Kiwa Stories - Articles

When you walk or drive down the street at night, your path is likely illuminated by streetlights. They are so ubiquitous it’s easy to take them for granted. In the UK, for example, there are about 6.5 million publicly owned lighting columns. By inspecting the quality of these columns, Kiwa helps to keep our roads safely lit.

As the world heads towards Net Zero, the promise of rail to lower energy use and emissions means more and more people will travel by train. Certification against the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) – a global system for the evaluation of rail sector companies ensures trains are running safely and efficiently.

Every day, millions of people play on artificial turf pitches infilled with plastic or rubber granules. Despite the major advantages of these pitches, there are also drawbacks in terms of environmental impact. Kiwa has tested the use of environmentally friendly or organic filling. What challenges do these alternatives to rubber or plastic infill present?

We all expect our taps, water meters and other water supply and plumbing products that come into contact with drinking water to perform reliably and safe. A wide range of mechanical and hygiene tests exist to ensure this. The best place to submit products to mechanical testing? Kiwa’s state-of-the-art Water Lab in Rijswijk, the Netherlands.

PVUSA is one of the first solar plants built in North America, and currently serves as the home of grid-connected, research-grade outdoor testbed operated by PV Evolutions Labs (PVEL), a member of the Kiwa Group.

Schellevis, a Dutch manufacturer of concrete products used for various applications, including ornamental paving, is CSC Silver certified by Kiwa. CSC is a worldwide quality mark for concrete which proves that companies are part of a responsible concrete chain.

Organizations that work with chemicals must comply with many laws and regulations. Luleå University of Technology (LTU) in Sweden conducts research and teaches in a wide range of scientific fields. Kiwa helped them developing a standard for chemicals management as part of improving safety in LTU's laboratory environments.

Food fraud is an increasing challenge for the food industry and requirements for the prevention of food fraud are becoming more and more stringent. How can international food safety standards help to combat food fraud?

Kiwa Finland has awarded the ISO 55001 certificate to Alva Water Supply. Kiwa colleagues from Finland and the Netherlands worked closely together, helping Alva to become the first water utility in the Nordic region to be certified according to ISO 55001. An effective international cooperation, with a satisfied customer as a result.

Lead Auditor Jürgen Harbaum has increasingly implemented remote auditing into his modus operandi: “Over the past two years, it has become increasingly clear that certain processes and activities can be audited remotely without restrictions. This saves both parties costs and time and provides greater flexibility."

When digging tunnels or excavating mines, soil and rock mechanics suddenly become a key consideration. Trilab in Brisbane, Australia, part of Kiwa Group’s Intega family, leads the way with state-of-the-art triaxial testing equipment.

As of 1 August 2024, all smart devices have to meet minimum cyber security requirements. That means manufacturers have less than two years to get their products tested and certified. “But don't wait too long,” warns Sabyne van Mourik from Kiwa. “We are talking about a huge number of IoT products.”

Allego is the leading European public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network with 28,000 public charging ports. Security of the vast amount of financial and personal data generated by this network is of paramount importance. To demonstrate its commitment to the highest standards of information security management, Allego has achieved ISO 27001 certification by Kiwa.

With a growing focus on climate change, it is becoming increasingly important to understand where our environmental impacts are coming from, in order to limit them. We look at one of the ways to assess the impact of construction: life cycle analysis.

Green hydrogen can facilitate the global energy transition, enhancing the potential of renewable energy and its demand is rising worldwide. To grow confidence in the market, uncertainties and hazards must be reduced. And that is where Kiwa kicks in.

Almost all of the world’s liquid freshwater – about 90 percent – is hidden under the ground. However, the water supply is under pressure; we need huge volumes of water to keep people healthy and run today’s economy. Therefore it's important to remember groundwater is a limited resource.