Kiwa Stories - Articles

Nedscaper supports organizations that want to organize their own cyber security and provides compliance services. This field of work places high demands on the safe and trusted handling of digital information. Lead compliance consultant Steijn Scheutjens explains how Nedscaper deals with this and recently saw its efforts in this area awarded with an ISO 27001 certification.

On this delightful occasion of World Chocolate Day, we delve into the fascinating story behind one of the world's most beloved treats. Chocolate, with its tantalizing flavor and irresistible aroma, has a rich history that stretches back to ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica.

Using a new tool from Vinçotte, asset managers will be able to collate and visualize their data, making it more manageable and actionable. The Virtual Inspection Administration (ViA) platform was designed to visualize data from remote visual inspection (RVI) techniques, including those using drones, remote cameras, endoscopes and crawlers.

With the Safety Culture Ladder (SCL) organizations can gradually increase their employees' safety awareness and reduce the number of accidents in the workplace. This is still necessary, even in civil engineering, where Dutch infrastructure specialist Van Vulpen is active. The company has been certified at SCL level 4 for several years. Jaco van der Ree, a safety expert at Van Vulpen, explains more about it.

Gender equality remains one of the world’s biggest challenges. At Kiwa, we are committed to closing the gaps and improving gender equality. To mark International Women’s Day 2023, we spoke to four inspiring Kiwa women about their roles and career experiences and their advice to other women considering a similar career.

Pests can spread throughout a facility very quickly if not managed effectively. They can cause unsanitary issues, leading to legal action or public health concerns. Taking preventative action against pest damage is pragmatic, diligent and much more cost effective in both time and money – we can help you implement this.

There are few sectors where as many audits take place as in the pharmaceutical sector. An audit often involves requesting inspection reports of assets and examining asset management processes in a quick and safe way. Janssen decided to implement Vinçotte Digi-Tags, a solution making structured data accessible through a scan, while protecting confidentiality at the same time.

Kiwa developed the Safe Social Climate label, designed to combat cross-border behaviour at sports clubs. In November 2022, Kiwa and the KNVB, the Royal Dutch Football Association, signed a three-year agreement to include the label in the licence requirements for professional football.

Information security is a major consideration for organisations around the world. Fortunately, the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards is here to help to better secure corporate information assets. In 2022, ISO 27001 and its extension 27002 are subject to change. Marjolein Veenstra from Kiwa knows all about these standards and helps our customers on their journey towards continuous improvement of their information security.

Cultural heritage is an important but often overlooked field when it comes to inspection and certification. Kiwa’s Building and Civil Engineering division helps clients maintain monuments by offering restoration services, including certification covering a range of materials.

As of January 1, 2023, the new version of GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody Standard (CoC) v 6.1, will come into force. The GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board opted to strengthen the GLOBALG.A.P. system because food fraud and integrity issues are presenting a growing challenge for the food sector.

Huge numbers of medical devices manufacturers will have to comply to the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) by May 2024 to be able to market their products in Europe. Kiwa helps clients throughout Europe, and beyond, with this challenge.

Materials used in pipelines, machines and other industrial assets have traditionally been inspected visually or by means of X-ray imaging on film. Our colleagues at Kiwa Finland are among the world’s leading experts in using a new method: digital radiography, or digital X-ray imaging.

When you walk or drive down the street at night, your path is likely illuminated by streetlights. They are so ubiquitous it’s easy to take them for granted. In the UK, for example, there are about 6.5 million publicly owned lighting columns. By inspecting the quality of these columns, Kiwa helps to keep our roads safely lit.

As the world heads towards Net Zero, the promise of rail to lower energy use and emissions means more and more people will travel by train. Certification against the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) – a global system for the evaluation of rail sector companies ensures trains are running safely and efficiently.

Every day, millions of people play on artificial turf pitches infilled with plastic or rubber granules. Despite the major advantages of these pitches, there are also drawbacks in terms of environmental impact. Kiwa has tested the use of environmentally friendly or organic filling. What challenges do these alternatives to rubber or plastic infill present?