Essential skills for a modern society
The Rohrleitungsbauverband (rbv) has been successfully organizing the "Pressure Testing of Gas Pipelines" and "Pressure Testing of Water Pipelines" series of events for years. This year's event attracted an interested audience to the SKZ Plastics Center in Horb am Neckar, Germany.
Dipl.-Ing. Ingo Blaser presents the pressure test methods at the SKZ training center in Horb am Neckar. (Photo: Jürgen Kern, SKZ)
SKZ and rbv offered training course on pressure testing methods
On March 12th and 13th, the rbv once again organized a two-day training course on pressure testing of gas and water pipelines. Under the technical direction of Dipl.-Ing. Ingo Blaser, the participants dealt intensively with the topic "Pressure testing of gas pipelines" on the first day. Since there have been no major changes in either the regulations or the practical implementation, this day of the event served as an in-depth and refresher course for participants who have been working on the topic for some time. However, participants who were new to the subject were also given a comprehensive practical and theoretical insight into the subject. Esders also demonstrated various methods (pressure (B3) and precision pressure measurement (C3) as well as visual methods (A4)) on a polyethylene pipeline in the technical center, thus enriching the event with a strong practical focus and a presentation of the current state of the art.
Elimination of the contraction method for PVC pipes
On the second day, the pressure testing of water pipes according to DVGW Code of Practice W 400-2 was on the agenda - the participants were given an insight into the changes of the revised W 400-2 (08-2022). In addition to the newly introduced "influence-minimized standard method" for cement-mortar-lined steel and cast iron pipes, the various changes in the area of the contraction method were explained. Significant changes include the removal of the contraction method for PVC pipes and the changed requirements in the area of "equipment and instrumentation". In particular, the automatic transfer of the volume of water discharged for evaluation was discussed. The other changes in the August 2022 edition compared to the previous September 2004 edition were also discussed in detail. On the second day, the Esders company also provided a practical demonstration at the SKZ Technical Center: the procedure for demonstrating the pressure test of a PE pipe using the contraction method, including evaluation, was presented.
"Important infrastructure"
"I am very pleased that we were again able to offer a successful and technically interesting event here in the region under the direction of the rbv," said SKZ site manager Jürgen Kern. "Such practical training courses are an important part of imparting the necessary expertise for our important infrastructure, without which a modern society could not exist. Many training courses today can be conducted digitally, but experience shows that a combination of didactically well-prepared specialist knowledge, coupled with the proven expertise of the lecturers and a practical demonstration is a good prerequisite for the desired training success," Kern continues.
More about the courses at SKZ
