Our main services at an Overview
- Preliminary examination of the planning of new facilities and modifications to existing facilities in terms of construction and water law.
- Expert opinion pursuant to Article 42 AwSV for applications for a suitability determination pursuant to Article 63 (1) WHG
- Expert opinions pursuant to Article 41 AwSV for notifications pursuant to Article 40 AwSV and applications to waive a suitability determination
- Expert opinions on new and existing facilities as explanatory reports and status reports for the licensing and supervisory authorities
- Plant inspections pursuant to § 46 AwSV
- Inspections during construction and construction inspections of all AwSV-relevant trades
- Construction inspections of flat-bottom tanks according to DIN 4119 / EN 14015 as an expert of PÜZ Metallische Bauprodukte for proof of serviceability
- Condition assessment of existing sealing surfaces or sealing surfaces after impact
- Plausibility check of remediation concepts as well as supervision of the remediation of systems to eliminate defects
- Dimensioning of extinguishing water retention
- Decommissioning of facilities according to § 46 AwSV / dismantling supervision
Our main customers
- Chemical industry / Basic industry
- Mineral oil industry / Refineries
- Steelworks / Metallurgical plants / Foundries
- Power stations / Coking plants
- Water management associations / sewage treatment plants
- Logistics centres and forwarding agencies for hazardous substances
- Waste disposal companies / waste recyclers
- Planning offices / plant engineers / tank builders
Preliminary examination of conformity with building and water law / expert opinions for approval procedures
In almost all branches of industry, classical sequences are not or only incompletely adhered to in the planning of new plants or in the modification / expansion of existing plants.
In order not to lose any time, permit applications / notifications are submitted to the competent authorities as early as possible. At this point in time, the AwSV reports are usually requested, even though the depth of planning is often not yet sufficient for a final assessment and review.
Only through the early involvement of the technical experts for e.g. AwSV, fire protection, explosion protection, etc. can the framework conditions and technical requirements for the planned facilities be defined in good time for the approval planning, together with the technical planners and the operator.
The expert reports for the permit applications / notifications can thus be submitted to the authorities at an early stage. Relevant changes that arise during the subsequent implementation planning are evaluated and documented via updates of the expert reports.
Our offer to planners and operators:
- Continuous preliminary review of compliance with building and water legislation for the plant planning from the initial concept planning to the implementation planning in constant dialogue with the technical planner, technical expert and operator.
- Specification of the requirements under building and water law for the proof of usability of construction products and for the proof of the serviceability of types of construction
- Timely proof of material-media compatibility
- Coordination of safety-related equipment, together with experts for fire protection, explosion protection and occupational safety
- Determination of the minimum retention volume for product leakage, surface water, extinguishing water and extinguishing foam / Determination of the construction of secondary protection
- Expert opinion pursuant to § 42 AwSV for applications for suitability determination pursuant to § 63 (1) WHG / Expert opinion pursuant to § 41 AwSV for notifications pursuant to § 40 AwSV and applications to waive suitability determination
- Expert opinions for other installations as explanatory reports for the licensing authority
Plant inspection according to § 46 AwSV
For aboveground and underground LAU facilities, HBV facilities and pipeline facilities, the AwSV specifies the obligation for initial inspections prior to commissioning and the intervals for periodic inspections pursuant to § 46 AwSV.
Experienced experts pursuant to § 2 (33) AwSV document the proper condition and safe operation of the facilities. Technical solutions for identified deficiencies are mutually agreed with the operator and followed up.
Order inspection:
- Notifications pursuant to § 40 AwSV, building permits, notifications / permits pursuant to BImSchG, suitability determinations, etc.
- Plant documentation pursuant to § 43 AwSV / plant containment pursuant to § 14 AwSV / impact and maintenance concept
- Operating instructions according to § 44 (1) AwSV and instruction of operating personnel according to § 44 (2) AwSV
- Hazard assessments / hazard evaluations of the pipelines according to § 21 (1) AwSV and TRwS 780-1
- Verification of the usability of the construction products used and verification of the serviceability of the types of construction used in accordance with construction and water law regulations
Technical inspection:
- External and, if necessary, internal inspection of storage tanks, containers, apparatus, pipelines, etc. with regard to stability, safety in use, durability, leak tightness and detectability of leaks
- Lifetime assessment of existing facilities based on non-destructive tests and specific inspections
- Plausibility check of safety devices and alarm and interlocking plans
- Functional testing of the safety-related sensor-actuator chains: e.g. overfill protection, ANA, ASS, leakage monitoring, dry-running protection, inerting concept according to TRGS 509, etc.
- Qualified condition assessment of the sealing surfaces, drainage surfaces and the retention facilities
- Proof of the required retention volume for product leakage, surface water and extinguishing water
- In case of deficiencies, determination of the remediation concept
Findings pursuant to § 68 (3) AwSV.
Construction supervision / construction inspection in tank construction
Flat-bottom tanks in accordance with DIN 4119 / EN 14015 enable the storage of large volumes of liquids and gases, particularly in the mineral oil and chemical industries.
For factory-manufactured and site-manufactured flat-bottom tanks, proof of serviceability must be provided in accordance with the state building regulations and the building regulations in the MVV TB before commissioning.
We are experienced experts in accordance with § 2 (33) AwSV with relevant experience in tank construction and are also approved as experts for tank construction in accordance with building law via the Testing, Monitoring and Certification Centre (PÜZ) for metallic building products and safety equipment of TÜV Nord Systems.
From the initial planning to the last pipeline connection, the tank structures are continuously monitored during construction and their serviceability is finally certified in a test report.
Test procedure:
- Plausibility check of the stability certificate, the load assumptions and the planned safety equipment.
- Manufacturer qualification: Specialist company § 62 AwSV, AD 2000-Merkblatt HP0, EN ISO 3834, DIN EN 1090 (up to EXC3), DGRL 2014/68/EU, welding supervisory personnel (DIN EN ISO 14731) etc.
- Welding procedure qualification/WPS for each welding process and material
- Construction approval for tank foundation
- Inspection of the weld seams during construction and monitoring of the non-destructive tests (NDT) / Leak tests of the tank bottoms / Proof of suitability for leak detection of the double bottom
- Construction approval for the static pressure test after submission of all welding documents and complete traceability of the steel products used
- Assessment of settlement and bottom sag during initial filling with water
- Tank standing pressure test and, if necessary, also ring shell (hydrotest) / Leakage test of tank roof and roof spigot
- Internal inspection and leak test of the tank bottom after the hydrotest / Functional test of the leak indicator on the double bottom
Proof of suitability for use via test report and stamping of tank plate.
Classification / service life estimation according to TRwS 788
Die Bauausführung und der Betrieb von Flachbodentanks nach DIN 4119/ EN 14015 ist gem. TRwS 788 (DWA-A 788) einzustufen. Leckagen der Tankböden müssen zuverlässig erkennbar sein und sind vollständig zurückzuhalten.
Für den Weiterbetrieb zahlreicher bestehender Flachbodentanks sind daher Prüffristen für Inspektionen und Untersuchungen festzulegen sowie eine Lebensdauerabschätzung vorzunehmen.
Eignungsnachweis / Sanierung bestehender Dichtflächen
Die Rückhalteeinrichtungen / Dichtflächen von AwSV-Anlagen sind gem. TRwS 786 (DWA-A 786) flüssigkeitsundurchlässig auszuführen.
Fehlende oder unvollständige Bauakten sind häufig ein Problem bei der Zustandsbewertung bestehender Dichtflächen. Somit können festgestellte Mängel wie z.B. Risse in Stahlbetonflächen nicht abschließend bewertet werden. In Zusammenarbeit mit der DMT-Betonprüfstelle werden Bauteilproben entnommen und bewertet. Aus den Untersuchungen kann das optimale Sanierungskonzept für die Mängelbeseitigung festgelegt werden.
Über Eindringprüfungen gem. DAfStb-RL BUmwS werden bei Bedarf die maximale Beaufschlagungsdauer und somit rückwirkend die Eignung der Dichtflächen attestiert.
Our service for your plant safety
- Internal testing of flat-bottom tanks and other containers
- Zero testing of tank bottoms / determination of maximum removal rates
- Classification of flat-bottom tanks according to TRwS 788
- Lifetime estimation / Determination of inspection intervals for internal inspections and area-wide wall thickness measurements
Documentation of the flat-bottom tank assessments in expert summaries or in test reports according to § 47 AwSV
- Condition assessment and retrospective proof of tightness of steel trays, sealing membranes, composite systems of ceramic tiles, composite anchors and joint sealants
- Condition assessment and recording of damage patterns of sealing surfaces made of reinforced concrete, rolled asphalt, mastic asphalt and semi-rigid sealing layers
- Component sampling / Recording of the layer structure / Assessment of the damage patterns
- Determination of compressive strength / WU-concrete verification / Penetration tests according to DAfStb-RL BUmwS with storage media or reference fluids / Determination of the maximum possible impact duration
Retroactive proof of suitability in accordance with the requirements in TRwS 786 for existing sealing surfaces.