Pressure equipment

Pressure equipment manufacturers work in a host of different industries, from mechanical engineering to manufacture of process plants, and even including manufacturers of pressure cookers or complex water tube boilers. As they all manufacture pressure equipment or assemblies subject to a constant pressure greater than 0.5 bar, they all have one thing in common: when it comes to the manufacturing and placing on the market of these components, they need to ensure compliance with special safety requirements. Given this, the EU has adopted the EU Pressure Equipment Directive, which defines the safety requirements that must be fulfilled in the manufacture and placing on the market of pressure-bearing components.

Stakeholders seeking to place their pressure equipment on the EU market must design, manufacture and assess the conformity of pressure equipment with a maximum allowable pressure (PS) greater than 0.5 bar in compliance with the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/68/EU. CE marking of the products is mandatory. For products to be eligible for CE marking, the essential safety requirements of the PED must be fulfilled and pressure equipment preferably manufactured according to harmonised standards, including EN 13445, or national codes of practice, such as the AD 2000 Code.

Competent third-party bodies, i.e. authorised “Notified Bodies”, must be involved in the assessment and monitoring of the manufacturers. In February 2018, GSI - Gesellschaft für Schweißtechnik mbH became authorised as a Notified Body (identification number 1182) for products and systems falling under the scope of the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU by the Central Authority for Safety of the German Federal States (Zentralstelle der Länder für Sicherheitstechnik, ZLS). GSI is thus authorised to provide the test services required within the scope of conformity assessment in its ZLS-recognised laboratories and at the manufacturer's premises.

As a Notified Body, we support you with the expansion of your product portfolio, the required qualifications and approvals and the quality assurance of your products and with ensuring construction progress. On your behalf, we also perform final assessment of new pressure equipment or audit your QM system.

For more information about our range of services and further details on the Pressure Equipment Directive, go to: https://www.gsi-slv.de/dienstleistungen/druckgeraete/anlagen/druckgeraete/

Manufacturers of pressure vessels and pressure-bearing components in more than 100 countries worldwide rely on the ASME Code. It is the most comprehensive code for the design, manufacture and testing of pressure vessels. Pressure vessel manufacturers require ASME manufacturer certification.

Assurance of the ASME quality standards is verified by authorised inspection agencies (AIAs) such as TÜV Thüringen e.V., whose subsidiary, CIS GmbH Consulting Inspection Services (CIS), provides advisory, training and other services.

Working with CIS, GSI SLV supports you in obtaining product certification according to the ASME Code, offering numerous events and seminars on this topic.

For more information about our range of services and further details on the ASME Code go to: https://www.gsi-slv.de/en/services/pressure-equipmentmachinery/asme-code/

The primary objective of the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Betriebssicherheitsverordnung, BetrSichV) is to minimise health and safety risks at work. To this end, the ordinance defines binding requirements for safe handling of equipment to ensure the safety and health of the workforce. It also specifies the basic duties resulting for employers. Employers must implement appropriate actions in line with the legal requirements. Before purchasing equipment, for example, employers must assess whether it is suitable for the intended purpose. The assessment may only be carried out by expert staff. Given this, employers who do not have the necessary knowledge must obtain advisory services from a qualified person with the necessary expertise to carry out the safety assessment (zur Prüfung befähigte Person, zPbP).

For installations subject to monitoring, such as lifts and pressure equipment, the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health additionally includes basic rules for safe handling. In these cases, requirements must consider not only the safety of personnel active in the manufacturing, installation or maintenance of these installations, but also of people using the installation once it has been taken into service. The operational reliability of the installation must have been assessed by an authorised inspection agency.

Since June 2014, GSI – Gesellschaft für Schweißtechnik International mbH has partnered GTÜ Anlagensicherheit GmbH over the inspection of installations subject to monitoring under the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health and the German Act on Managing Water Resources.

For more information about our range of services and further details on the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health, go to: https://www.gsi-slv.de/dienstleistungen/druckgeraete/anlagen/betriebssicherheitsverordnung/

The German Federal Act on Managing Water Resources (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz, WHG) addresses the protection of water resources. In keeping with sustainable management of water resources, official authorisations must be obtained for each commercial use. This also includes operation of industrial installations that might pose potential hazards for water resources. In this context, a special focus is on substances hazardous to water. Installations handling substances hazardous to water must be designed and monitored in such a manner that any hazards to water can be excluded.

Given this, work on such installations may only be carried out by certified specialist companies. Under Art. 62 of the German Ordinance on Facilities Handling Substances Hazardous to Water (Verordnung über Anlagen zum Umgang mit wassergefährdenden Stoffen, AwSV), certification by a third-party expert organisation is valid for two years.

GSI – Gesellschaft für Schweißtechnik International mbH is a contractual partner of GTÜ Gesellschaft für Technische Überwachung mbH for the inspection of installations subject to monitoring under BetrSichV and WHG.

We also offer seminars held by experienced specialist lecturers of GTÜ and accompanied by our experts, which serve as the basis for certification as a specialist company.

For more information about our range of services and further details on the German Federal Act on Managing Water Resources, go to: https://www.gsi-slv.de/dienstleistungen/druckgeraete/anlagen/wasserhaushaltsgesetz/