Functional tests on rail vehicles

The IGT testing laboratory is accredited by the DAkkS according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018 for tests in the following areas of expertise: Functional tests on rail vehicles

With this accreditation our competence for the execution of functional tests on rail vehicles according to our certificate appendix D-PL-19130-01-00 is independently proven. Therefore, we live up to our own standard to execute and document functional tests on vehicle level according to European standards.

Conducting accredited tests is our core competence and includes the following domains

• Test planning
• Test case design and test specification creation (including prior documentation review of input documents)
• Test execution
• Test result evaluation
• Creation of a standard-compliant test report

The world is our office whereby the testing laboratory executes test activities throughout Europe respectively worldwide according to our customers’ needs. For all dynamic tests, the IGT has the ability to execute these tests on the public railway infrastructure in Germany utilising our own railway undertaking (EVU), as well as through partners outside Germany and thus independent of location-based test centres.

During the test planning phase, the scope, the procedures, the necessary resources and the schedule of the individual activities will be defined. The results of the test planning process are transparently documented in a corresponding test concept.

Documents are a key component in the evidential/authorisation process. Hence, we independently and impartially check and review the provided input documents regarding:

Completeness, consistency, correctness, relevance and traceability

For our customers we review the following documents:

Test specifications, system, hardware and software documentation, vehicle manuals, system descriptions for railway vehicles and their components, additional documents according to your needs

Various paths lead to a defined goal. However, not every path is equally suitable to meet a predefined testing goal. In order to meet our customers’ expectations, it is mandatory to create aligned test specifications. Our highly trained personnel is experienced in various procedures for deriving and selecting suitable test cases based on the analysis of functional and non-functional requirements of a component or system without taking internal structures into account. During the creational process specification-oriented, error-based and experience-based methods are being used.

Our personnel has years of experience in the railway sector and multiple qualifications and thus experience in railway operations as well as railway technology. The training and monitoring of our employees’ qualifications is in accordance with DIN EN ISO/EC 17025:2018, likewise for services outside the accredited range.

Our testing laboratory employees execute tests on component level as well as on system level. The test foundation is a specifically for the test item designed test specification, based on requirements from European law (TSI), national law (NNTR/NNTV list) or requirements from operators or manufacturers. As a result, we are able to execute the following tests according to our customers´ needs:

• Test of the integral system railway vehicle
• Retest of errors
• Regression test
• Smoke test,
• System test
• Validation
• Verification
• Alpha test

As part of the testing activities, we also offer our customers:

The complete organization of test and transfer runs on public and non-public infrastructure as well as in test centres including parking, security watch and insurance of the vehicle/s.

Following the test execution, the test protocols are evaluated. Deviations and errors that occurred during the test execution are documented in detail and communicated early to the customer.

Following the test execution, the test protocols are evaluated. In this phase we do not differentiate between accredited and non-accredited services of our testing laboratory. Even for non-accredited services, we meet the strict requirements of the DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018, regarding the documentation of test results. In the subsequent test report all test results are registered in a detailed and traceable manner.

For the authorisation of your vehicle, we as an impartial and independent testing laboratory, create standard-compliant evidence (test report/s) as input document for the evaluation by a Notified Body (NoBo) or a Designated Body (DeBo).

Outside of the authorisation process we additionally offer our customers specific test reports tailored to your individual needs based on the same before mentioned quality standards.