is located near the Group’s automotive labs and battery-testing facilities. During the opening ceremony, Dr Jens Butenandt, Managing Director of TÜV SÜD Product Service GmbH, noted that TÜV SÜD had done well in the area of product testing and certification: »Since entering this market, we have issued more than 350,000 certificates.« The Garching center – one of more than 50 Product Services locations around the world – primarily tests household and multimedia devices, lights, lamps (see picture), gardening equipment, bicycles, toys and sporting goods. A special service offered by the location is usability tests. jens.butenandt@tuev-sued.de
All units of TÜV SÜD grew in 2012
More revenue, more capital expenditures, more employees: The year of 2012 was very successful for TÜV SÜD. At approximately €1.82 billion, revenue rose by about 8.5 percent above the previous year‘s level. Dr Axel Stepken, Chairman of the Board of Management, noted that the company‘s international business had made a major contribution to this performance: »Our regions outside Germany generated about three-fourths of additional Job machine: For the third consecu- revenue. TÜV SÜD now produces nearly 38 percent of revenue in intive time, the number of TÜV SÜD ternational markets – about three employees in a year rose by more percent more than the previous year.« Earnings before taxes rose slightly to €137 million. Capital expenditures climbed by more than than 11 percent – to €72 million. With these investments, TÜV SÜD increased its network of inspection and testing labs, expanded its capacity and know-how in markets of the future, and carried out a targeted campaign to acquire companies that fit exactly into its strategy. The company‘s workforce rose as well: At the end of 2012, TÜV SÜD employed nearly 18,800 people around the world, about 1,500 more than the previous year.
1,500.
matthias.andreesen@tuev-sued.de
14 TÜV SÜD Journal
5
5 minutes
Expert advice: dream vacation just a few clicks away
ONLINE CERTIFICATION MARKS
Many people now book their vacation trips online. To ensure that a dream vacation does not deal an unexpected blow to like s@fer-shopping show that a retravel budgets, IT expert Rainer Seidlitz of tailer meets strict criteria regarding TÜV SÜD urges people to pay close attendata security and order processing. tion to all costs. »In particular, you need to determine which services are included and which ones are subject to an extra fee. For instance, not every package trip offered by a travel company includes a transfer.« To ensure that personal data like your name, address and bank account number remain private, you must enter them on encrypted pages. Such pages use an address that begins with »https« or contain a closed-lock icon in the browser. rainer.seidlitz@tuev-sued.de
minutes
with TÜV SÜD The forest breathes a sigh of relief
»ADELE-ING« promotes energy change
Electricity from renewable sources is supposed to fuel energy change. To ensure that the fluctuating flow of wind and solar power can be safely fed into the grid and to make it affordable, RWE Power, General Electric, the German Aerospace Center and other partners launched the »ADELE« project in 2010 to develop a technology that would enable electricity to be efficiently stored for several days. At the beginning of 2013, a follow-up project, »ADELE-ING,« began the job of examining and evaluating various concepts in terms of their efficiency and technology – with the assistance of TÜV SÜD. The company‘s experts are advising the project about authorization issues. The »ADELE-ING« project is scheduled to be conducted for three and one-half years and has a total budget of about €40 million. The development project is part of the »Support Initiative on Energy Storage Systems« organized by the German government and is funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology. jens.milleder@tuev-sued.de
German Training Award: TÜV SÜD recognizes model employers Expanses of forestland are considered to be global »CO2 killers« – after all, the Earth‘s green lungs convert climate-destroying emissions into oxygen. During a validation environment project conducted in the farthest reaches of eastern Russia, TÜV SÜD did its part to protect forestland: The effort conducted as part of the joint implementation mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, protects more than 460,000 hectares of virgin forest from commercial use. In doing so, it saves the habitat of endangered species like the Amur tiger.
Well-trained employees are a critical success factor for every company. The TÜV SÜD Academy recently underscored the importance of company training and talent management – and honored employers who serve as strong role models in this area: with the German Training Award that has just been presented for the first time. During a professional forum held on April 22, 2013, in the State Gallery in Stuttgart, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, the City of Munich, ConVista Consulting, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio/DB Learning and the tool- and machine-maker Profilmetall were honored. More than 130 companies and institutions competed for the German Training Award, which was sponsored by TÜV SÜD and EuPD Research Sustainable Management.
sebastian.hetsch@tuev-sued.de anne.dreyer@tuev-sued.de
TÜV SÜD Journal 15
Aufthe To dietest Probe
TO T H E TE S T
O#16 NAN LOGY O TEC H N RING #18 SHA Y ECONOM
is SMALL DANGEROUS? Not to thick, not to watery: Nanoparticles determine the consistency of ketchup.
16 TÜV SÜD Journal
To the test
Nanoparticles make car paint scratch-proof and cause drops of water to bounce off clothing. Scientists agree on one thing: The tiny scientific tots can pull off big things. One question remains in dispute, though: How dangerous are they? Text: Andreas Schleinkofer
T
he way ketchup flows out of the bottle – nice and thick or a watery mess – does not depend on the quality of the tomatoes that go into the condiment. It is a semimetal compound added to the tomato sauce as a thickening agent that makes all the difference: silica. Pulverized into particles just a few nanometers across – that is, the size of a few hundred atoms, the silica bonds to the rest of the ingredients to make a creamy-thick substance. The large surface areas of such nanomaterials make this possible. But no one really knows how some of these materials react – with each other and in the human body. Shedding light on the gray areas
»Scientists have a good grasp of standard microphysics and atomic chemistry. But we have had a harder time grasping what happens in between – on the nanometer scale. We are just now beginning to gradually understand this gray zone,« says Professor Dr Roland Schmechel, who heads the Institute for Nano Structures and Technology at the University of Duisburg-Essen. All the more important to push forward with research, he adds. While he and the majority of his colleagues point to promising areas of application
for nanomaterials, including in the areas of air purification, water sterilization and medical technology, critics remain skeptical. The reinsurer Swiss Re, for instance, raised red flags about nanotubes, a type of nanomaterial, as early as 2004, arguing that the material could have a similar effect on human health as asbestos. For this reason, the reinsurer warned the entire industry against »providing unlimited insurance coverage for nanotechnology risks.« Allianz has issued similar warnings: »The real risk posed by nanotechnology is the gap between its dynamic growth and what we know of potential risks and the current safety standards in place to prevent negative effects.« By contrast, Dr habil Thomas A. J. Kuhlbusch, who heads the sustainable nanotechnology area at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology in Duisburg, believes there are no grounds for concern: »As a
rule, nontoxic materials will not suddenly become toxic when they are transformed into nanomaterials.« The toxicity of the materials would only minimally change with its size. Kuhlbusch’s colleague Schmechel explains: »Wheat flour is the nanomaterial you need to bake bread. Not a single nutritionist would claim that flour is more harmful than the grain it comes from.« Flour would be harmful only to workers who do not wear respiratory protection in the flour mill, he says, adding: »Especially at one place nanotechnology risk management is really necessary: at the workplace.«
More information about new materials and technologies: www.tuv-sud.com
»Wheat flour
is the nanomaterial you need to bake bread.« – Professor Dr Roland Schmechel
TÜV SÜD Journal 17
To the test
Ours not mine Interview: Sandra Lehmann
Online swap sites are booming, car sharing is regarded as the mobility concept of the future, and Wikipedia provides a platform where everyone can make their knowledge available to others: The sharing economy is the new trend. Professor Dr Harald Heinrichs talks about the benefits of sharing.
18 TĂœV SĂœD Journal
To the test
Professor Dr Harald Heinrichs
How would you define the term sharing economy? In the narrower sense of the term, it refers to the virtual components of sharing. The focus here is primarily on social media like Facebook and Twitter. In a broader sense, it’s about alternative concepts to our current »ownership economy.« But it also includes the different shapes the »sharing economy« is taking – from various forms of swapping and sharing to web-based business models. In the past, the motto was: »If you own something, you are someone.« Is this no longer the case? Many studies indicate that so-called postmaterialistic values predominate today: Owning as many things as possible and, above all, being the sole owner of these things is no longer the highest goal many parts of our society aim to attain. Values like a clean environment, positive social experiences and a meaningful life have become more important. This doesn’t mean that individual consumption will no longer exist in the future. It will, however, be supplemented by alternative forms of ownership.
In the sharing economy, the knowledge and property of individual people are melding into common goods.
According to the study »Deutschland teilt,« half of all Germans are members of the sharing economy. What are the roots of this development? The concept of sharing is not entirely new. Society has just rediscovered it. The centuriesold concept of community is a good example of this. The sharing economy is currently
The sociologist has examined the relationship between sustainability, politics and business for many years now. Over the course of his academic career, he has spent time at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been teaching sustainability policy as a professor at Leuphana University in Lüneberg, Germany, since 2010. Alongside his teaching duties, he primarily conducts research on the relationship between climate change and society as well as oversees research and development projects for the German environment ministry, the environmental foundation Deutsche Umweltstiftung and the World Wide Fund for Nature. In 2010, he served as a scientific adviser to »Deutschland teilt« (Germany shares), a study on the sharing economy conducted by the online accommodation rental service Airbnb.
being driven by such pressing challenges as climate change. The result is heightened awareness of environmental issues and sustainability. The new technological possibilities offered by social media as well as the specific options for collaborative consumption allow us to live these values in our daily lives. How can shared consumption help solve our environmental problems? Without a doubt, our consumption of durable goods will decline if everyone doesn’t have a drill at home and instead borrows one when needed. But there currently are no reliable statistics on this. And, you have to assume that the money saved by not purchasing TÜV SÜD Journal 19
To the test
25
Shared knowledge
percent
of all 14- to 29-year-olds use online swapping sites. (Study »Deutschland teilt«)
a drill will be spent on something else – for example, an airplane flight that in turn produces new emissions. Can the basic idea of sharing work even in capitalist societies? Yes, it can. Commercial swap sites, consumer cooperatives and online platforms are living proof that the concept is already taking hold. Furthermore, you can’t overlook the fact that the sharing economy’s business models in principle work in a capitalist economy. However, the key to this is a candid political
cial accommodation rental service, is a prime example. Do you include the exchange of knowledge and information in your definition of the sharing economy? Yes. After all, these »resources« do not become scarcer when shared. The opposite is the case. If we didn’t share our intellectual successes with others, there would be no science and no progress. Knowledge exchange has been taking place in the business world as part of such concepts as »open innovation« for quite
»Knowledge exchange is a core factor in the development and widespread use of innovations.« – Professor Dr Harald Heinrichs discussion about the concept’s potential and risks. What conditions are necessary for achieving business success with the sharing economy? Among other things, terms of contracts and insurance must be clearly spelled out to support the new forms of ownership and consumption. The sharing economy can work when people with creative ideas join the scene. The start-up Airbnb, a commer20 TÜV SÜD Journal
some time. In government and administration, it makes sense to further develop joint knowledge in many disciplines for the good of society. When it comes to ideas and patents, though, boundaries must be defined. In terms of competing product development, companies must carefully maintain the balance between collaboration and competition. Speaking of development: How does the sharing economy impact our capacity to innovate?
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. From time immemorial, people have exchanged knowledge and experiences with others to broaden their horizons. The exchange of know-how and discussions about research results are key drivers of progress. »Shared knowledge« is also a key success factor for companies. TÜV SÜD has set an ambitious goal in this respect: to become the most innovative company among its peers! The company’s motto: share your ideas. To support this effort, a Group-wide innovation platform was introduced in recent years. Creative ideas for new services emerge from the collaborative work conducted with research institutions, trade associations and customers. TÜV SÜD uses regular events, newsletters, an annual innovation exhibition and the InnoAward, a prize presented to the best ideas and networkers, to ensure employees remain excited about innovation.
We live in a knowledge-based society and economy. To a large degree, technological and social innovations are driven by brain power. Sharing and coproducing knowledge is a core factor in the development and widespread use of innovations. A knowledgebased sharing economy opens the door to new possibilities of thought and action. Where would a sharing economy be in 20 years? I hope that many new ideas and experiments have emerged by then and that alternative forms of ownership and consumption have become the norm. The sharing economy alone will not be responsible for this evolutionary process. For this to happen, radical change must sweep through society. This transformation will take longer than just 20 years. We will need a steady stream of new ideas to continue to improve our quality of life.
More information about the areas of innovation at TÜV SÜD: www.tuv-sud.com
Auf Weg Ondem location
People:
Specialist for test runs
H
e hits highs and lows daily. And his professional life often turns in circles. After all, that’s just part of his job. Christian Falk from TÜV SÜD inspects roller coasters and other rides at amusement parks. The college-trained engineer’s most recent job took him to Disneyland in Hong Kong. Normally, he and his colleagues ensure that park attractions like the RC Racer (pictured at right) are safe to ride. This time it was different: Falk was called on to review the work another inspection company had performed on the indoor roller coast-er Space Mountain that snakes for 1,052 meters through the dark. Were all electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems properly inspected? The braking system, the chassis and the safety restraints on all 14 trains? Are all screws tight? Are all welded seams intact? Are the technical documents correct and were all inspection reports properly filled out?» »In Hong Kong, these types of audits are required by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department,« Falk explains. »The fact that the government agency has given us this job speaks for our high level of expertise in the inspection of amusement parks all around the world.« The TÜV SÜD expert himself is also regularly looked over. Every three years, a physician must test him for vertigo. After all, he frequently works at heights of more than 50 meters. »Because I climb a lot in my free time, I have never had a problem with dizziness.«
Christian Falk likes to ride roller coasters in his free time, too. Every year, the 41-year-old and his two sons pay a visit to Oktoberfest in Munich.
More information: www.tuv-sud.com/leisure-parks TÜVSÜD SÜDJournal journal 21 21 TÜV
On the move
ON THE MOVE
RGING #22 CHA WITH N INDUCTIO ATA #24 BIG-D IS ANALYS
Electromobility unplugged Up to now, electric cars had to pull up to a power socket to be recharged. But, soon, they may be able to draw the energy from the road itself – wirelessly charging up by induction. The new technology will soon be tested for buses as well. Text: Thomas Weber
22 TÜV SÜD Journal
A
technology that has been used in electric toothbrushes since the end of the 1990s will now be applied to electric cars as well: charging batteries by induction. Just as the toothbrush’s battery renews its energy supply when placed in a charging base, cars will automatically recharge their batteries in parking lots or garages – without being attached to any sockets or cables at all. To make it all possible, a plate containing a coil will be installed in the ground. When it is connected to the power grid, a magnetic field will be created. This field will then produce electricity by induction in a second coil located on the underside of the vehicle’s body. The payoffs of this new charging technology are many: The system can be integrated more easily into city infrastructure than traditional charging columns can. It will wear out less quickly. It will be less susceptible to vandalism. And, above all, it will eliminate the
On the move
Parking and charging: While a driver goes shopping, his or her electric vehicle will wirelessly charge its batteries.
complications that arise when people have to deal with cables and sockets in rainy and icy conditions. Right now, however, such benefits are being offset by a number of challenges that still must be overcome. One critical point is interoperability: Charging by induction can currently be done with several different systems, and these systems are not always compatible with one another. TÜV SÜD is supporting the effort to create an international standard in this area. Charging capacity also has much room for improvement: Today, it is only between two kilowatts and five kilowatts. As a result, it takes up to eight hours for a typical electric-car battery to be completely recharged. On the other hand, energy conversion efficiency has reached a satisfactory level of more than 90 percent. Developers also have a good handle on electric and magnetic fields that could disrupt vehicle systems or pacemakers. The limit of 6.25 microtesla is easily maintained. Plans are also being
drawn up to install sensors that will shut down the system if, say, a cat went underneath the car or a metal object like a can that could heat up during the induction-charging process rolled under the vehicle. The future application of the new technology will be demonstrated by a project that will be conducted by Bombardier and the Technical University of Braunschweig beginning in May 2013 with the assistance of TÜV SÜD. During the project, electric buses used in the northern German city‘s public transportation system will be charged inductively. The main objective is to increase their range. And the ultimate hope is that stops at red lights can be used to keep the batteries’ charge in the green zone for as long as possible – or to wirelessly charge them during the trip. More information on the topic of electromobility: www.tuv-sud.com/e-mobility TÜV SÜD Journal 23
On the move
24 TÜV SÜD Journal
On the move
Class from mass Text: Thomas Weber
People and machines have never produced more data than they are today. Tremendous potential for business and society is slumbering in wealth of information known as big data. The challenge is tapping it.
E
dwin L. Drake was ridiculed for months. How could someone be so crazy as to drill a giant hole in the ground near Titusville, boring through thick layers of gravel down into the bedrock beneath the fields of Pennsylvania? Drake didn’t let the sneers get to him. On August 27, 1859, he hit oil at a depth of 21.2 meters. One year later, 2,000 drill holes dotted the landscape of northwestern Pennsylvania. In America, the rush for black gold had begun.
»Information is the oil of the 21st century,« says Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President of the international market-research and consulting company Gartner. It gushes from numerous sources – science and research, satellites, microsensors, surveillance cameras, cell phones, Internet applications – and continuously fills the digital storage barrels of the world. »Between the dawn of civilization and 2003, five exabytes of data were created,« says longtime Google CEO Eric Schmidt. That equals five billion gigaTÜV SÜD Journal 25
On the move
Measuring desires: People share a lot about themselves in blogs, social-media sites and Internet searches – companies can use this information to entice customers with tailor-made offers.
bytes, which is 140 times the information housed in the U.S. Library of Congress. »We now create that much data every two days.« »Big data« is today’s catchword. Like Drake’s shouts of »Oil! Oil!« 150 years ago, this find has prompted a new kind of oil fever. If the drillers for today’s black gold succeed in refining the new resource of the 21st century – that is if they can extract exactly those pieces of information from the tangled mass of data that bring decisive advantages to organizations, companies and individuals, »big data« holds the promise of becoming »big business.« Opportunities beyond imagination
In Drake’s lifetime, crude oil was used to relieve joint pain and itchiness. As a refined 26 TÜV SÜD Journal
substance, it served as a lubricant for machinery and a substitute for the expensive whale oil used in oil lamps. That it could be turned into gasoline to power engines or be used as the basis for producing plastic was beyond all imagination. Experts believe that big data hold similar untapped potential. Physicist Chris Anderson, former editor-in-chief of the technology magazine »Wired« and managing director of two high-tech companies today, predicts a world »in which big data and applied mathematics replace every other tool [of scientific method]. Out with every theory of human behavior – from linguistics to sociology! With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.« These numbers hold the secrets to our habits, in-
terests, experiences and character traits – everything that makes our actions predictable when analyzed in more detail. This detailed analysis is the sticking point of the big data rush. People certainly share a lot about themselves: Internet users start two million Google searches every second. They upload 72 hours of video clips to YouTube every minute. They publish 120 million posts, comments and pictures on Facebook every month. Traditional database applications are poorly equipped to handle this unstructured deluge of information. The first step then is to identify patterns in the information. This calls for a lot of computing power, power that only several computers linked together can muster. New, much more complex software is
On the move
also needed. The results they can produce today are, however, only as good as the programming. For Sondergaard, this means one thing: »The future success of companies depends on the quality of the algorithms that transform the volume of data into predictions about customer behavior.« More data, more money
Companies with big data applications have already recorded their first successes. The online shopping giant Amazon has, for instance, significantly improved its sales figures thanks to its smart shopping recommendations. These recommendations are distilled from the information collected about the search and purchasing history of each individual and all customers. An additional filter and better algorithms could refine these buying recommendations even more – for example, by considering the weather at the customer’s current location
ternational organization intends to create a global network of computing and research centers known as Pulse Labs. The first Pulse Lab was set up in Jakarta in October 2012. The next one is to open its doors in Kampala, Uganda, soon. Additional refineries for the black gold of the 21st century are to follow. This prompts the question about the ominous »oil spill.« Does big data hold risks as well? Do I need to worry that the algorithm of a bank will label me as »not creditworthy« just because I started a Google search for Occupy Wall Street more than once? »It’s possible,« says Rick Smolan, author of »The Human Face of Big Data.« »Algorithms are like laws an individual isn’t aware of. These laws are not passed by a democratically elected government, but rather by a handful of programmers.« That’s why he is calling for the disclosure of algorithms.
»The future success of companies depends on the quality of the
algorithms
that transform the volume of data into predictions about customer behavior.« – Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President of Gartner in determining the purchase suggestions. After all, some products sell better on rainy days while others are more popular on sunny ones. In its study »Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity,« the consulting firm McKinsey indicates that retail companies could improve operating earnings by up to 60 percent by thoroughly analyzing big data. Even organizations like the United Nations have high hopes for big data. As part of its Global Pulse initiative, the UN plans to analyze blogs and social networks to identify crises at an early stage and more quickly respond to them. To do this, the in-
»Analyzing personal data leaves a sense of foreboding,« says U.S. legal expert Fred R. Shapiro, who is also the editor of the »Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations.« If information were to be analyzed without permission, it would contradict the basic right of informational self-determination, he adds. Each country’s data-protection laws would deal with this conflict differently. Regulations specifically addressing big data would largely be missing. On March 14, 1910, the first oil spill in history occurred at a drilling site in Kern County, California. The Lakeview Gusher
Challenges for IT management Rainer Seidlitz, the Head of IT Security at TÜV SÜD Management Service, views the huge amounts of data generated by companies as »today’s boilers«: 150 years ago, the predecessors of TÜV SÜD primarily inspected boilers, pipes and machines to ensure that they performed reliably. Today, companies and government agencies are increasingly concerned about their IT security. Functioning IT management is becoming increasingly important. For this reason, Professor Dieter Kempf, the President of the IT trade association BITKOM, is calling for IT governance in companies, a practice that is designed to assure the security, availability and reliability of IT services. TÜV SÜD offers systematic IT management assessments that show exactly where a company stands in terms of handling large amounts of data. The services help identify vulnerable areas and recommend possible solutions. The objective: to bolster confidence in IT systems and the services that draw on them and to assure customers that everything regarding »big data« is running smoothly.
well blew out and uncontrollably spewed 1.2 million tons of oil into the air. No one had expected the well would be under such pressure. The well lacked such safety features as blowout preventers. For big data, though, there still is time to put risk-prevention measures in place.
More information: www.tuv-sud.com/industrial-it-security TÜV SÜD Journal 27
To the point
TO T H E P O INT
TING #28 PRIN IN 3D IDE #30 A GU OUTS K TO COO
Printed, not sewn: At Parisian haute-couture shows in January 2013, designer Iris van Herpen presented a dress produced by a 3D printer.
3D COMING into FASHION Text: Hendrik Nölle
A device that has only been used for industrial purposes up to now is about to conquer the mass market: 3D printers. These systems turn designs into real products. They can even produce dresses and shoes. But just what makes such a printer tick?
28 TÜV SÜD Journal
To the point
3D printing step by step Transmission of a CAD model
2
Application of a particle layer
3
Partial hardening of the particle layer
4
Lowering of the production platform
h
1
h
3D printers use several different processes. But the basic principle is the same: They create objects by laying down successive horizontal layers of material. The design is provided by a 3D model produced with the help of modeling software, a CAD program. The data containing information about the dimensions of
h
A miniature factory
the model are transmitted to the printer (illustration 1). Then the printer swings into action – using plastic or metallic powder in the place of ink or toner. This is the particle material that is uniformly applied on the production platform (illustration 2). A laser ray or binding spray hardens the material on the places required by the model (illustration 3). The platform lowers itself (illustration 4), and the process begins anew (illustration 5). As a result, the desired 3D object is created layer by layer. Loose or unnecessary material is removed (illustration 6) – and the object is complete. It can take minutes or hours to produce a 3D print – depending on the size and complexity of the desired object. Researchers are working to shorten production times. The first devices that can print with several materials at the same time are now being sold. The vision is that consumers will no longer have to visit stores to buy products like coffee machines. Instead, they will simply download the design plans from the Internet, and the 3D printer will churn out a functioning product. But we will have to wait on that first cup of coffee.
h
I
t all started in the 1980s when computers held the promise of revolutionizing and streamlining industrial production. One question at the time primarily preoccupied the minds of automotive and aviation experts: How can prototypes be created in a more efficient manner? Elaborate molds had to be made for each component. Complicated casting processes had to be employed or material-consuming work that involved cutting, turning and milling had to be done. In 1986, the American inventor Charles Hull filed a patent application for the first 3D printer. Thanks to this device, digital, computer-produced designs can be turned into analog, tactile objects. For years, only the development departments of major corporations could afford the equipment, which was expensive and, in the beginning, extremely bulky. Today, you can find small, simple models costing less than €1,000. They are in the process of taking over the mass market.
h
Car models, shoes ... 3D printers will produce anything you can design – but usually with just one material.
5
Repetition of steps 2 through 4
6
Removal of loose material
7
Finished 3D object
More information on the topic: www.tuv-sud.com/electrical-electronics TÜV SÜD Journal 29
To the point
Guide:
Fire up the grill! The season for char-grilled vegetables, steaks and sausages has begun. Five tips for healthful, safe cookouts and great-tasting meat, fish and vegetables.
1
Better with a seal To determine if a grill is stable and does not release any toxins, check for the DIN EN 1860-1 standard or a recognized safety certification mark. Charcoal made from wood that has not been treated with any preserving agents or coatings bears the DIN EN 1860-2 mark. Play it safe by looking for the TÜV SÜD octagon seal.
2 Watch out
for fireballs
Avoid using gasoline and lighter fluid to start your fire. Lighter cubes are the better choice. The pros know better than to lay the cubes inside the grill. Rather, they
3
place them under a chimney starter where
Enjoy a healthful meal
Cooking fish and vegetables in aluminum pans helps them retain more nutrients. Dab off the marinade before barbecuing to prevent it from dropping onto the coals and emitting harmful substances.
5
Good things take time To make sure your meat remains juicy, resist putting it on the grill too early. Rather, wait until the coals have really burned all the way through, creating a fine white layer of ash over a glowing center. Do not leave cooked meat on the grill to keep it warm. It will just dry out. Pack it in aluminum foil, and it will stay warm and tender.
More information: www.tuv-sud.com/food
30 TÜV SÜD Journal
the charcoal catches fire more quickly.
4
Keep your distance The grill grate should be at least 10 centimeters from the coals. Otherwise, you risk burning your food. Liberally cut off any charred areas of meat. They could be carcinogenic.
Sausages are ready to eat after spending about five minutes on the grill. A rule of thumb for meat is: For every centimeter of thickness, cook the meat one minute to two minutes on each side.
Academy | dates
Training tips TÜV SÜD ACademY A selected seminar series is introduced in each issue of TÜV SÜD Journal. This time, the feature topic is: Electromobility – high voltage technology Hybrid and electric cars have voltage levels of up to 1,000 volts. As a result, employees of automakers and workshops must be highly trained in working with high voltage systems (HV systems). Seminars offered by the TÜV SÜD Academy provide the necessary qualifications. Requirements defined by occupational associations are incorporated into the training. The training concept is broken down into three modules: Module 1: The »Qualified Electrical Worker« seminar trains participants to safely perform non-electrical work on a HV system. Module 2: The »Electrical Specialist for HV Systems in Motor Vehicles« course qualifies participants to perform electrical work in a de-energized environment. Module 3: The course for »Specialists for HV Systems in Motor Vehicles Working under Live Conditions« provides the necessary qualifications for special jobs conducted under live conditions.
05/06/07
CALENDAR
You can experience TÜV SÜD in person at the following trade fairs, congresses and events. Our team of experts is looking forward to meeting you. More information on the dates: www.tuv-sud.com/corporate-events
MAy Carbon Expo 2013, Barcelona, May 29–31, 2013 This trade fair is devoted to processes and technologies used by industry to lower CO2 emissions as well as to emission-rights and certificates trading.
JUNe Power-Gen Europe, Vienna, June 4–6, 2013 The event serves as a forum for energy technology and the energy industry. Its spectrum of topics ranges from large-scale power stations to options for decentralized energy production.
More information on the seminars: www.tuv-sud.com/academy tilo.scholz@tuev-sued.de
Intersolar Europe, Munich, June 19–21, 2013 More than 800 international producers, suppliers, retailers and service providers in the solar power industry present their products and services.
Imprint Publisher: TÜV SÜD AG, Westend St. 199, 80686 Munich Owners: TÜV SÜD e. V. (74.9%), TÜV SÜD Foundation (25.1%), Westend St. 199, 80686 Munich Head of Corporate Communications: Matthias Andreesen Viegas Project Manager and Editor-in-Chief: Jörg Riedle Contact: +49 89 5791-0, info@tuev-sued.de Realization: Medienfabrik Gütersloh GmbH, Neumarkter St. 22, 81673 Munich Printing: Eberl Print GmbH, Kirchplatz 6, 87509 Immenstadt Photo credits: Corbis (3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 29, 30), Timour Chafik (1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11), Günter Hagedorn (4, 5), Disneyland Hong Kong (21), fotolia (25, 25), Siemens (22, 23), Stratasys (28, 29), TÜV SÜD (2, 14, 21, 32, 33); Illustration (34, 35): LULU* TÜV SÜD Journal appears quarterly. Articles appearing in the magazine are copyrighted. TÜV SÜD Journal is printed in a climate-neutral manner on paper from sustainable forestry.
carbon neutral
JULy Offshore Wind China, Shanghai, July 19–21, 2013 This exhibition of planners, manufacturers, operators and providers of inspection services for off-shore wind farms will be complemented by a conference on renewable energy. e-miglia, Munich and various venues across the Alps, July 21–25, 2013 For the fourth consecutive year, ambitious drivers will set off on the »world‘s quietest rally« to put electric cars to the test.
natureOffice.com | DE-141-044232
print production TÜV SÜD Journal 31
5 minutes
TÜV SÜD acquires holistic provider of real estate services
Certificates for renewable energy trade
Seamlessly feeding solar electricity into the power grid
With the acquisition of K+S Haustechnik Planungsgesellschaft, TÜV SÜD has expanded its range of services for real estate industry. K+S, a company with more than 60 employees, focuses on the planning of technical building systems and services involving technical due diligence, energy efficiency, technical controlling and project management. The new subsidiary is based in Rheinbach in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
TÜV SÜD has issued the first certificates based on its own Handel EE standard to the energy company MVV Energie and the EXAA Energy Exchange in Vienna. The certification indicates that the green electricity and biogas being traded actually came from renewable sources and that the promised quality can be provided. The standard facilitates further transparency in the energy market.
Power inverters are a central element of photovoltaic systems. The systems not only must efficiently convert direct current into alternating current, but also must actively support power grid management. With a far-reaching testing program, TÜV SÜD helps developers and manufacturers meet all necessary legal requirements on the national and international levels.
ulrich.klotz@tuev-sued.de
klaus.nuernberger@tuev-sued.de
gianmaria.fontolan@tuev-sued.de
Food testing lab in Italy strengthens TÜV SÜD
pH, a company based in Tavarnelle, a town about 15 kilometers south of Florence, became part of the TÜV SÜD Group at the beginning of 2013. By acquiring the lab that analyzes foods and non-food products, TÜV SÜD has expanded its existing network of food laboratories and has taken another step in its internationalization strategy. pH was established in 1982 and employs more than 100 people. Its highly specialized services range from microbiological and chemical tests to residue and contaminant tests for foods and agricultural products. The new technology perfectly complements the network of service providers: Combined with the testing options offered by the Brazilian food service provider SFDK that was acquired in 2012, TÜV SÜD now has more than 15 state-of-the-art labs and offers food-safety services in 25 countries. ettore.favia@tuv.it
32 TÜV SÜD Journal
5
Midsized companies concerned about data security
Data security is a key issue for consumers. But is effective protection of personal data a high priority for companies? TÜV SÜD has taken a close look at this question in a new data security study that it conducted with the University of Munich. The questions were primarily posed to small and midsized enterprises. One finding: Data Employing A »Data security protection is a top priority at most of the manager« instead of a simple responding companies, but the importance of the issue has declined slightly data protection officer is recommended by the authors of the study. from the previous year's level. The study found a need for action primarily in the External service providers like area of »customers and data security«: TÜV SÜD can help if a company At nearly 25 percent of the surveyed companies, customers are not always lacks the necessary resources. informed about the potential uses of their data, which is a violation of current law. A regular review of partners who have access to personal data (including external service centers) is conducted by only about 40 percent of the surveyed companies. rainer.seidlitz@tuev-sued.de
5 minutes
More safety for children in cars The TÜV SÜD conference »Protection of Children in Cars« is the leading international forum for experts in this area. Organizers reported a major success at this year's event, which was held at the beginning of 2013: Over the past 40 years, the number of children killed in car accidents that occur in industrial countries has plunged by 70 percent. Above all, infants are traveling more safely in cars than all other age groups. The main reasons for increased for children in cars is possafety for children in cars are improved testing procedures sible!« – Professor Dr Klaus and the adoption of new international regulations like the Langwieder, initiator of the new UNECE rule called i-Size. Under this change, it is not just a child’s weight that serves as the key factor used in congress assigning children’s car-seat classes. Height is also considered. Parents play a crucial role, too. They must ensure that the child-restraint systems are correctly used, even on short trips.
»Vision
ZER0
lothar.wech@tuev-sued.de
minutes
with TÜV SÜD
TÜV SÜD ClassiC offers independent classic-car services from a single source
For lovers of historic vehicles, TÜV SÜD now offers all services from a single source: The unit TÜV SÜD ClassiC advises customers about the purchase of classic cars, conducts expert value and modification assessments for cars, and takes care of the appraisal leading to issuance of Germany’s H license plate for historic vehicles. Gerhard Gloeckner (photo) who oversees the new unit wants to offer even more. As a result, a network of brand specialists is being set up. It will advise car owners and those interested in becoming one and will act as a partner in questions regarding restoration and documentation. gerhard.gloeckner@tuev-sued.de
Clear winner in the Euro Truck Test A commercial vehicle made by Mercedes-Benz won the Euro Truck Test. In the long-range test that was begun in mid-2012 and conducted by TÜV SÜD along with the trade publications »VerkehrsRundschau« and »Trucker,« trucks produced by five manufacturers were put through their paces. The criteria: a route of 1,000 kilometers comprising individual stages of several hundred kilometers with various terrains and loads, as well as cost-effectiveness, ease of driving and maintenance. The overall victor, the Mercedes-Benz new Actros, scored particularly well in the areas of cost-effectiveness and driver assessment. Its fuel performance was surprisingly good: 25.1 liters of diesel for 100 kilometers. With a load capacity that was nearly beyond comparison, the Scania model made up ground in the category of cost-effectiveness and tied Mercedes. The victor in the category of driving ease was a MAN vehicle. dieter.roth@tuev-sued.de
Water: global services for public utilities and investors With a range of new services related to water, TÜV SÜD has of the world’s population ventured into a global growth market. »Against the backdrop of doesn’t have piped water, continued growth in the world’s according to the United population, the spread of urbanization and climate change, water Nations. supplies are one of the key issues of the future,« says Dr Andreas Hauser, Head of the Water Services Unit at TÜV SÜD. »With our new water services, we are creating efficient, safe and long-term solutions by offering quality assurance, risk assessments and the identification of optimization approaches. At the same time, we provide an authoritative basis for decisions regarding the planning and realization of related measures and projects.« Investors, public utilities, general contractors and suppliers will profit from them.
27 percent
andreas.hauser@tuv-sud.sg
TÜV SÜD Journal 33
The final say
blueprint from Film
It’s time for the shift change among building security guards: Soon, robots may be keeping watch on facilities at night instead of men and women – human-like machines like those in James Cameron’s hit movie »Avatar.«
34 TÜV SÜD Journal
The final say
S
ecurity guards are coveted specialists. »We hire about 100,000 each year,« says Alf Göransson, the head of the international security group Securitas. But only a few of them stay. For Europe, he says the turnover rate is 28 percent. In the United States, 44 percent of the positions have to be refilled, particularly in the area of building security. It’s easy to understand why. Who wants to always work at night, face the threat of burglars and put his or her life on the line? This is a job for »Ava.« But »Ava« is still sort of in training. This future security guard is a so-called telepresence robot, a machine that people can use to do a job from afar as well as they could on site. Prototypes have already been produced. The Massachusetts-based manufacturer iRobot is currently in the process of preparing them to go to work. The one task that the robots with camera eyes and rolling feet already do well is orientation. While they move along, they automatically produce maps of their surroundings that enable them to get their bearings in strange places. They also move right along at a maximum speed of 5.6 km/h. But, of course, this will not cut it in chases. They must also learn to climb stairs, ride in elevators and open and close doors. iRobot acknowledges that it will take some time before »Ava« will become the perfect security guard. That’s fine. After all, it takes beginners at Securitas three years before they can call themselves trained specialists for protection and security. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) expects that about 5,000 telepresence robots remotely controlled by computers will be on the job in 2015. The IFR also forecasts that the robots will become more like humans, just as the Avatar’s resembled humans in James Cameron’s blockbuster »Avatar.« Let’s hope that the similarities to humans stop at appearance. We wouldn’t want »Ava« to come up with the wise idea of not wanting to work at night.
METROPOLIS Panorama Where do the most affluent people live and where do the most people reside? Facts and figures about urban life. 29.4 percent
The world‘s 10 largest metropolitan areas by population (in millions per year)
World population in 1950: 2.532 billion people
1950
Share of city dwellers in 1950:
Share of city dwellers in 2010:
51.6 percent
World population in 2010:
6.896 billion people
Estimated share of city dwellers in 2030:
59.6 percent
1 New York (U.S.) 2 Tokyo (Japan) 3 London (GB) 4 Paris (France) 5 Moscow (Russia) 6 Buenos Aires (Argentina) 7 Chicago (U.S.) 8 Calcutta (India) 9 Shanghai (China) 10 Osaka-Kobe (Japan)
12.34 11.27 8.36 6.28 5.36 5.10 5.00 4.51 4.30 4.15
2025 1 Tokyo (Japan) 2 Delhi (India) 3 Shanghai (China) 4 Mumbai (India) 5 Mexico City (Mexico) 6 New York (U.S.) 7 São Paulo (Brazil) 8 Dhaka (Bangladesh) 9 Beijing (China) 10 Karachi (Pakistan)
38.66 32.94 28.40 26.56 24.58 23.57 23.17 22.91 22.63 20.19
The buying power of city dwellers For 27 years now, the Big Mac Index has shown the amount of time people in various regions must work to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac. Our illustration reveals the number of work hours people must put in to earn enough to buy an iPhone 4S with 16 GB of storage capacity. Zurich (Switzerland) New York (U.S.) Tokyo (Japan) Munich (Germany) Hong Kong (China) Beijing (China)
Budapest (Hungary)
Mexico City (Mexico) Delhi (India) Manila (Philippines)
Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, 2012
22.0 27.5 35.0 42.5 53.0 184.0 206.0 219.5 369.5 435.0
Source: UBS CIO Wealth Management Research, 2012
World population in 2030:
8.321 billion people
Challenges and opportunities Cities around the world are growing – with unforeseeable consequences. What will mobility in the megacities of the future look like? How will urbanization impact the energy and water supply? What is meant by the term »connected city?« TÜV SÜD Group‘s current Annual Report highlights the challenges of and opportunities presented by urban life. Download or order a copy free of charge at www.tuv-sud.com/annual-report.
Source: United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects, 2012
36 TÜV SÜD Journal