From 5/2/2024 to 9/2/2024, our skilled assembly workers took part in intensive certification training courses in Kleindöttingen, Switzerland, and successfully completed them in line with the FW 603 and DVS guidelines. The training courses were organised by our assembly manager Marc Hollinger with the goal of certifying our workers in the assembly and welding of shrink-on sockets on plastic sheath pipes.
The training consisted of two parts. From Monday to Wednesday, our new technicians were trained and tested in theoretical and practical sessions. On Thursday and Friday, our experienced technicians with existing certification were tested and recertified.
The content of the training was based on the sets of rules of the AGFW, the Energy Efficiency Association for Heating, Cooling and CHP, and the BFW, the Federal Association of District Heating Pipelines. The course sessions were conducted by Jens Heyer and Rico Miguel Ruiz, two qualified examiners from the Aachen Chamber of Crafts.
The practical section of the training courses took place in the production halls, while the theoretical parts were held in a meeting room in the main building. Rico Miguel Ruiz led the test units in accordance with AGFW Worksheet FW 603 and Jens Heyer prepared our technicians for the tests in line with the DVS guidelines.
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Certification in accordance with FW 603 is a basic requirement for socket assembly on plastic sheath pipes and flexible pipe systems in district heating pipeline construction. Under the guidance of examiner Rico Miguel Ruiz, our technicians dealt with all the important aspects of socket assembly in both theory and practice. In addition to shrink tapes, taps, PE foam and monitoring wires, the tightness of the socket body was also handled. It was then inspected and assessed on the assembled components.
DVS certification follows the standards of the German Welding Society and includes tests for plastic welding of PE sheath pipes. Our technicians learned from experienced examiner Jens Heyer what makes for a good weld seam and how important thorough preparation is when welding, as this is where most potential sources of error are found. In the practical section of the training, the welding of PE sheets and T-branches was demonstrated, as was the draw welding process. After the training sessions, the finished workpieces were inspected in tensile and bending tests.
The two certification training courses took place at the same time and each consisted of a written test and several application tests. Despite the challenging workload, our technicians participated actively – and with success. As certified PE welders and socket technicians for plastic sheath pipes, our specialists can now use their skills even more efficiently in future pipe construction projects and successfully deal with challenges on the construction site.
