Global leader in non-destructive testing (NDT), inspection, certification and consulting services, Dekra Industrial SA, has achieved DNV GL certification, an international certification that ensures the reliability of components and systems in the face of marine hazards.
As a global company with a 98-year track record through its global parent company, Dekra Industrial SA is renowned industry-wide as an expert provider of NDT, Advanced NDT, material testing, laboratory services and asset integrity services in 50 countries across five continents.
The company has been responsible for work on major projects across a multitude of industries – power generation, oil and gas, construction, petrochemical, manufacturing, fabrication, pulp and paper, rail, mining, steel industry and foundries – in South Africa and pan-Africa, providing a range of these services including specialised testing in the maritime sector in partnership with international contractors, fabricators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Certified to offer independent testing
Highlighting the significance of holding the international accredited registrar and classification society DNV GL certification, Dekra Industrial SA, Industrial Level 3 Technician, MC Liebenberg explains that the certification unlocks a new era of opportunities for the company to independently offer its myriad technical testing services to the maritime sector.
He says DNV GL, which was formed through the merger of Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and has its international headquarters in Norway, issued Dekra Industrial SA with the highly regarded ‘Non-destructive testing on classification projects, in accordance with Class Programme DNV-CP-0640’ certification. The certification is valid from May 2023 until May 2026.
“This global certification provides our industrial clients in the maritime sector with the assurance of the highest quality of international standards for all our marine testing work conducted to establish the integrity of a range of maritime vessels, installations, and oil rigs. The certification specifies our assignment of qualified operators and supervisors for six different testing methods including penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonic, eddy current and radiographic testing as well as visual inspection,” Liebenberg explains.
Complementary testing methods
Liebenberg adds that these advanced testing and inspection methods complement one another to ensure testing can be conducted to achieve the utmost safety of vessels and installations to protect human life and the environment.
“As technical professionals we know that it is our responsibility to ensure occupational health and safety and that this depends on the technical reliability of our testing services. We understand that the reputation of our industrial maritime clients, in the eyes of their customers and the communities in which they operate, largely depends on consistently achieving only the highest quality standards, and for this only the best independent testing experts can be contracted to work on their marine vessels and installations in the field. Reliability and efficiency are key, and this certification now attests to our international credentials in the maritime sector,” he says.
Dekra Industrial NDT division manager in the Western Cape Johann Dorfling agrees that the international certification enhances the company’s already strong reputation as a trusted independent marine inspection authority.
“In the shipbuilding industry the DNV GL certification ensures reliability of components and systems in the face of marine hazards. As a highly regarded international certification it is accepted globally by stakeholders in the maritime sector as it is known to be held only by highly reputed marine inspection service professionals,” Johann Dorfling says.
New business frontiers
Johann Dorfling says that whereas the company previously provided its independent testing services under the auspices of, for example, OEM ship builders and fabricators, the DNV GL certification now allows the company to be recognised as a testing service provider entirely in its own right.
He adds that as a result Dekra Industrial SA is now pursuing many opportunities across South Africa – including in Durban and Cape Town – as well as in Mozambique and across the rest of Africa, to provide its highly regarded testing services to the shipbuilding and wider maritime sector.
“This latest step of achieving the DNV GL certification is expected to be a complete gamechanger for our business – as we will now provide our entirely independent testing services as an internationally recognised authority in the maritime sector. We look forward to continuing working with OEMS, fabricators and many other new clients in the maritime industry across the country and the rest of the continent going forward,” Johann Dorfling concludes.
Skylark
Patrice Motsepe – After a successful career as a lawyer at Bowman Gilfillan, Motsepe founded ARM (African Rainbow Minerals) in 1997 and turned it into one of the largest mining and mineral groups in the world. He has since diversified into a number of other key sectors. Motsepe is ranked as South Africa’s fifth richest person, with a fortune exceeding R1.3 billion in 2017. In December he invested in a $1-billion fund as part of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, launched by Bill Gates.