TÜV SÜD Journal 4/2013 (english version)

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Editorial

Dear Readers, »Let the train take the strain« – these words were something more than a catchy slogan that the British railroad company British Rail used to lure passengers onboard. They were also a promise: The railroad company stands for a comfortable way to travel, for dependability and punctuality. Even though people will occasionally gripe about delays, there is hardly any other form of transportation that can really compete with trains.

Railroads have always been something more than a means of transportation. Through­ out their history, they have opened the way to new worlds – this was the case in the mid-19th century in the western part of the United States, and it is no different in the 21st century with high-speed trains in the eastern provinces of the People‘s Republic of China.

International railroad companies remain in motion. They are involved in ambitious projects on all continents of the world that range from the sub-sea tunnel under the Bosporus to high-speed routes in South America and India. Some people are already talking about a renaissance of the railroad. And their slogan would go something like this: »Let the train take the strain – again and again!« But the railroad cannot do everything on its own. Time and speed may indeed be money.

But they are not everything. Safety, efficiency and environmental compatibility are also essen­ tial elements of any mobility vision for railroads: Building and operating high-speed networks are just one part of the business. Maintaining the trains and keeping them at the highest techni­ cal standard take up the rest of the task.

Investments in railroads are always investments in the future.

As our cover story on page 6 explains, such investments are closely linked to globalization and TÜV SÜD has the comprehensive expertise that can address all urbanization. Wherever they are mobility questions. Just see for yourself! made, these investments always help create efficient, environmen­ tally conscious mobility: There is no other means of transportation with a better environmental profile. Our company also does its part to ensure that as many people as possible can hop aboard a train, and then safely and reliably reach their destination.

No matter whether it’s about trains or cars –

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

Full speed ahead: Megaprojects being conducted from San Francisco to Shanghai are increasingly adding rail technology to the mobility mix. Is this the dawn of a new era of the railroad?

To the

On the

To the

What‘s on people‘s minds? We take a closer look at technical and social trends.

A look at the world of tomorrow: These innovations could soon be indispensable parts of our daily lives.

Get to the bottom of it! Our »add value« pages make complex issues understandable.

#16 Is organic really greener?

Do the purchases you make in organic super­ markets really protect the environment and lend a helping hand to the climate? Not always, says Professor Dr Elmar Schlich of the University of Giessen in Germany.

#22 Naturally chemical The chemical industry is beginning to divorce itself from crude oil and use renewable resources as a basis for its products. These resources could further revolutionize processes and materials in the future.

#28 Let there be light Walls that give off their own light and monitors that can bend like foil. Organic light-emitting diodes, so called OLEDs, could soon transform the way that we light up our lives – private and in business.

#18 Use the smoke The days when smoke and emissions just simply billowed forth from smokestacks are long gone.

New technologies tap the energy found in them.

#26 Dig in More than a lunch: The company cafeteria at TÜV SÜD in Garching gives people with mental disorders another chance in the work world.

#30 Consumer guide: facing the big chill It is time to prepare cars for the frosty time of the year. Here are five tips that will ensure that your set of wheels is always ready to roll.

#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

Way

Point

TÜV SÜD Journal 3

TÜV SÜD im in focus Bild

curious

decisive 4 TÜV SÜD Journal

TÜV TÜV SÜD SÜD in imfocus Bild

Definitely

ONe of us The bug bit us back in our childhood. For hours on end, we tweaked and tweaked our paper airplanes until they were just right for flight: We carefully made every fold with a ruler.

We glued on extra wings, and we added a tail for a little extra lift. And, best of all, the plane sailed smoothly through the air – just about every time. But these planes were something more than a piece of paper: They represented enthusiasm for a project, no matter how small that particular project might be. They gave us experience as we worked to accomplish a goal. And they embodied the desire to do everything better the next time. Enthusiasm, experience, desire and the will to always improve ­established approach­es and products are traits found throughout TÜV SÜD‘s workforce. From its very first day in business, the company has sought out people whose curiosity, vision and decisiveness would help increase safety and add value. In a new series of job ads, TÜV SÜD is now bringing this conviction to life and putting one question to potential employees: Have you always been one of us? The key message: Individuals entrusted with decisions about safety know that a lot rides on their choice, and they are contributing something critically important to the good of society. Being a TÜV SÜD employee also means giving a deeper sense of purpose to his or her safety-related work.

To receive more information, visit: www.tuv-sud.com/job-careers/working-with-tuev-sued

More information on the topic

in oUr Magazine App

far-sighted

TÜV SÜD Journal 5

Titelstory Cover story

Right on

Track Text: Timour Chafik

Bye, bye choo choo train! The list of prestigious railroad projects just keeps getting longer and longer around the world. China is opening up the throttle and setting one record after the other in the process.

But even though high-speed routes are being built in such diverse areas as Seattle, Saudi Arabia and Shenzhen, one point must be kept in mind: A renaissance of the railroad can be accomplished only if the network is extended to the hinterlands as well.

London Seattle Chicago San Diego

New York

Washington D.C. Dallas

USA For years, railroads have been moving in reverse here: Since 1930, the rail network that was once used to unite the vast United States has been shrinking. The time has now come for the network to move forward again – with new lines in California and on the East Coast.

Orlando

Madrid

Brazil The largest country in South America currently has a rail network that covers 30,000 kilometers, just like Germany. By 2030, it plans to add 22,000 kilometers to it.

Marabá

Recife Brasilia Rio de Janeiro São Paulo Porto Alegre

6 TÜV SÜD Journal

Cover Titelstory story

Europe

More information on the topic

Europe has the most extensive rail network in the world. The EU Commission is focusing on speed, not regional coverage, in its railroad plans: By 2030, the high-speed network is to be increased threefold to more than 18,000 kilometers.

Oslo

Train connections (planned and existing)

in oUr Magazine App Rail hubs

Like transcontinental spider webs: Railroad projects are spreading everywhere. They run from major economic centers and are following the tracks of globalization.

Stockholm Moscow

Istanbul Beijing

Lhasa

Chongquing

Wuhan

Shanghai

or

us

Guangzhou

sp

Rome

Warsaw

Bo

Berlin

e Ayrilikcesm

Kazlicesme

Hong Kong

China The People's Republic is the railroadconstruction leader. By 2020, the country's network is be expanded from 110,000 kilometers to more than 170,000 kilometers. Of this total, more than 16,000 kilometers will be high-speed lines.

Marmaray Project Intercontinental transportation service under the Bosporus: a 13.6-kilometer-long tunnel now connects the Asian and European sections of Istanbul. The idea is hardly new: As far back as 1860, people were discussing the possibility of building a »floating tube« on the sea floor.

TÜV SÜD Journal 7

Cover story

T

he railroad’s success story began as a humble affair, one that took a westward journey from its east­ ern points of origin. At least, this was the case in the United States. The year was 1826, and the wheels were beginning to turn on the first commercial line in Quincy, Massachusetts. But there was not much to it: The »Granite Railway« was just 4.8 kilo­ meters long. It was built on wooden tracks, and the train was pulled by a team of pant­ ing horses instead of a smoking, clanging locomotive. A blurry black-and-white photo shows the three weary animals waiting to pull the cars bearing the next load of weighty chunks of granite.

This picture was replaced by other imag­ es, photos that show the bone-weary, but happy pioneers who conquered the West, photos of men shaking hands after the com­ pletion of the first transcontinental railroad between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and photos of steam locomotives rolling through unspoiled canyons. Maps also help tell this story. These drawings show just how the rail­ road network began snaking its way from the east to the west beginning in 1870. The rail­ road in this still-wet-behind-the-ears coun­ try was nothing more than an enormous, politically driven development program.

The »Gilded Age,« a time of tremendous econom­ic growth in the United States bet­ ween 1877 and 1900, was also a time of tre­ mendous growth for the railroad.

Economic development program To gain a grip on this huge country, to es­ tablish government authority and to create a European-style economy – the United States needed, above all, a new means of transpor­ tation. It was the train that brought econom­ ic life to cities that did not have the good for­ tune of being located on a large, navigable river. There is hardly a single American city whose growth is not directly tied to the his­ tory of the railroad.

8 TÜV SÜD Journal

The railroad as a »developmental worker,« this is just as true today as it was then. It not only performs the job of transporting people and mass goods, but also acts as an economic development program on wheels. As part of the mix of transport options available to us today, the railroad can still play a critical role in future mobility. Does this mean that every­t hing should travel by rail?

It all depends on the world in which you live: There is the world of fast-paced train sta­ tions, the one of decaying rail lines and the one of repeated delays. It is a world in which Indian commuters will count their blessings if they happen to find a free spot on the roof of a car and in which Tokyo subway employ­ ees have to use their combined muscle to jam passengers into the cars.

And then there is the world of high speed: lines like the 534-kilometer-long MumbaiAhmedabad link and the more than three

Safe rail travel worldwide A reliable and safe infrastructure is the essence of any railroad system. With its range of inspection and certification services for train systems, TÜV SÜD Rail ensures that various elements of a modern rail infrastructure, including the rail network, structures, earthmoving work and tunnels, remain safe and reliable.

In state-of-the-art testing labs equipped with special systems, various rail components can be checked on the basis of the applicable standard. In addition, TÜV SÜD Rail offers EC certification based on the technical specifications for interoperability of infrastructure facilities, individuals with mobility restrictions and the safety of train tunnels.

times longer line that will connect Lanzhou with Urumqi in northwestern China. There is also the world in which a 13.6-kilometerlong tunnel runs under the Bosporus and enables subway trains to run at two-minute intervals between both sections of the huge metropolitan area of Istanbul. Thanks to this service that began in October 2013, in 2015 75,000 people will be able to travel from Asia to Europe and from Europe to Asia per hour.

Turkish officials also hope that the tunnel, a part of the »Marmaray Proj­ect,« will also help lessen the above-ground chaos on the streets of Istanbul.

Consolidating transit Istanbul is a good example of something that many are calling a »renaissance of the rail­ road«: The Marmaray Project, with its tun­ nel, its multirail expansion of 63 kilometers of existing rail lines and its construction of 36 city train stations, combines those elements that are the drivers of major, pacesetting rail projects elsewhere: environmental protection, population pressure and globalization. »These­ are the three huge global megatrends that have made the rebirth of the train possible,« says Maria Leenen, Managing Director of SCI Verkehr, an independent consulting company that focuses on the rail and logistics indus­ try. »The global division of labor in which Asia takes care of production and the processing, finishing and sales are carried out elsewhere in the world initially fuels tremendous growth in ports.« In turn, this creates the possibility of bundling shipments in the interior, Leenen says: »And the railroad always does well when it can bundle,« she adds.

It makes little difference whether people or material is being moved. It is simply the mass that matters. Major metropolitan areas like Istanbul transport passengers much like harbors move goods, Leenen says. »This has less to do with internatio­ nal distribution,« she adds. »It is primarily the result of continuing urbanization: Cit­

Titelstory Cover story

Sacramento

»Environmental protection, population pressure and globalization – these are the three

huge megatrends

San Francisco San José

that have made the rebirth of the train possible.« – Maria Leenen, Managing Director of the SCI Verkehr consulting firm

California highSpeed Rail

ies grow and their periph­eries expand. As a result, residents have to trav­el longer distances.« The equation seems to be quite simple: Increased urban­ ization equals more pop­ u lation pressure in downtown areas, more demand for space and more traffic.

In a way, you could say that the railroad’s Wild West success story is parti­ ally repeating itself – it is just going in the opposite direction: During the early his­ tory of the United States, the railroad was the driving force behind cities’ growth. To­ day, cities are the driving force behind the railroad’s growth. Accordingly, there must be some sort of pattern, a model diagram for the renaissance of the railroad: The railroad is taking off in every place ­where production operations are extensive and many people come together.

There is something to this: In a study titled »The Chinese Railway Market« that was released in 2012, SCI Verkehr listed 13 major Chinese cities that have urban railways and 17 other metropolitan areas that are building them. Four other cities have announced midrange plans to construct urban railways, and seven others are planning to create such a net­ work at some point in the future.

Let's go west, it's almost like the good old days: The high-speed route between Sacramento and San Diego will also link San Francisco with Los Angeles – these are the most important cities in California. The project is a type of »filler«: Many of the cities are too far from one another for car travel and are too close to one an­ other for plane travel.

Los Angeles

Irvine

San Diego

TÜV SÜD Journal 9

Cover story

»The renaissance of the railroad begins with a

core network

that offers long-distance high-speed travel between urban centers and then moves on from there.« – Joachim Winter, Project Director for the Next Generation Train at the German Aerospace Center

Beijing Shijiazhuang

Jinggang PDL The high-speed link covers 2,360 kilometers between Beijing and Hong Kong and links key economic provinces and cities like Guangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou.

Zhengzhou

Wuhan Changsha

Guangzhou

10 TÜV SÜD Journal

Shenzhen Hong Kong

Cover story

Future perspectives

Train travel of tomorrow? Ideas that could generate new momentum in the rail system.

Flying on rails Lower wind resistance, more speed and increased passenger capacities: A total of 1,600 passengers should have room in the Next Gen­ eration Train of the German Aerospace Center.

Pipe dreams Electrically powered transport capsules on air cushions that would reach speeds of up to 1,200 km/h – the company Elon Musk has already creat­ ed a sensation in space flight. Why not underground?

More of a rush job than renaissance: China has

10,000 kilometers

of high-speed lines, and the same amount is being constructed. – International Union of Railways UIC High speed connects

All of these projects share one trait: They support population and production centers in China`s industrial heartland. The world`s longest high-speed line, a 2,360 kilometer route that runs between Beijing and Hong Kong, acts as the keystone to the entire ­effort.

At the same time, though, this effort neglects a considerable portion of the coun­try, a politi­ cal decision written down in black and white.

In the 12th Five Year Plan for 2011 to 2015, Section 3, Article 12 says: »Expansion of the high-speed network to 16,000 kilometers.« Experts and analysts have no doubt that this applies mostly to rail lines running through major metropolitan areas.

The International Union of Railways says that China has nearly 10,000 kilometers of high-speed lines and that the same amount is under construction. By comparison, Europe has nearly 7,400 kilometers (2,500 kilometers under construction) and Japan 2,670 kilome­ ters (780 kilometers under construction). The

United States has 362 kilometers (zero under construction) and even lags behind Turkey (444 kilometers and 603 under construction).

Nonetheless, the rail network in China is struggling. »In China, there`s no talk of any renaissance of the railroad,« says Lee­ nen of SCI Verkehr. »This has been more like a rush job.« The key to a rail system is not always fast connections between cities, she notes. Con-sideration must also be gi­ ven to stability and reliability throughout the country: About 50 percent of China`s rail network has not been electrified yet, and the freight system is overloaded, Leenen says.

Coal transports have the highest priority.

Less important goods are literally pushed onto a sidetrack. Here, they are again, the two worlds: A person can race from Beijing to Hong Kong in eight hours. But a container needs several days to travel from Hong Kong to Shanghai. As a result, there can hardly be any talk at all about a »people`s republic of the railroad.«

Subway of tomorrow In the »Inspiro« by Siemens, an hourglass graphic on the door shows the time left before the train departs. This should facilitate a smooth flow of passengers getting on and off the train.

The cramped train platform

China is far from the only place where the infrastructure is unable to keep pace with the desire for faster, more modern means of mobility. »The existing rail infrastructure in Germany, with its train stations built during the days of the German Empire between 1870 and 1918, is no longer capable of meet­ ing today`s needs,« says Joachim Winter of the German Aerospace Center. The proj-ect director of the Next Generation Train is wor­ king on a train whose double-decker cars will be able to transport up to 1,600 passen­ gers. This is certainly an impressive number in theory, but there is a catch: »Today`s plat­ forms are just not wide enough to handle the number of passengers who we think will be changing trains,« Winter says.

Nonetheless, Winter says the renaissance of the railroad is taking place. It begins with a core network that offers long-distance highspeed service between urban centers and then moves from there. »Feeder trains will pick up people in the regions outside the hubs.« High­er, faster, wider. The rebirth of the rail­ road will also be a rediscovery of hinterlands: Like in the broad vistas of the Wild West, it will soon occur in Chinese provinces and so­ metime in the future on wider German train platforms.

More information on the topic: www.tuv-sud.com/rail TÜV SÜD Journal 11

Promote economy

Points of view

points Ernest Godward and Torben Holvad, European Railway Agency

»The main job of major rail projects is to take a long-term burden off business.«

European Railway Agency The organization created in 2004 by the European Union is charged with progressively streamlining the national railroad regulations of all 27 member states.

T

he planning that goes into railroad infrastructure projects must be aimed at meeting the needs of business. Transport bottlenecks create costs that can be eliminated only by developing a tightly knit rail network, particularly in major metropolitan areas.

Railroads are in the same position as other modes of transport: When things back up, transport slows down and can even come to a complete stop. And that costs money: Estimates for Great Britain show that business loses £20 billion each year as a result of logjams and delays. This will certainly be the case in other countries as well. The rail networks in use to­ day have reached the limits of their capacity, a fatal development for business. The reasons are obvious: Growth requires room for expansion and invest­ ments in infrastructure. The network must be more tightly linked, particularly in major metropolitan areas, in order to make rising levels of passenger numbers and larger streams of goods possible in the first place and then to manage them. The European high-speed rail network is to be completed by 2050, and the current network tripled in length by 2030, according to the white paper »Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area« issued by the EU Com­ mission. By 2050, the majority of medium-distance passenger transport should go by rail as well. These are high-minded goals that serve the mobility needs of business and people. But there is an »if« to con­ sider: Citizens are becoming increasingly skeptical about major projects – because such work takes so long to complete and does not pay off until decades later.

Rail network Passenger comfort or economic growth?

12 TÜV SÜD Journal

Focus on the passengers

W

hen railway infrastructure projects are being put together, consideration must be given to supply and the bigger picture.

Unfortunately, as many past projects clearly show, such matters are frequently ignored at the beginning of the planning process.

When you are sitting in a train cruis­ing along the countryside at 300 km/h, high-speed rail lines are a dream. But when you are standing on a rail platform being buffeted by a surly wind and you have just missed your express train connection, they are a night­mare.

What good does saving 15 minutes travel time do, if you can't reach your connecting train at the next rail hub? New rail routes need new connections, branch lines and passing options. They need a new system for planning timetables, an area of the rail­ road business that is currently dominated by think­ ing about business-related issues. As a passenger, I am a second-class citizen. Not so in Switzerland: In a program called »Fahrplan 2000,« timetables were recalculated on the basis of hubs like Zurich. Then, the infrastructure was expanded according to these new schedules. In this case, the Swiss thought about this rail project in terms of supply and created an integrated travel chain in the process. My ideal rail network? A European railroad system that enables me to hop on a train in my hometown and travel all the way to the Mediterranean without giving hardly a thought to the journey. If my wish is to come true, passengers will need reliable advance information, a smoothly running international rate system and, of course, realistic connection options. And when something does go awry, I would like to receive re­ liable information about alternative routes.

Points of view

Of view Josef Schneider, Board Member of the European Passengers' Federation

»Passengers must be a top priority when rail projects are planned.«

European Passengers Federation The alliance of several European associations and organizations is based in Brussels and works on behalf of passenger rights in public transportation and European-wide standards.

The train has a future, there’s no doubt about it.

But who will benefit the most from its expansion: passengers or freight?

Ideally, both. However: Can the needs of passengers and businesses be brought together?

TÜV SÜD Journal 13

5 Minutes

Dual leadership at TÜV SÜD Academy

International certification for biomass and energy

TÜV SÜD offers independent elevator control system

In September 2013 Jürgen Merz has joined Jörg Schematis at the top of TÜV SÜD Academy. In addition to his new role, the 53-year-old will continue to serve as Managing Director at TÜV SÜD Pluspunkt GmbH. TÜV SÜD Aca­demy is one of the leading European providers of initial and further training to industry, trades, retailing, the public sector and private individuals.

TÜV SÜD is currently the only company in Central and East­ ern Europe that offers certification for biomass and energy in the Czech Republic under the international standard ISCC. The company received accreditation at the end of June 2013.

ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certification is currently being offered.

TÜV SÜD also offers certification for biofuel under the Czech Republic’s national standards.

Elevators are generally the greatest technical operating cost of a property. With the program »Lift-Betriebsmanagement3,« TÜV SÜD now offers an independent, continuous and comprehensive elevator control system that records and reviews all of an elevator`s actions, among other things. The aim is to minimize risks while keeping costs as low as possible and maintaining long-term value.

juergen.merz@tuev-sued.de

miroslav.holy@tuv-sud.cz

maximilian.seidel@tuev-sued.de

Safety during nuclear fusion experiment at the Max Planck Institute

Wendelstein 7-X – is the name of the innovative fusion experiment that is currently being set up at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. Inside the research facility, which has been in the planning and building stages since 1997, the Max Planck Institute intends to gain insights into ways to harness nuclear fusion as an energy source. At the start of 2014, the operator plans to apply for operational authorization. TÜV SÜD has been working on the project since its start: On behalf of Germany’s nuclear safety agency,­TÜV SÜD determines whether the facility complies with all radiation-protection require­ments and construction-permit conditions. This has included evaluating the so-called Torushalle, the roughly 1.8-meter-thick concrete protective shell surrounding the fusion unit. The project team, led

by Dr Michael Bittner (left), also calculated the shielding effect of the hall‘s walls based on the concrete parameter and presented the results at public events held by the Ministry of Labor in Schwerin, Germany. michael.bittner@tuev-sued.de

14 TÜV SÜD Journal

5

Growth in the South American construction sector

With its Real Estate Service & Infrastructure Division, TÜV SÜD is active worldwide in the construction and infrastructure sector, including in the areas of elevator inspections, building efficiency and construction quality. In the summer of 2013, the company expanded its presence in South America: TÜV SÜD acquired the company Bureau de Projetos e Consultoria in Brazil. Located in São Paulo, the company is one of the leading consult­ ing firms in Brazil‘s infrastructure and construction sector. The firm special­ izes in project management in the con­ employees supervise imporstruction industry and infrastructure tant major projects throughout development as well as geotechnical ­Brazil and in neighboring South and constructive supervision in the ­American countries. building of dams, tunnels, subways and similar projects. The new TÜV SÜD subsidiary also offers consulting services in transport structures, water-supply systems and similar projects as well as environmental management in the restructuring of industrial sites and mines.

Approx. 300

smello@tuv-sud.com.br

5 Minutes

Deutsche Post AG partners with TÜV SÜD

Up to 10,000

TÜV SÜD is taking over a range of services for Deutsche Post AG that are related to cars are to be evaluated for the assessment of postal vehicles about Deutsche Post across Germany to be sold. This includes damage and reduced-value appraisals at Deutsche each year.

Post‘s locations in the German states of Bavaria, Hesse and Lower Saxony. By teaming up with TÜV SÜD, Deutsche Post AG will be able to sell its used vehicles more easily in the future. The processes are optimized, first and foremost, by standardized procedures related to the preparation of vehicles for sale. This work includes the electronic recording of damage with a hand-held computer. All data are then sent directly to Deutsche Post’s online sales platform. christos.gkirtzalis@tuev-sued.de

Minutes

with TÜV SÜD Free auto inspection in Germany

Positive results on the Euro Truck Test

Nine Trucks that covered a total of more than three million kilometers during a three-year period: These are the parameters for bestof9.eu, a long-range truck test held in Europe. Since 2012, TÜV SÜD has been acting as the safety partner for this real-world test of trucks that is organized by the Huss-Verlag publishing company. The objective is to find out which truck has the best overall efficiency, mileage, reliability and driver appeal. The trucks recently under­went their first vehicle roadworthiness test (see photo). The results: Apart from defects in lighting systems and sometimes widely different tire-inflation pressures, the tests did not reveal any safety concerns. Since the start of the test, each truck has covered an average of 150,000 kilometers. The trucks have used an average of between 27.8 liters and 29.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. By 2015, it will be clear which truck trumps the rest. dieter.roth@tuev-sued.de

Energy-efficiency training in Indonesia

Drop your car off for a garage test and earn money: TÜV SÜD offers this possibility to its customers in Germany. They can subject their vehicles to a garage test as part of a scheduled inspection. In return they earn a compen­ sation that can reach up to the total cost of the inspection. Vehicles are needed because TÜV SÜD tests the quality of repairs and services offered by thousands of garages each year on behalf of automotive manufacturers and car dealers.

The German Investment and Development Society has been helping ­developing and emerging countries enhance their private sector for more than 50 years. The current program »develoPPP.de« aims to improve the living standards of people through close partnerships between companies and the public sector. In one of its current projects, the society is working with TÜV SÜD to improve the energy efficiency of small and midsized enterprises in Indonesia. For this purpose, around 100 businesses in the cities of Jakarta and Surabaya will receive intensive training on the international standard ISO 50001. After completing the training, participants should be able to establish an energy-efficiency benchmark for their company as well as make and evaluate suggestions for reducing energy costs. A key topic is economic efficiency. shirley.lee@tuv-sud-psb.sg

werkstatttest@tuev-sued.de

TÜV SÜD Journal 15

To Aufthe dietest Probe

TES T TO T H E

GANIC #16 IS OR REALLY ?

B ET TE R GY E #18 EN R FROM NS EMISSIO

is ORGANIC REALLY GREEN? Vegetables harvested from organic fields and meat from animals raised under humane conditions – shopping in organic stores has become the trendy thing to do. But are shoppers actually protecting the environment in the ­process? Only if all of their other shopping falls in line with the environment as well, says Professor Dr Elmar Schlich.

Interview: Sylke Dersch

Professor Schlich, what impact do our shopping habits have on the­ ­environment?

The majority of CO 2 is produced when you bring home your purchases. About 80 percent of this shopping is done by car. Two other factors to consider are the distances traveled and the amount of goods purchased: If you drive eight kilometers to the next organic farm to buy a kilo of tomatoes and two liters of milk, the CO2 emissions would be much higher than they would be if you were to drive to a nearby supermarket and fill your car 16 TÜV SÜD Journal

with two cases of mineral water, three kilograms of detergent and some food.

Shopping in organic supermarkets is not always the environmentally conscious thing to do, is it?

No. We conducted a survey of 275 customers of organic stores in cities in the central re­gion of the German state of Hessen and about 400 customers of supermarkets in Giessen. Organic store shoppers had the worst CO2 results by far. During their shopping trips, they produced an average of about 1,000 grams of carbon dioxide per kilogram

of organic products – this is more than three times the German average and more than eight times the level produced by the customers of Giessen supermarkets who took part in the survey.

Why? First, organic store customers bought less and traveled greater distances than the ­supermarket customers did. On average, organic store customers carried five kilograms of products in their cars. But supermarket customers took home between eight kilograms and eleven kilograms. One possible

AufTo die the Probe test

MORE INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC

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»Efficient logistics saves energy and protects the climate.« – Professor Dr Elmar Schlich

explanation for this is that the product range in organic stores is smaller than it is in supermarkets. In addition, organic stores are not as widely available as traditional supermarkets.

Doesn`t the food-processing industry produce more CO2 emissions?

No. Some studies on the »ecology of scale« have shown that transport distances as such do not play as big of a role as the general public may think. Thanks to strong logistics, ­large operations can carry out their business in more environmentally conscious way, even if they are farther away from the ultim­ ate destination. For instance, this means that a commercial vehicle filled with 33 pallets of tomatoes would produce less carbon dio­x­ ide per kilogram of tomatoes on a trip from Spain to Germany than a van would while traveling only 20 kilometers.

The shorter the trip, the better: This formula doesn’t apply?

In any case, there is no reason to condemn global process chains because of apparently high energy costs of transports. On the

contrary: Local or regional products frequently have a larger environmental footprint when the production operation is too small.

What role does the storage of food play in terms of energy used?

German apples stored for months in refrigerated warehouses have the same energy consumption levels as apples brought by ship from South Africa. They are picked and arrive three weeks later.

Do we need better infrastructure?

Based on our study, you could also conclude that we need a higher concentration of organic stores. The home delivery of organic products could particularly help people in rural areas.

What do you think consumers should do?

Of course, they can continue to shop in organic stores. But they should remember that they are not doing the environment any favors when they drive a few kilometers to pick up a handful of eggs and potatoes at the

nearest organic store. It also makes sense to draw up a list and go shopping once a week in order to buy larger amounts of goods.

Professor Dr Elmar Schlich Since 1993, the mechanical engineer has been a professor for process technology in food and service operations at the Justus Liebig Univer-­ sity in Giessen. In his research, Schlich focuses on energy efficiency in the food and service sector, analysis of storage and cooking processes, thermodynamics and humans’ energy balance sheet. He is a member of the German Nutrition Society.

More information on the topic: www.tuv-sud.com/food

TÜV SÜD Journal 17

To the test

Use the Smoke

Text: Timour Chafik & Sylke Dersch

There is something more at stake than hot air here – the emissions generated by our society are teeming with untapped energy sources. Scientists and researchers are now intent on unleashing them, either through direct solutions or through the use of biomass: The motto of this effort goes something like this: Don’t let waste go to waste.

18 TÜV SÜD Journal

To the test

Energy reservoir emissions: The waste products generated by the combustion of fossil fuels pour out of millions of smokestacks and exhaust pipes every day. But as we deplete the world’s vast store of resources, researchers are discovering a wealth of energy potential contained in these very same emissions and are determined to »harvest« them.

E

lectric and hybrid vehicles or fuel fresh from the field – people have come up with all sorts of ideas for powering our cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles in the future.

At the same time, engines have undergone continuous refinement over the past few decades, enabling them to get better and better gas mileage: Average fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions have been falling for years now. Despite these advancements, driving is anything but efficient: The combustion efficiency of our vehicles is somewhere between 30 percent and 45 percent.

This means vehicles use only one-third of the energy contained in the fuel when they travel down the road. Much of the rest is converted into thermal energy – or just escapes, unused, out of the tailpipe.

But these emissions are much more than just a bunch of hot air. The exhaust that streams from the rear of a car and the smoke that billows from the smokestack of a coal-fired power plant are really raw mat­e­ rials. Or to put it more precisely: The energy contained in them – in the form of thermal energy or their CO2 content – can be used both on a small and large scale. It is an idea that is now occupying the minds of entire development departments in the automotive industry, biotech companies and scientists at research institutions.

But this is hardly the only place: The idea has now become streetwise, so to speak, and is being put to use in Scania commercial vehicles under the name of »turbocompound.« The principle works like this: Instead of allowing the exhaust gas heated to around 600 degrees to simply vanish into thin air, a

second turbine in­stalled in the exhaust line downstream from the turbo-charger goes to work. Producing up to 55,000 rpm, this turbine brings the temperature down to below 500 degrees – the turbine’s rotation is then transferred to the crank shaft to deliver an extra boost of power.

Steam in the rear, power in the front This is certainly an innovative solution – but it is also very complex and contains only a limited amount of conservation poten­­­tial: Turbocompound technology saves only about two percent of fuel. This technology may be interesting for heavy commercial vehicles that use 30 liters of diesel to travel 100 kilometers or the operation of ship turbines.

But another approach needs to be tak­en­ for cars, and major automakers are busy working on it in their search to exploit the potential of exhaust gas energy.

Currently, the electronic systems in cars are powered by electricity produced by the gen­erator. These generators are usually powered by a drive belt, a process that increases fuel consumption. Why not use the exhaust gas heat as a way of vaporizing water or an­ other fluid that would then power a second gen­erator? It is an idea that takes us back to the days of the steam engine – this would be an ingenious solution, but it has one major flaw: The exhaust gas produced by today’s cars is simply not hot enough to efficiently operate a steam system. The temperature of the exhaust gas, and the efficiency of the additional generator, can indeed be raised by increasing the amount of gas. But this will boost fuel consumption – we end up with a Catch-22.

TÜV SÜD Journal 19

To the test

Green energy: Ethanol is the main component of biofuel. Microorganisms can produce it from the greenhouse gas carbon monoxide – without using any staple food crops.

»If you excluded fossil fuels, our only option is plant-based

biomass as source of carbon.« – Professor Dr Olaf Kruse, University of Bielefeld

None­theless, the »steam engine in the car« will soon be doing its part to improve engine efficiency. Perhaps, it will feed another source that will provide the vehicle with add­itional electricity – this is a promising idea in light of the growing number of electronic components that are being integrated into cars these days.

From a bore to algae feed Emissions are not just hot stuff. They also are packed with all sorts of valuable materials: The two Nobel laureates George Olah and Joseph Stiglitz view carbon dioxide, the gas that has been tagged the »climate killer,« as the »fuel of the chemical indus­ try.« From the dawn of life on the planet, it has kept metabolic cycles going: Trees and shrubs convert the gas into green life ev­ ery day. There would be no photosynthesis without CO2 . The climate killer is actually a life saver.

Left to its own devices, CO2 is pretty bor­ ing, inert and dense. You have to force it to react. To spark this reaction, large amounts of energy or a very reactive partner must be put to work. Both approaches do little for the energy and climate balance sheet. But you could also breed algae with it: Carbon dioxide is the perfect meal for algae. In return for this food, the algae will convert the CO2 into things like biodiesel for car engines.

For years now, the energy companies RWE, e.on Hanse and Vattenfall have been testing 20 TÜV SÜD Journal

algae technology on a l­arge scale. As part of these trials, test facil­ities have been set up adjacent to coal-fired power plants and use their emissions.

In the process, they enable CO2 to enjoy a second life. »Right now, we are able to extract only the carbon-based fuels that have sufficient energy density out of natural carbon reserves like coal, oil and natural gas.

If we no longer want to do or can do this, our only choice will be to use plant-based biomass as a carbon source,« says Professor Dr Olaf Kruse, a biologist at the University of Bielefeld who has been studying microalgae as a potential supplier of biofuel for eight years. There is just one problem: The monads double the size of their biomass and become ideal energy suppliers in the process. But the cell walls of the algae are relatively hard. As a result, they must be cooked or squeezed in order to carry out the process that bioengineers call »milk­ ing.« But this process lowers the energybalance-sheet level of algae diesel.

In a partnership with the Karlsruhe Insti­tute of Technology, Bielefeld-based scientists are operating a test facility in Australia. In the intensive sunshine that this continent receives, photosynthesis needs no artificial sources of light. »The charming feature of algae is that they are relatively easy to raise in areas that have sunshine, moderate temperatures and sufficient water,« Kruse says. As a result, the sunny regi-

ons of the world could become natural fuel storage facilities of the future.

Four words for efficiency

A company in New Zealand has come up with a process that could render »milking« unnec­ essary. LanzaTech is also working on the future of biofuel production. The developers are growing a bacterium from the clostridium family that produces ethanol in a fermentation process. The only condition: a sufficient supply of carbon monoxide that is used to trigger the fermentation process. Together with Siemens Metals Technologies, the company is constructing two commercial facilities at steel plants in China. The facilities are sched­ uled to begin operations in 2014. LanzaTech estimates that the global potential of ethanol breweries that use steel-plant emissions at 100 billion liters.

A car filled with bacteria-bioethanol that uses the thermal energy of its CO2-neutral emissions to produce electricity with a thermoelectric generator – this would be the dawn of energy efficiency. As far as cars are concerned, this efficiency level could be raised further by applying a very special type of technology, one that can be summed up in four words: pedal off the metal.

More information: www.tuv-sud.com/automotive

On location

People:

More information on this topic

High-level safety

in oUr Magazine App

B

raam Botha cannot afford to be afraid of heights. That’s because the job that the specialist for non-destructive testing of system components performs for TÜV SÜD South Africa Pro-Tec takes him to some high places. He will sometimes stand on a platform dangling along the side of 80-meter-high boilers at coal-fired power plants and run his ultrasound device across the units‘ steel walls – always hunting for possible imperfections in the material. Even the most minor hair-line fissure or bump in the steel could have fatal consequences given the high pressures to which the boiler areas of coal-fired power plants are subjected. A total of 13 coal-fired power plants are located around Middelburg, the city where TÜV SÜD South Africa Pro-Tec is based.

Middelburg is located about 150 kilometers east of Johannesburg, in the center of South Africa’s coal heartland. »Most of the power for the entire country is produced here,« Braam Botha says.

In the summer, when the country’s hunger for electricity abates, individual units of the power plants are taken offline for inspection.

This is the time of year when Botha and his colleagues, equipped with ultrasound, sonar and X-ray devices, climb onto scaffolding and platforms.

Their aim: to put every inch of a unit under their microscope. At the moment, they are inspecting two new power plants under construction.

The inspection list that Braam Botha is working his way down contains up to 400 components. »Every power station is different. That’s what makes this job so interesting,« says the 33-year-old, who has been working to keep South Africa’s energy-delivery system safe for 14 years. His colleagues and he assume tremendous responsibility. »You have to be very meticulous and always remain totally focused, « Botha explains. He trains this focus on the golf course and the cricket field, where he won lots of prizes.

Ultrasound for safety: Braam Botha of TÜV SÜD South Africa Pro-Tec is a spec­ialist for non-destructive testing of system comp­onents.

More information on the topic: www.tuv-sud.co.za

TÜV TÜV SÜD SÜD Journal Journal 21 21

Aufthe dem Weg On way

WAY ON THE

TE D #22 REFIT TRY CHEMIS al #26 soci : n Kitche AN H T More S MEAL

Naturally chemical Text: Andreas Schleinkofer

Oil makes the world go round: Plastics, lacquers, paints or fertilizers – this raw material is the essence of a huge number of products. New research solutions are being developed to change this state of affairs. The effort goes by the name of »renewable chemistry.«

Biomass Biomass like corn, potatoes and manure are fermented in biogas units.

22 TÜV SÜD Journal

Biogas facilities The produced biogas can be converted into biomethane. Industry companies can use this as energy source.

Ondem the Weg way Auf

R

evolution is all about turning things upside down, throwing out the old and ringing in the new. The steam engine, electricity and the computer were and are »revolutionaries« of such sweeping change. Today, a new industrial revolution is taking shape – at least, this is the way that Dr Hermann Fischer sees it. The 60-year-old chemist and entrepreneur is known in the industry as the »chemical reformer«: Since the 1970s, he has been researching and developing products and processes that exclusively use bio­genic – that is, renewable – raw materials. He also has a name for the results of his work – »chemical-technical everyday products from naturally occurring raw materials.« He has been producing them since 1983 in his own company, AURO AG. Fischer predicts that the chemical industry will undergo a sweeping transformation before 2020.

Material and energy uses

Fossil raw materials are the »staple food« of the chemical industry: In particular, crude

oil – and, to a lesser extent, natural gas and coal – form the basis of many of the most important raw materials. The »black gold« is used to make paints, lacquers, plastics, fertilizers and medications. About 15 percent of the crude oil consumed in Germany is used by the chemical industry for these purposes – approximately 16 million tons each year.

Finding a suitable replacement for this »basis of life« is the challenge, or, rather, the revolution. The chemical industry is actively working to expand its base of raw materials.

As part of this effort, it is increasingly using renewable raw materials wherever technically feasible and makes commercial, environmental and social sense. This conserves resources, protects the environment and, ideally, helps consumers feel good when they shop in supermarkets.

Cascade use describes the repeated utilization of a raw material and functions, in principle, like a recycling system that is connected to an ongoing production process.

Here‘s an example: Material from renewable resources – let’s say corn or potatoes – is in-

Biomass in place of crude oil: Renewable raw materials are not only used for the production of energy.

Also a number of plastics and household products are made of these materials.

The solid material from biogas facilities can be used for the production of plastics among others.

TÜV SÜD Journal 23

Aufthe dem Weg On way

»Oil from Central Europe, wax from Brazil and resin from ­Indonesia. For chemical processes we use the world‘s

complete range

of resources.« – Dr Hermann Fischer, chemist and entrepreneur itially used to make man-made fibers. These resources can be repeatedly recycled and integrated into new production processes. But that‘s not all: If the material‘s structure is damaged, or »exhausted,« it can still be used for energy purpos­es – including in incineration plants.

For years now, the chemicals company BASF has been using renewable resources. Today, these resourc­es make up about four percent of the raw materials used throughout the company. They consist mainly of vegetable oils, by-products from the woodprocessing industry, sugar, starch and bioethanol.

During chemical and biotechnological processes, these materials are converted into such things as plastics. They are then called »Ultramid Balance«, a polyamide, or »Lupranol Balance«, a polyol, both of which are made from castor oil.

The range of potential uses of renewable raw materials is wide: It extends from plastics, fibers and detergents to glues, building materials, hydraulic fuel and medications, according to the German Chemical Industry Association. In 2011, a total of about 2.7 million tons of these materials were used,

or 13 percent of all organic chemical products in Germany. They have found homes in all areas where they outperform fossil materials in technical and environmental terms, according to the association.

Foam-free thanks to biogenic materials

BASF has a product range for the cosmetics, laundry and cleaning industry that is composed largely of renewable raw materials. In addition, BASF uses vegetable oils to produce anti-foaming agents that are used in water-based lacquers, coating materials, printing inks and glues. These agents prevent foam from forming during the production and application processes. They are also used as coalescing agents that promote film formation of environmentally friendly watery dispersions and facilitate improved abrasion resistance and the adhesion of paints and lacquers.

But this is not nearly all: BASF‘s animal-feed enzymes that are obtained with the aid of biotechnological processes support animal husbandry by making indigestible parts of the feed digestible. This results in an improved, resource-conserving use of feed.

More information on the topic

in oUr Magazine App

24 TÜV SÜD Journal

Auf Ondem the Weg way

The natural chemical revolution reaches almost to the heart of production processes, as figures show: While the German Chemical Industry Association has noted that 10 percent to 15 percent of materials used in chemical processes around the world come from renewable sources, the German Professional Agency for Renewable Raw Materials has tracked their applications: About 40 percent are attributed to vegetable oil and animal fats and an additional 40 percent to carbo-hydrates. The remaining 20 percent are divided among natural rubber, glycerin, proteins, medicinal plants, cork and vegetable wax. The trend line of the total amount is pointing upward – and demonstrates that the new, the next industrial revolution is moving full steam ahead.

Renewable raw materials in a production alliance How can the chemical industry use more organic raw materials in its production processes – while also remaining flexible and continuing to operate existing facilities? One answer to this question is the mass-balance method that TÜV SÜD has developed with BASF. The idea: Organic raw materials like biomethane that are used to produce basic chemical products are assigned to end prod­ ucts, which can include things like paints and adhesives, in a standardized process. The mass-balance method enables manufacturers and customers to determine the percentage of a product‘s fossil raw-material need that was replaced by renewable raw materials.

The certified process creates transparency – and helps conserve non-renewable resources.

Outdoor clothing and backpacks

Already at this stage lots of different products are based on renew­able raw materials.

Detergents and cleaning agents

TÜV SÜD Journal 25

On the way

Dig IN! The restaurant at the TÜV SÜD laboratory center in Garching gives people with mental disorders a new lease on life. Providing assistance in the kitchen or serving the guests, these individuals show just what they are capable of – and just what goes into making a really good meal.

More information on the topic

in oUr Magazine App

Text: Sandra Lehmann

W

ashing carrots, scrubbing potatoes, preparing mousse au chocolat – Klaus Müller* and his iwentcasino colleagues have their hands full. After all, the team at the ­company cafeteria in TÜV­ SÜD’s product laboratory in Garching provides about 200 guests with breakfast, hot lunches and small snacks every day. Working in the kitchen keeps the 50-year-old on his toes. The trained car mechanic never dreamed that working with so many people in such a hectic setting could be so much fun. After all, Müller has had his fair share of trying on-the-job experiences to go along with several setbacks in his personal life. »I have had a lot of temporary jobs in the past, some in supervised positions at special institutions. But I never felt like my work was appreciated, and I usually felt out of place.« Things changed six years ago when ­Müller became part of the cafeteria team.

Here, he does not have to face his fears and

psychological problems all by himself. Many of the employees in the cafeteria have dealt with psychological disorders and disabil­ ities for years. The project is designed to help these individuals reenter the job market and estab­lish social contacts.

Real-time responsibility

For this reason, dealing with hundreds of people each day is a true opportunity and challenge for most of these individuals. »Our facility provides people who have psychological disorders not only with an opportunity to gain job experience, but also to practice interacting with others – including during stressful situations,« says Renate Baur-Richter, who manages the restaurant for iwentcasino, the gastronomical unit of ISAR-WÜRM-LECH Werkstätten (IWL), on behalf of TÜV SÜD. The provider of test­ing services launched the pilot project with the charitable organization in 2007. The IWL also supplied the cafeteria’s equipment. In

the beginning, many prejudices and doubts clouded hopes about the program’s potential success. »Most outsiders don’t think people with disabilities can really handle a full-time job,« Baur-Richter says. But she is certain of a couple of things: »Having a job not only gives them an identity, but also makes them feel that they are being taken seriously.« For its work in the cafeteria in Garching, the IWL was presented this year with the future award of the social services organiza­ tion »PariServe.« But this is far from the only indication of the project’s achievements – one look at the long lines that form each day shows just how good the food is here. »This is our aim: to place the focus on people’s performance.«

More information on the topic: www.wfb-iwl.de/node/17 * Name has been changed

26 TÜV SÜD Journal

On the way

Creative, multifaceted and challenging: Main dishes and desserts are prepared each day in the iwent­casino cafeteria in Garching.

TÜV SÜD Journal 27

To the point

TO T H E P O INT

NEW #28 THE IODES LIGHT D ICE #30 ADV AUTO

LET THERE Be Light Text: Amanda Haupt

How thin should light be? Very thin. Organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, spread their light over broad surfaces and not just at individual points. The new technology opens up a world of new opportunities for lighting experts, designers and users – who will be able to save energy and money as a result.

28 TÜV SÜD Journal

To the point

T

elevisions as thin as a piece of paper.

Mov­ing pictures as big as the entire wall.

Portable computers that can be rolled up like a newspaper. Something that sounds like science fiction to many people is already a reality.

All of this is made possible by organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. While traditional light-emitting diodes used in lamps and in computer and television monitors are becoming increasingly popular, hardly anybody knows much about these mercury-free, recyclable flat screens.

An organic plastic will play the leading role in lighting systems of the future. Organic polymer layers that act as semiconductors are applied between razor-thin, flexible plates of glass. Embedded be­ tween a negatively charged layer of aluminum – the cathode – and a positively charged layer of indium tin oxide – the anode – the energy produced when electricity is introduced creates light. The surface practically lights itself. No more backlighting is required. In contrast to LEDs, the current density and luminance are lower. The surface does not generate as much heat, but it appears brighter. This also means­t­ hat consumers save money and enjoy a more pleasant, »warmer« light.

Unlimited lighting design options

While LED spots – just like incandescent, halogen and energy-saving bulbs – act only as punctual light sources, OLEDs are the first of their kind to pro­ duce wide-area lighting. This facilitates better image quality on monitors and turns light into a design element in interior decorating.

The electrical luminescence of organic materials, that is, their ability to illuminate when elect­ric current is applied, is nothing new. Scientists already came across this effect in the 1950s. And OLED technology got another boost in the 1970s: For the first time, plastics were used as semiconductors, that is, to transmit electrical energy under the influence of temperature. The color of the light pro­ d­uced by OLEDs depends on the molecular structure of the organic material used. Several displays placed one behind the other can be turned on to

create gigantic presentation surfaces. Lamps and other lighting elements can assume every imagin­ able form and color.

The technology still has not reached complete maturity, and the introductory prices are still fairly high. For now. But once OLEDs reach mass production, producers will be able to manufacture them more cheaply and in greater quantities than LEDs.

1. Cathode: A negative

charge is applied to a thin layer of metal, usually aluminum.

1

2. Sender: A layer of organic molecules or polymers accepts the cathode’s negative charge.

2

3. Conductor: A separate

layer of organic material accepts the anode’s positive charge.

4. Anode: Indium tin oxide releases the positive charge, which causes the OLED surface to illuminate.

3 4 5

5. Substrate: Light is projected outward

through the OLED’s glass cover.

More on the topic of lamps and lights: www.tuv-sud.com/lamps-luminaires TÜV SÜD Journal 29

To the point

Advice:

The big chill It‘s time for snow and ice to complicate drivers‘ lives. And you need to be ready for them.

Here are five tips that will help keep you mobile.

1

3

2 Light up your life

New rubber on the road When temperatures dip to just above the freez­ ing point, the rubber mixture of summer tires begins to harden. Winter tires, by contrast, use a softer rubber material that can better adapt itself to road conditions – a true benefit when driving on snow or through slush.

As the cold, dark season of the year sets in, you should pay special attention to your headlights: The lenses must be dry and the reflectors clear.

Fog lamps must be inspected, too.

Power to the battery

Make sure that your car battery still has enough juice.

Fluid levels should be checked once a year, even for modern lead-acid batteries. If the ­levels are too low, add distilled ­water.

A loss of fluid can also be a sign of a defective casing. In such cas­es, you will need a new battery.

4

Protect your liquid assets Check your antifreeze and make sure that it provides protection down to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Also check the fluid in the windshield wiper system: The protection should be good for minus 20 degrees.

More information on motor vehicles: www.tuv-sud.com/car_vehicles 30 TÜV SÜD Journal

A cap on the roof and we are ready to roll? Unfortunately not. But there is a thing or two that you can do to make sure that your car gets through the winter safely.

5

Opening up To ensure that you aren’t locked out when frost sets in, treat your car doors with graphite to prevent them from freezing up. Treat gaskets and rubber strips with a grease stick or silicone spray.

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: Qualified planner for lighting and LED The right type of lighting increases people‘s feeling of wellbeing and performance. Lighting planners face the challenge of developing cost- and energy-efficient solutions that guar­ antee a high quality of light. During this five-day seminar, the TÜV SÜD Academy imparts expertise that will help architects, experts and engineers impress their clients.

An introduction to light: An overview of the subject as well as of photometric quantities, light psychology and artificial light spectra Lights and lamps: A discussion of technical methods with a focus on LED Lighting standards: EN 12464 and DIN V 18599 Conception and sizing of lighting systems: Lighting strategies and planning programs Cost-effectiveness analysis of various lighting systems: Amortization, operating costs and cost-effectiveness Exercises and case studies in project work The courses are held throughout the year at locations across Germany.

11/12/01 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

November EWEA Offshore, Frankfurt am Main, November 19–21, 2013 About 450 exhibitors will present their products and services involving all aspects of the supply and value chain of offshore wind energy during the industry‘s largest conference and exhibition worldwide.

MEDICA, Düsseldorf, November 20–23, 2013 Laboratory technology, diagnostics and electromedicine are some of the areas that will be covered by this leading medical trade fair that will be attended by companies from 64 countries.

More information on the seminars: www.tuv-sud.com/academy

January

wolfgang.humburg@tuev-sued.de

2014 AHR Expo New York, New York, January, 21 – 23, 2014

Imprint

The largest exhibition for the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning industry is returning to New York. More than 1,900 exhibitors will have their products on display. Organizers are expecting the trade fair’s approximately 120 seminars and talks will attract 55,000 people during the three-day gathering.

Publisher: TÜV SÜD AG, Westendstraße 199, 80686 Munich Owners: TÜV SÜD e.V. (74,9 %), TÜV SÜD Foundation (25,1 %), Westendstraße 199, 80686 Munich Head of Corporate Communications: Matthias Andreesen Viegas Project Manager and Editor in Chief: Jörg Riedle

TÜV SÜD New Year’s Receptions, Munich, Stuttgart, Leipzig, January 23 – February 05, 2014

Contact: +49 (0)89 5791-0, info@tuev-sued.de Realization: Medienfabrik Gütersloh GmbH, Neumarkter Straße 63, 81673 Munich Printing: Eberl Print GmbH, Kirchplatz 6, 87509 Immenstadt Photo credits: Corbis (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12,13, 15, 16, 17, 30), Shutterstock (1), Bombardier (3, 7), Siemens (11), Fotolia (18, 19, 20), Roger Riedel (26, 27), TÜV SÜD (2, 4, 5, 14, 15, 21), Christoph Weiser (32), Daimler AG (33), Mierswa-Kluska (28); Illustration (22, 23, 24, 25, 34, 35): LULU*

The environmental scientist Professor Dr Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and the energy economist Professor Dr Claudia Kempfert will discuss Germany’s energy revolution. During TÜV SÜD’S New Year’s Receptions, experts enlighten the invited guests about issues of the day and discuss their outlooks for the future.

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 natureOffice.com | DE-141-277719

print production TÜV SÜD Journal 31

5 Minutes

Tests for measuring devices under extreme pressure

Reintegrating employees following extended illnesses

Independent tests of halal products

TÜV SÜD NEL based in Scotland is one of the world's lead­ ing companies for testing measurement devices used in the energy industry, including pipelines. The range of testing are­ as has just been expanded to include high-pressure test­ing equipment in which measurement devices can be c­ hecked at the extreme pressure of 60 bars. This is equal to the level of pressure at 600 meters below the surface of the sea.

What should be done when an employee who has been sick for an extended period of time returns to work? The solu­ tion: company integration management in which managers, the company physician and the works council work closely together. TÜV SÜD is a skilled partner here and helps compa­ nies reintegrate employees as part of its health management offer.

The German company TSPlus certifies foods according to the halal standard on behalf of its customers – and TÜV SÜD will help with this in the future. As part of a strategic partnership, the provider of testing services will check foods to determine whether the products contain forbidden pork and alcohol. Under the halal standard that defines foods sanctioned under Islamic law, neither is allowed.

mhughes@tuvnel.com

rumen.alexandrov@tuev-sued.de

carolin.eckert@tuev-sued.de

GreenFleet Award for mobility mix and alternative drive systems

Each year the TÜV SÜD subsidiary FleetCompany presents the GreenFleet Award. With the award, the service provider honors companies, government agencies and institutions that are par­ ticularly innovative and sustainable in the management of vehicle fleets. The formula for success used by this year's winners: VAUDE, HAMBURG WASSER and AIDA Cruises employ a mobil­ity mix that consists of bicycles, car pools, car sharing and alternative drive techno­ logies. Sustainable fleet management pays off in the process: »Fuel consump­ tion is one of the biggest cost factors in fleet management. Energy efficiency and CO2 reduction are a high priority for fleet managers for economic reasons alone,« said Roland Vogt, of the Stra­ tegic Organization of TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH. »We support this work by presenting the GreenFleet Award.« roland.vogt@tuev-sued.de

32 TÜV SÜD Journal

Risk rating for industrial projects simplifies investment decisions

5

Munich Re is the world's leading reinsurance company. Complex risk assessments have to be carried out when insurance policies are being drawn up for new construction and industrial projects – ones that are often worth billions of euros. Such due-diligence reviews can frequently be carried out only to a limited degree or are very time and cost The new rating system PRR intensive. Together with TÜV SÜD, Munich produces results in just Re has developed a new rating system that serves as a complement to due diligence.

This system facilitates the evaluation of complex investment projects. The basis of the Project Risk Ratings (PRR) is a modular system made up of individual risk components that reflect the key risks of an investment project. Commercial, technical, political and environmental aspects are considered as well. The benefit: Members of the project profit from the new combination of TÜV SÜD's technical expertise and Munich Re's comprehensive knowledge about damage risks and natural threats. An evaluation can be conducted during every phase of the project. It can also be carried out multiple times during a project life cycle.

4 to 8 Weeks.

gerhard.klein@tuev-sued.de

5 Minutes

Expanded test portfolio for electric vehicles With the takeover of a crash-test center in Oberpfaf­ fenhofen, a town near Munich, TÜV SÜD has expanded Increasing its range of services in electromobility. The company will the safety offer all types of dynamic tests in the 1,000-square-me­ of car passengers – this is ­ ter hall. The service range will include sled tests at up to 80 km/h, systematic crashes or dummy tests. The facility TÜV SÜD's goal in its new is also equipped with a climate chamber and shock-testing crash center. equipment. With a brake unit, authorization-relevant tests can be conducted on various vehicle components, includ­ ing electrical energy storage units and restraint systems. The crash center comes at just the right time: The industry is increasingly turning to lighter materials in vehicle manufacturing. The number of approved e-vehicles is climbing as well. The new services expand the current comprehensive range of tests in the battery centers of TÜV SÜD. volker.blandow@tuev-sued.de

Minutes

with TÜV SÜD

Small trucks in Germany have defects

The safety level of commercial vehicles in Germany is good, according to the second an­ nual TÜV Commercial Vehicle report that the Verband der TÜV e.V. (VdTÜV) released at the end of September. But, on occasion, extensive problems were found in vans and light trucks weighing up to 7.5 tons. After just two years in operation, every 10th such vehicle failed to pass the vehicle roadworthiness test. But the results were more positive for heavy commer­ cial vehicles. For the TÜV Commercial Vehicle Report, a review was conducted of more than 1.2 million vehicle roadworthiness tests that member companies of the VdTÜV conducted last year. wolfgang.eichler@tuev-sued.de

TÜV SÜD acquires 100 percent stake in Railcert TÜV SÜD has increased its stake in Railcert B.V., a testing and certification service provider for railroads that the company estab­ lished in 1999 with the Movares Group, from 50 percent to 100 percent. The acquisition bolsters the company's leadership position as a partner in international rail projects. »The takeover will really help further strengthen our position in the area of EC conformity tes­ ting and EC certification,« said Klaus Bosch, Director of TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH. At the same time, a collaboration agreement between Railcert B.V. and Movares took effect. It assures customers of total con­tinuity. All certificates that have already been issued and all on­ going c­ ertification and expert-assessment projects will continue to be conducted without interruption. Through the Dutch Ministry of In­ frastructure and the Environment, Railcert is listed as a notified body under EU Directive 2008/57/EC that covers interoperability of the rail system in the EU. It is also a designated body under the national laws of the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Shortcomings in training management Company-based training programs are becoming more and more professional. But small and midsized companies have a lot of training and talent of catching up to do in terms of management: the dialogue systematic talent management, according to the study »Education between managers and and Talent Management 2013« that employees.

TÜV SÜD released jointly with EuPD Research Sustainable Manage­ ment. The overall finding: Even though small companies are taking excel­ lent approaches, the systematic nature of training management rises with the size of the company. The study is based on qualification questionnaires submitted as part of the German Training Award 2013, which TÜV SÜD and EuPD Research Sustainable Management created and will be presented for the second time this year.

The key element

klaus.bosch@tuev-sued.de anne.dreyer@tuev-sued.de

TÜV SÜD Journal 33

The final say

Galactic cube

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The final say

Every little boy wants to be an astronaut.

A start-up company from the United States gives people who have taken up other professions a chance to check out space for themselves.

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he year is 2013. ArduSat is using its instruments to explore the universe: its phenomena, its curiosities – and the weather. ArduSat is a small satellite. To be exact, ArduSat is not just small. It is tiny, particularly compared with its big brothers. The mini-satellite is just ten centimeters tall, wide and deep. As of August, an American start-up company has been leasing it to ambitious hobby scientists. The palm-size computer is ­packed with a light sensor, a Geiger counter, a spectrometer, a magnetometer and a large number of cameras. People sitting at their home computers can analyze stardust, observe weather phenomena and take part in geocaching, a modern form of scavenger hunt. The only things you need are the software provided by the company and US$250 a week. Because normal types of satellites cost between US$500 million and US$2 billion, interest in the mini-version among young people and normal wage earners is already huge. Ten American schools signed up even before the pilot project launched. They intend to use the ArduSat data for their astronomy classes, to conduct experiments in school and to take advantage of a collaboration opportunity with NASA. The U.S. space agency will shoot the sensor-filled cube into space free of charge as something like extra baggage on a bigger satellite. Time will tell whether the hobby scientists will profit from their experiments.

Because the rental fee of US$250 per week will not cover the project’s ­financing, the ArduSat owners are considering the option of marketing the data. When the company was established, the Russian billionaire Dmitry Gri­ shin made sure that he got in on the action. He, at least, appears to believe that the idea has potential.

More information on the topic

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TÜV SÜD Journal 35

Access to education is not equally distributed worldwide. Girls, in particular, have a difficult time in many places – but they are catching up!

Closing the gap

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he United Nations has defined eight Mil­lennium Development Goals. One of them is for women and men to have equal access to educational opportunities. The latest Millennium Development Goals Report indicates that things are moving in the right direction: According to the report, the literacy rates of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 24 in North Africa increased by 28 percent between 1990 and 2011. During the same time period, the rates for men increased by 16 percent. Does this mean that the global gender gap in education is closing? No.

More information on the topic

The World Economic Forum‘s Global Gender Gap Report 2012 indicates that only 20 countries have already achieved this U.N. goal. The report compares literacy rates and elementary school enrollment of women and men in 135 countries. The conclusion: Women are catching up, especially in developing countries.

However, the report does not compare the qual­ity of the respective education systems, just the educational opportunities they provide. For this rea­son, some of the top 20 countries hardly measure up to international standards in terms of the quality of education.

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How equitable is the education system?

There are only 20 countries worldwide where girls and boys have equal access to educational opportunities.

Ranking 1 through 20 (1 being the highest)

135 evaluated countries The following data went into the index: • Literacy rate • Elementary school education • Secondary school education• Higher education Each with respect to the ratio of women to men

Source: The Global Gender Gap Report 2012

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