Stadtwerke Gießen has been certified in accordance with the technical safety management system for the water division. The auditors found no deficiencies.
The production and distribution of drinking water is a delicate matter. After all, it takes a great deal of expertise, modern systems and clearly regulated processes to ensure that the number one foodstuff is always supplied to thousands of people in the best quality. In addition, a strict set of rules prescribes exactly how which work is to be carried out. "We have always meticulously adhered to precisely these specifications," explains Matthias Funk, Technical Director of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). "But in order to document the quality of our services transparently, we have voluntarily had ourselves certified in accordance with Technical Safety Management (TSM)."
A very close look
The examination for such TSM certification takes two days. Two experts from the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water, DVGW for short, took a close look at SWG's working methods in Lahnstrasse. They checked the documentation - such as the plans -, visited the various plants and the network control centre and inspected assembly vehicles. They came to a clear conclusion: "The auditors issued the TSM certificate without the slightest objection," says Peter Keller, Head of the Energy & Water Networks department at SWG and as such responsible for the project.
The TSM certificate for the water division is not the first of its kind at SWG. A few years ago, those responsible decided to have the company certified in accordance with the standards applicable to electricity and natural gas. There is a good reason why the water division is now following suit. Companies that operate a drinking water supply must fulfil constantly increasing requirements. This development poses an unsolvable problem for many small, especially municipal waterworks. This is because many towns and municipalities simply do not have the money to fulfil the new regulations in the long term. This is because they would have to employ additional specialised staff and invest large sums in monitoring the network. "We want to help the local authorities affected and compete more strongly for the management of drinking water networks in future," says Matthias Funk, explaining the background. This is precisely where the TSM certificate is likely to be of decisive importance. SWG has long been recognised as highly competent when it comes to drinking water. "Only the certificate turns our good reputation into a reliable assurance for the responsible decision-makers," Matthias Funk is certain.
Relaxed testing for everyone involved
Of course, preparing for initial certification always involves a certain amount of effort. But this was kept within manageable limits at SWG. "Because we do everything according to the rules, we basically only had to document how we work," says Peter Keller, describing the procedure, adding: "For us, the process was easy to plan and never a problem."
In fact, SWG passed the audit without any deviations and - something that only happens very rarely - without any recommendations for action from the inspecting specialists. "The two colleagues responsible for the inspection at SWG told me it was one of the most relaxed certifications of their careers. This is how drinking water supply should work," said Heinz Flick, Managing Director of the DVGW Hesse regional group, summarising the presentation of the certificate. And because nothing will change in this respect, Matthias Funk and Peter Keller are very relaxed about the upcoming re-test in three years' time.