Pfaff-silberblau Certified According to KTA 1401 for the “Hot Zone” in Nuclear Power Plants

Worm-gear screw jacks from this actuator specialist can now also be deployed in safety-relevant sections of reactors

Friedberg, Germany, February 23, 2006 - Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH & Co. KG (with headquarters in Derching/Friedberg, Germany) and the worm-gear screw jacks that it manufactures are now also certified for safety-relevant areas in nuclear power plants. The company sought certification according to KTA 1401 (Safety Standard from Germany’s Nuclear Safety Standards Commission - Quality Assurance in Nuclear Power Plants) in response to a request from a customer who asked the drive specialist for a jacking system that can reliably handle the process of lifting and lowering Castor containers. The engineers at Pfaff-silberblau – who have earned a reputation in the industry as a provider of system solutions for applications that include difficult areas – went to work. They developed a system with size-BG150 (150-t) lifting elements from the SHE model range that were adapted in a special version for the “hot zone” according to customer specifications. In the implementation to be built, the screw-jack system will move a maximum test load of 167 t and an overall operational load of 130 t for a travel of 4,000 mm. The conceptual validity of the solution and the system’s performance capabilities were verified in a testing rig in a model-based experiment. For achieving certification according to the standards of Germany’s Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (KTA) as required by the customer, Pfaff-silberblau had the advantage that it can already draw upon many years of experience in handling orders for nuclear power engineering. Nevertheless, until now, this was only the case for components that were in the category that was deemed “not relevant for safety.” In order to be approved as a vendor of worm-gear screw jacks for use in safety-relevant areas of the reactor, Pfaff-silberblau needed certification according to KTA 1401. For this reason, during the offer stage for this order, a vendor audit was performed by the company Areva in accordance with this safety standard. The focus of the KTA 1401 assessment was on the actuator technology operational area, because the planned worm-gear screw jacks that are relevant for the safety of the nuclear power plant are manufactured by that part of the company. Within the scope of the assessment program, the implementation and effectiveness of the quality assurance elements were audited. During the process, the company provided evidence that the planning and configuration (DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 PB03 01) comply with the dimensioning and testing calculations according to KTA 3902 (Lifting Equipment in Nuclear Power Plants). The members of Pfaff-silberblau’s technical staff proved that all customer-specific requirements, in particular the specific requirements for nuclear power plants from the inquiries or orders, were examined during the course of the contractual review to ensure that they can be met from a technical and commercial perspective. The corresponding required measures are defined by the responsible project manager and (when applicable) by the technical manager, in the project documents. The internal organization (PB01 01), the procurement (PB06 01 and PB06 06), the fabrication, the marking until transportation (PB08 01 and PB08 03), the inspection, measuring and testing equipment (PB11 01, 11 02, 11 03), the nonconformance control, the corrective and preventative action, and the documentation also fulfilled all relevant requirements from KTA 1401. The evaluation results confirm qualification (without restrictions) of the Pfaff-silberblau company in accordance with the KTA 1401 standard. The certificate is valid until August 2nd, 2008. Following the confirmation in accordance with KTA1401, Pfaff-silberblau was added to the customer’s “Approved Vendor List.” The audit report and the confirmation are also sent to the operators of nuclear power plants, in this case to EnBW Kernkraft GmbH. From there, the evaluation certificate is fed into the “VGB Information System for Suppliers.” This means that, effective immediately, Pfaff-silberblau is also listed there as a qualified supplier according to the KTA1401 standard.

About Pfaff-silberblau Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik & Co. – established over 135 years ago – currently has approximately 325 employees and a group turnover in excess of 62 million euros (2005 fiscal year). The company is a leader in the fields of hoisting machinery and materials handling equipment, actuator technology/ worm-gear screw jacks, road & rail, and materials handling technology. Pfaff-silberblau is an experienced partner for solving any problem related to moving (turning, lifting, lowering, pushing, shunting) loads of up to 1,000 tons in any direction. The company has factories in Friedberg and Heilbronn (Germany), and is represented by subsidiaries in Switzerland as well as Austria, United Kingdom, the Benelux countries, Poland and Hungary. Beyond that, more than 40 affiliated representative offices are active for Pfaff-silberblau around the world.