3 - 2007 Contents

• Can a switch and control panel take

50 degrees centigrade?

Outline.
• Energy label for buildings under strict control.
• Mackwell: ‘KEMA is willing to go the extra mile in
working with us’.
• KEMA sponsors golf team.

Products & Processes Quarterly.

Beyond the limits of the standard.

Can a switch and control panel take

50 degrees centigrade?
Is a low voltage switchgear and control gear assembly
capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures that
are common in the Middle East? To be certain of this,
Danish panel manufacturer CUBIC-Modulsystem A/S
and panel builder Debbas Qatar LLC had a panel tested
at an ambient temperature of 50°C. The equipment
passed this heating test at KEMA with flying colors. This
means that the safety and quality of the tested panels is
also guaranteed at extremely high temperatures.

‘KEMA’s certificates
are acknowledged
and trusted by the
electrical authorities.’
Industry and construction are booming business in the Middle
East. A reliable and safe energy supply is of vital importance.
Interruptions to the delivery of energy have a direct impact on
daily life, because air conditioning in offices and production
facilities is indispensable. What’s more, personal injury and
risk of fire as a result of failing equipment must be prevented.
This implies that the switching and distribution equipment that
control the flow of energy must provide continuous, trouble-
free service. As the need for electrical energy is increasing
more and more, the need for reliable energy transportation
and protection medium is even increasing. As such, reliable
panel builders are much needed.
Quality and safety
‘The Danish panel manufacturer CUBIC-Modulsystem A/S and
its local partner Debbas Qatar LLC are active in Qatar. Both
companies place quality and safety in high regard. ‘CUBIC
focuses continuously on tests and approvals according to the
IEC standards and has therefore been able to meet the market
demands,’ CUBIC’s Jan B. Jensen comments. ‘We have been
active in the Middle East since the early 80ties, when the
demand for energy consumption began to increase. From
the very beginning we have had our focus on building strong
and long lasting relations with our partners in the region. In
this region, there is and has always been an increasing focus
on type-tested low voltage assemblies, high quality and
reliable suppliers.’ Important partner of CUBIC is Debbas.
Debbas Qatar has been trained and certified by CUBIC
to construct the panels. ‘Debbas has more than 25 years
of experience in the field of panel building. We have
expanded this operation to the gulf area starting with
Qatar,’ explains Debbas’ Elie Simionides.
Read more on page 2

Many years of effort in China have not gone unnoticed.

KEMA wins China Trader Award.

The many years of effort by KEMA in China have not gone
unnoticed. The Cathay Pacific China Trader Award has been
granted to KEMA. This award is presented each year to a
Dutch company that has developed its commercial activities in
the Chinese market in an innovative, creative and successful
manner. The award was presented on November 15th.
The Cathay Pacific China Trader Award was instituted
12 years ago by Cathay Pacific Airways, the China Chamber
of the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion and the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council. In addition to the
initiators, the jury is also made up of representatives from
industry, trade organizations and government such as ABN
AMRO, Schiphol and the Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs.
Independent China based business
The award was won thanks to all the KEMA activities
in China. KEMA already has four laboratories in China for
testing electro-technical products. In Arnhem and the US
low, medium and high voltage components have been tested
for years. Moreover, KEMA is the first foreign certification
institution in China to be accredited for the issue of certificates
as an independent company. And, last but not least, KEMA
undertakes consultancy activities in (ultra) high voltage
connections and coal blending in China.
customer@kema.com, www.kema.com
Comply with BRL 9500.
Energy label for buildings
under strict control.
From the 1st January 2008, every building in the Netherlands that changes owner on sale or rental must be provided with
an energy label. By making this label compulsory, the Dutch government enacts the European EPBD Directive (Energy
Performance Buildings Directive). The energy labels must be issued by a company that is certified on the basis of the BRL
9500 certification regulation. KEMA is one of the first certification bodies that can provide this certification.
‘Our customers know
after one inspection
where they stand.’
The goal of the EPDB directive is, among other things, to
make the energy performance of buildings more transparent
and to give reliable advice for improvement so that owners
and occupants are stimulated to invest in energy saving.
In the Netherlands housing market this concerns 500,000
changes of rental and sale per year, which must all be
accompanied by such an energy label. In the office sector
this concerns almost 17,000 transactions per year.
Energy performance advice
‘An energy label – displayed on an energy performance
certificate – indicates how economical with energy a house or
building is on a scale from A to G inclusive, where A is the
most economical,’ explains KEMA auditor Johan Luttikhold.
‘An energy label is valid for 10 years from issue and it must
be possible to produce one when a house or building is sold
or rented.’ In order to be able to issue energy performance
certificates an organization must itself be certified first. ‘KEMA
has been involved as one of the first certified bodies in
the Netherlands with the preparations for the introduction
of the Dutch EPBD energy performance certificate. We
know better than anyone how advisers, installers, estate
agents and appraisers can give their customers the required
certificates efficiently. In addition, we offer the possibility
of combining the certification inspection with our other
Newsflashes
Successful open house 2007.
Recently installers were given the opportunity to look
behind the scenes at KEMA. This was at the Installers
Days held on September 18 and 19. Like last year, the
Installers Days attracted quite a large number of visitors.
The one-day program consisted of a combination of
presentations and guided tours. This year’s central topics
included the installer’s liability in relation to the ten most
frequently occurring installation errors. Moreover, a
presentation was given on safety and safety testing of
installation material. Another item for discussion was the
new legal regulation on Energy Performance Advice:
BRL 9500. This regulation, which makes an energy
certificate obligatory when renting or selling houses, is
an excellent opportunity to extend the service package
offered by installers to their clients. The participants
were able to get a good impression of daily operations
at KEMA in both the low-voltage labs and the high
power lab.
certification activities, so that our customers know after one
inspection where they stand,’ says Luttikhold.
Custom-made
On the basis of the issue of the Dutch EPBD process certificate,
certified companies are authorized to issue the legally required Continue from page 1
energy labels. In addition to the legally required part for
the issue of energy labels, this certification regulation also
includes the possibility of issuing certificates for custom energy
performance advice. For this, the organization needs the
KOMO process certificate. In order to qualify for certification
an organization must, among other things, be able to
show that it has an internal quality system and the required
expertise. Furthermore, through random sampling a check
is made as to whether the process is followed properly and
whether the energy performance advice given for buildings
meets the requirements.
Kyoto
The immediate reason for the introduction of the EPBD
directive is the Kyoto treaty, in which firm agreements were
made for the global reduction of greenhouse gasses such as
CO2 (carbon dioxide). The requirement to have an energy
performance certificate does not automatically include a
requirement to also improve the energy performance of
houses and buildings. The incentive for improvement must
largely come from the reduction in the energy costs for Heating test
the consumer as a result of improved performance and the ‘The international standard states that a panel must withstand an
stimulation regulations that are currently being (re)considered ambient temperature of 35°C during a heating test,’ KEMA’s
in the Netherlands. Energy companies may also come up Kasper Nijkamp comments. ‘Because the temperatures in the
with regulations for making performance improvements. region are often higher, one of the requirements of the national
johan.luttikhold@kema.com, www.kema.com energy company of Qatar, KAHRAMAA, is that the panels must
also continue to operate safely at 50°C. Furthermore, this is
Lighting the way to safety.
Mackwell: ‘KEMA is willing to go
the extra mile in working with us’.
How do you get to safety when the power goes at work or
there’s an accident in a tunnel? If it happens in Europe,
there’s a good chance that you will be guided to safety by
lighting components made by Mackwell Electronics. The
company has been making emergency lighting components
that get the job done in the most hazardous situations for
over a quarter of a century. They are now working with
KEMA to become a Supervised Manufacturer’s Testing
Laboratory (SMT) under the CB Scheme.
‘We felt that KEMA had
the know-how to help us.’
Mackwell is no stranger to exacting quality requirements. This
UK-based company is one of the leading manufacturers of
high-quality control gear for emergency lighting systems in
Europe. Emergency lighting has to meet some of the most
stringent electrical requirements in the world because they
simply have to work – during a fire, power failure or other
calamity. Richard Pope, Quality Manager at Mackwell says:
‘Many of our customers need ENEC approval and that is a
very important feature of our products. Before, when we sent
our products to an external company for testing, we usually
had to wait three to six months for the results. That could
delay our development and time to market.’ As Mackwell
prepared to update its development laboratory, they asses-
sed the costs and lead times involved in outsourcing and
decided to work towards doing their own in-house testing.
This would help them improve the quality of their products,
shorten certification times and reduce costs.
KEMA highly recommended
Several testing and certification firms were considered to
guide them through the process. Pope: ‘We talked to several
of our customers and KEMA came very highly recommended.
We felt that KEMA had the know-how to help us become a
also an important issue for the end client, especially in projects
where the consequences of a failure are great.’ Simionides:
‘In this region of the world where 50°C is not that rare, the
continuous operation of a main panel becomes a necessity,
even if the airconditioning system of the room in which the
panel is located fails. Busbars and their supports should be
rated in a way to ensure their secure operations even in such
conditions.’ Jensen adds: ‘When dealing with verification
on temperature rise, it is very important for us to verify that
panels located at different ambient temperatures can work
satisfactory at the requested temperatures.’
Beyond the limits of the standard
The only way to guarantee a panel’s prolonged resistance to
heat is to put it to the test. Since international standards do
not specify any such test at an ambient temperature of 50°C,
it needs to be set up especially for this purpose. Debbas
Qatar and CUBIC have therefore requested that KEMA
conduct a 50°C test. ‘For the type testing of panels, CUBIC
has already been a KEMA client for many years. We have a
long lasting relationship,’ Jensen comments. ‘Consequently,
KEMA was an obvious choice when the test for the Middle
East market was to be carried out. Our experience with the
tests and KEMA is always very good.’ Simionides agrees:
‘Since KEMA is a respectful and well known certification entity,
whose certificates are acknowledged and trusted by most of
the electrical authorities, we chose them to perform the test
and endorse the feature that our panels can provide. Our
manufacturer testing lab and that they were willing to go
the extra mile in working with us.’ Jorn Bronsvoort, Project
Manager at KEMA, carried out a pre-audit visit at Mackwell in
June 2007. ‘I was very impressed with Mackwell Electronics,’
he says. ‘They are very focused on quality control and are
willing to work hard to get good quality. One clear advantage
they have is that all of their production is done at the Aldridge,
U.K. site. That gives them a lot of control over all aspects of
their products.’
Becoming a certified testing facility
Drawing upon KEMA’s expertise, KEMA and Mackwell drew
up an action plan to convert their lab to a state-of-the-art
testing facility. Pope: ‘We have to install air conditioning to
maintain a consistent temperature. Static-sensitive flooring
and security controlled entrances are being installed. We are
also putting in new benches and equipment for the testing
itself. Our Board of Management is very committed to this
move. It’s a substantial initial investment, but we feel that it
will give us a tremendous advantage in the end.’
More competitive
Laboratory personnel were trained by KEMA in September
and will begin in-house testing after that as a Witnessed
Manufacturer’s Testing (WMT) lab. KEMA will witness the tests
experience has showed us that we can rely on them to objec-
tively certify our panels according to the latest standards and
consequently to go beyond the limits of the standard when it
is so requested by the local authorities and regulation.’
‘The results will also give
us more and better access
to the other markets in
the Middle East.’
Successful
KEMA has tested the panels in a special climate-controlled
chamber at various power levels corresponding to different
busbar sizes. ‘A heating test at 50°C is, in fact, an expansion
of our current service offerings,’ KEMA’s Caspar Burger
comments. The panels have passed the tests successfully.
CUBIC and Debbas Qatar can therefore demonstrate that their
panels function safely at the daytime temperatures typical of
as accepted Notified Certification Body. ‘We will be saving
about 50% in costs compared to an external company,’
Pope says. ‘But the real advantage for us lies in the time
savings. We expect to reduce our testing time from months
to weeks. Having a testing facility in-house also enables us
to carry out more interim tests to improve our development
processes. All of this will make us more competitive. We
look forward to showing our new facility to our customers,
as that will communicate our commitment to quality to
them as well.’ jorn.bronsvoort@kema.com,
www.kema.com/lighting
There are different procedures
that can provide ENEC certification:
• A Certified Body Testing Laboratory, such as KEMA.
• Witnessed Manufacturer’s Testing (WMT) Labs. Tests
are carried out at a manufacturer’s testing laboratory on
its own test equipment and must be witnessed by a
representative from an accepted Notified Certification
Body (NCB).
• Supervised Manufacturer’s Testing (SMT) Labs. Tests
are carried out at a manufacturer’s testing laboratory
on its own test equipment by its own personnel and
are supervised by NCB personnel.
the Middle East. ‘Definitely this positive result will help us
boost our business in the region, since we can clearly show
that our panels can operate in the extreme conditions, and
more over, they can operate safely,’ Simionides assures.
‘Almost any panel may operate in normal conditions. It is in
the extreme conditions that panels needs to be in their top
performance and to function reliably. With the test that KEMA
performed, we can objectively show it quite easily.’ Jenssen:
‘Although the test was needed according to KAHRAMAA to
enter the market, the results will also give us more and bet-
ter access to the other markets in the Middle East, as they
also have to handle temperatures, which are significantly
higher than in Europe. With the successful testing, CUBIC
and its partners do now have a stronger tool to the solutions
engineered as well as to meet market demands.’
Serious
The importance of this test exceeds the current purpose
of testing the panel. ‘Of course you cannot claim that all panels
are now resistant to high temperatures,’ Burger stresses. ‘It
depends on their copper content, the ventilation room, the
panel layout and the thickness of the busbars and other
components. But this test does indicate that the international
standards need further specification. And it shows how
seriously the quality and safety of energy supply in the
Middle East is taken. We are happy to be able to support
the industry in this way.’ caspar.burger@kema.com,
www.kema.com/lowvoltagepanels
Professional and active worldwide.
Events
KEMA sponsors golf team. KEMA seminar on gardening tools
December 14, 2007, Shanghai ,China

Middle East Electricity

February 10, 2008, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Drug Information Association

Euromeeting 2008
March 3, 2008, Barcelona, Spain

Please check www.kema.com, event section

Editorial Staff and Periodical Management: Olga van Oppen, KEMA Quality B.V., Arnhem, The Netherlands. Design, printing and distribution: JTP Creative Marketing, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
for more information.

In recent years KEMA has grown to become an inter- only be achieved through teamwork. The golf theme can also
national, market oriented company that supports be used for many practical purposes. We wish you
the energy sector in the improvement of operations,
the management of risks and the organization and Promotion a Merry Christmas
optimization of quality management. To successfully The members of the golf team will be seen in advertisements,
bring this orientation to the attention of potential brochures and on the KEMA website. In addition, they will often
employees and clients, the decision has been made to make appearances at trade shows and during recruitment
and a
support talented golfers. activities. customer@kema.com, www.kema.com
Happy New Year!
Just like KEMA, golf is very internationally oriented. After
soccer, golf is also the most commonly practiced sport. For
KEMA, sponsoring Golf Team Holland is a logical choice.
Golf Team Holland is an initiative to coach talented, young,
starting golf professionals on their way to becoming top sport
successes. Last year this resulted in their winning the World
Cup for Teams. These golfers work daily to improve their Our office will be closed from
performance and are supported in their endeavors by a 24 December 2007 until
team of professionals. At KEMA, too, top performance can 1 January 2008, inclusive.

KEMA Quality network.

For more information
please contact us:

KEMA Quality B.V.

P.O. Box 5185
6802 ED Arnhem
The Netherlands
T +31 26 3 56 20 15
F +31 26 3 52 58 00
customer@kema.com
www.kema.com
www.buyerRisk.com