

wiredInUSA - March 2014
33
INDEXAlstom has obtained ISO/IEC 17025
certification from the accreditation body
Accredia for its center of excellence high
voltage equipment testing laboratory in
Noventa di Piave, Italy. The certification for
the research and development laboratory
is claimed to be the first in Italy to obtain
the accreditation.
The laboratory will supply independent
testing services and internationally valid
certification for products that lead to
improving HVDC transmission lines.
The test chamber, which has been a
part of the Noventa di Piave plant since
1973, conducts electrical, heating and
mechanical tests of energy transmission
and distribution equipment, as well as
components used in supergrids. At the
new laboratory, tests include industrial
frequency voltage tests up to 640kV root
mean square (rms), atmospheric impulse
tests up to 1.8MV, maneuver impulse
tests up to 1.2MV, and radio interference
voltage (RIV) tests up to 640kV rms.
Laboratory granted
certification
EUROPE NEWS
The international marine contractors
association (IMCA) wire rope work group
will hold the fourth in its current series of wire
rope workshops on 18
th
March 2014 at the
Radisson Blu Hotel at Amsterdam Airport.
The series, entitled “Optimum system design
for high value subsea construction ropes”,
hasprovedverysuccessful. IMCA’s technical
director, Jane Bugler, commented: “Over
90 [delegates] attended the last workshop
in Amsterdam in October, which focused
on the lubrication of high value subsea
construction ropes; others have looked
at high value wire rope issues, and at
non-destructive testing.”
The March event will embrace the
operators’ view of current and future
system requirements; the system designer’s
approach for wire rope interaction (storage,
routing, winches, sheaves and active heave
systems); rope qualification methods for
specific systems; fully integrated monitoring
systems and interaction with rope systems;
and multi-fail and parallel winch systems in
deep water.
Wire rope
workshop