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Inspection: making the invisible visible

You manufacture products, execute projects, work according to certain processes. How do you make sure they meet the relevant quality standards, requirements and legal obligations? Inspection by Kiwa can help you reduce risks, control quality, verify quantity and meet regulatory requirements. It makes the invisible visible and help you prepare for the unexpected.

Entries

Cranes and Lifting Devices

Cranes and lifting devices are used to lift heavy or cumbersome loads. Equipment failure can result in serious injury or death to the operator or others in the vicinity. Regular inspections can help identify potential hazards or defects, allowing them to be addressed before an accident occurs. Our inspectors help owners and operators identify problems early, before they become more serious and expensive to fix. This can help prevent downtime, minimise repair costs and reduce the risk of injury or death to crane operators and others nearby.

Inspections of cranes and lifting devices by Kiwa

Factory Inspection Services

Health, safety and environmental regulations are designed to protect people from injury and illness, and to ensure their wellbeing.  Installations should operate safely, efficiently and reliably at all times. Inspection helps factory sites comply with regulations on working conditions, labour practices and environmental standards as well as playing an indispensable role in terms of quality control and optimisation of processes and products. A Kiwa inspection help ensure safe, compliant and high-quality production processes, benefiting both employees, customers and company reputation.

Factory inspections by Kiwa

Fire safety and security

Fire safety and security inspections are indispensable in minimising the risk of harm to people in buildings. Unsafe sites are often a result of a combination of factors including poor maintenance, lack of safety measures, inadequate training, and non-compliance with safety regulations. Regular fire and other safety inspections and a commitment to safe workplace practices can reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. Kiwa is a leading Inspection Institution for Fire Safety and Security, operating in a wide range of settings including healthcare, hospitality, transport, logistical, industrial, (petro) chemical, data centres, and storage of hazardous goods.

Fire safety and security inspections by Kiwa

Lifts and escalators

Regular inspection of lifts and escalators is essential to ensure the continued safety of users. Scheduled maintenance according to manufacturer instructions and annual inspections is required by law. These inspections not only ensure compliance with national laws and regulations, but ultimately provide safety for your employees and visitors. Inspection also helps to avoid costly downtime due to reactive maintenance.  Kiwa inspections help you keep your escalators and lifts running safely and with trouble-free operation.

Lifts and escalators inspections by Kiwa

Pipes, lines and cables

Several industries are involved in the functioning of our vital infrastructures, supporting the supply of food, energy, water, telecommunications, medicine and so on. It's important that these supplies are not interrupted. Pipes, lines and cables (both underground and above ground) are critical components of these infrastructures. Inspection and maintenance are crucial to ensure safe and reliable operations. Kiwa supports many operators in inspecting both above-ground and underground pipes, tubes, lines and cables ensuring quality, safety and reliability, using various techniques including visual or digital X-ray inspection or ultrasonic examination.

Pipes, lines and cables inspections by Kiwa

Real estate

From residential or office to hotel or  factory, regardless of purpose buildings must offer a healthy and safe living and working environment. Electrical, fire safety, air quality and other installed equipment and systems must work properly; building quality, energy efficiency and environmental control are also important. Kiwa's inspection services support owners when it comes to the condition, safety and maintenance of real estate, providing useful guidance in advance of making investment decisions.

Real estate inspections by Kiwa

Solar PV plants

The number of solar (photovoltaic) PV plants has increased enormously in recent years, enabling energy providers to offer their customers cleaner alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. Inspections allow the safety, reliability, overall performance and sustainability of solar PV plants to be monitored. Our experts perform solar PV plant inspections worldwide to verify performance, conduct troubleshooting, provide end of warranty inspections, and evaluate quality of installations and equipment.

Solar PV plant inspections by Kiwa

Storage tanks, pressure equipment and boilers

Storage tanks, pressure equipment and boilers are exposed to great stress. When things go wrong, serious injuries and even fatalities can occur. To keep them in operation and to be able to carry out proper maintenance, regular inspections are required. Our inspections help owners of storage tanks, boilers and pressure equipment (including among others heat exchangers, pipes, pressure vessels) to comply with applicable laws and directives. But inspection is more than complying with legislation and regulations, a Kiwa inspector can immediately reveal when quality is not up to standard, and can thereby positively influence production and ultimately the quality of your product.

Storage tanks, pressure equipment and boiler inspections by Kiwa

Substances and materials

Meeting the required quality and safety of substances and materials is often taken for granted. Nowadays, sustainability is also important and sometimes  mandatory regarding the production process and specifications of a substance or material. Kiwa has extensive expertise in the  independent monitoring of the quality and safe use both of traditional materials such as concrete, steel and plastics, and also hazardous substances and materials according to very specific requirements. We can also provide a statement on a materials weaknesses caused by degradation mechanisms such as corrosion, stress corrosion or embrittlement.

Substances and materials inspections by Kiwa

Surfaces and infrastructures

To ensure a continuously safe and secure building infrastructure, and to mitigate the buildup of future damage, it's important to keep a close eye on the condition of surfaces of buildings, bridges and highways. Surface inspection involves accurate real-time examination of a range of characteristics to assess ongoing robustness, quality and risk. Kiwa has many years of experience in infrastructure inspection globally, commissioned both by governments and commercial organisations.

Surfaces and infrastructure inspections by Kiwa

Wind turbines

Worldwide, wind turbine generators (WTGs) already provide a significant share of available green energy. To ensure efficient and safe operation, regular inspection of WTG plants is of utmost importance. Kiwa is specialized in all types of analysis, including (drone) inspection of wind turbines. We focus on ensuring integrity, safety and managing aging of installation parts varying from gear boxes, bearings or other mechanical systems, structures or components. Our extensive expertise and experienced professionals make Kiwa your one-stop-shop for wind turbine testing and inspection.

Wind turbine inspections by Kiwa

Advantages of inspections

  • Inspection brings confidence
  • Inspection improves reliability and safety
  • Inspection improves efficiency
  • Inspection prevents disputes
  • Inspection reduces risk
  • Inspection improves customer satisfaction
  • Inspection safequards your reputation

Inspection brings confidence

Whether mandatory or voluntary, inspections yield essential data you can use to ensure the quality, safety, efficiency and optimal operation of your equipment and your organisation. The resulting information is valuable and provides early warnings for future problems. That way, you can avoid costs or, worse, accidents and emergency breakdowns. Thus, inspections bring confidence: in your employees, production processes and assets, as well as in how you affect your environment.

What can we do for you?

Our inspection services include all kinds of examination, measurement, gauging, and comparison of materials or items. We inspect practically everything, from small measuring devices to powerful pressure vessels. We carry out inspections at every level, ranging from design review, installation and manufacturing to modernisation, maintenance and in-service or batch inspections. Thus, we determine the condition of a certain material, an item, a process or a situation, and whether or not it conforms to the applicable or specified requirements, regulations and standards.

Independence

We act as a strictly independent third party when we inspect your products, (raw) materials, installations or anything else. We are also being ‘inspected’ ourselves by national and European accreditation institutions on a regular basis. Kiwa is a Notified Body (NoBo) for many European directives: we are authorized by a national accreditation body to perform inspections in compliance with international standards. Thus, we close the loop, bringing trust and confidence.

See our Accreditations and notifications

Process of inspection

You want your product, installation or a situation to be independently and impartially inspected according to a certain regime, either because it's mandatory or because you have your own set of regulations. Kiwa helps you by carrying out all the necessary inspections and providing you with results that make sense. Read about the process of an inspection below.

    Preparing for inspection

    Many inspections are mandatory, others are voluntary and perhaps based on regulations you have drawn up yourself. In the latter case, it's up to you to decide what to have inspected. As we know how to navigate the world of inspections, we help you through the entire process, including communication with other parties involved, such as authorities.

    Inspection itself

    An inspection usually takes place on-site or can be performed remotely. It may be a visual inspection or involve sensing technologies such as ultrasonic testing. An inspector may be physically present on-site and perform the inspection manually. When performed remotely, cameras, sensors, drones or other automated devices are used.

    Results

    After the inspection, we'll interpret the results for you and provide you with a comprehensive inspection report.

    Input for improvement

    You use our findings as input for improvement.

    Re-inspection

    If desired or obliged, we return regularly to re-inspect.

    Pricing

    Our high-quality inspection activities have their price. How much you pay depends on the complexity and duration of the inspection process. Naturally, Kiwa will always provide you with an estimate of the time and cost involved. Usually, you can earn back these costs easily as an inspection brings efficiency, confidence and less down-time in general.

Why should I have my product, installation or process inspected?

Want to know quickly what inspection entails? Then check out the handy infographic below. Download the document by clicking on the image.

Infographic explaining what inspection (by Kiwa) entails

Frequently Asked Questions about Inspection

What can Kiwa inspect for me?

Kiwa can inspect virtually anything for you, whether on-site or remotely. Our skilled and experienced inspectors all over the world operate in a wealth of expert areas. Here are just a few examples of areas we are active in.

  • Tank storage, both underground and at ground level, installed temporarily or permanently.

  • Pressure equipment like tanks, pumps, compressors and other vessels.

  • Lifting devices ranging from cranes and lifts to rollercoasters.

  • Real estate, ranging from office buildings to home environments, on all kinds of risks regarding ventilation, electricity, fire safety and so on.

  • Fuel stations for safety, maintenance, legal requirements and environmental aspects.

  • (Underground) lines, pipes and cables that transport any kind of fluids, gases or currents.

  • Surfaces, for example on liquid-tightness or for sports activity purposes.

  • Infrastructure, for example road integrity and rigidity, bridge constructions and safety in general.

  • (Fire) safety and security like fire extinguishing systems and theft prevention systems.

  • Hazardous materials and substances like heavy metals, asbestos, ceramic fibers, PCBs and legionella in living and working environments, from homes to offshore platforms.

Can I have my installations, facilities, products inspected regularly?

Yes, you can. Periodic inspections of building installations, industrial facilities and infrastructure, for example confirm ongoing compliance and performance, and help preserve or extend the life of the asset.

How does inspection help me import or export goods?

Independent inspection helps you to certify the quality and quantity of products you want to import or export. In most cases, these inspections are conducted prior to shipment, sometimes based on (local) regulations. They assure that goods conform to technical specifications and quality standards, and that their quantity is accurate.

What is batch inspection?

Batch inspection means we assess random samples from a production batch and then judge the entire batch based on the sample inspection results.

Why should I have my product, installation or process inspected?

Here are some reasons for having your products, processes, installations or a situation inspected on a regular basis.

Inspection brings confidence

Inspection covers all aspects of quality, health, safety and environmental management, as well as efficiency and (asset) integrity. Inspection minimises the risk of defective products, installation downtime and other drawbacks, shows compliance and safeguards your reputation. Thus, it brings confidence.

Inspection reduces risks

You and others must be able to rely on a product, process, installation or must feel safe in a certain environment. Having it inspected reduces risks like defects, malfunctions or accidents.

Inspection improves efficiency

Defects, malfunctions and downtime can have an adverse effect on your productivity, service towards customers and investments. As having your products, processes or installations inspected regularly helps prevent that, it will improve your efficiency.

Inspection prevents disputes

Our inspections map the integrity of your products, processes and/or installations. We inspect them for their functionality, safety and environmental aspects. We know rules and regulations and help you communicate with authorities. The results of an inspection allow you to demonstrate compliance and prevent related disputes.

Inspection improves customer satisfaction

While you improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of your goods, systems, installations or a situation and have it inspected according to rules and regulations, your customers will have a better customer journey or experience. That way, you'll improve their satisfaction in both the short and the long run.

Latest news on Inspections

Kiwa Joins EEMUA to Strengthen Expertise in Tank Inspections

Kiwa has joined the Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association (EEMUA), further enhancing our storage tank inspection services with access to top industry resources and best practices. This membership strengthens our commitment to safety, compliance, and performance across various industries.

Kiwa Launches Advanced Kiln Tire Inspection Services

Kiwa’s new Kiln Tire Inspection Services use advanced phased array ultrasonic technology to detect cracks and inclusions early, helping industries prevent costly breakdowns and extend kiln lifespan. Our proactive approach ensures minimal downtime and supports smarter maintenance planning. Keep your operations running smoothly with Kiwa’s cutting-edge inspection services!

Meet our Inspection Engineer Sanna Sandkvist

In this video Inspection Engineer Sanna Sandkvist inspects a power station from Ljungby Energy in Sweden. She tells: “You do inspections to make sure facilities are safe. I really love my job, you get to know a lot of different industries.”

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