TAIPEI, , Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland issued the O&M certification to Hengs Technology, a leading PV system vendor in Taiwan that specializes in total PV power station solutions, making Hengs the first EPC vendor in Taiwan and the second in Asia to receive O&M company certification.
Now in its 19th year, the company has built more than 600 power stations, and has experience with the building and management of power stations with over 100MW of installed capacity. Many of Taiwan's landmark PV system installations have been the work of Hengs, including PV power stations at AUO-Sungen (the largest in Taiwan at 9MW), at Taiwan High Speed Rail's Zuoying Station and Yunlin Station, at the Kaohsiung MRT depot, etc.
Hengs recognized very early on that the operation & maintenance of power stations determines whether the long-term returns from a PV power station conforms to the investor's financial forecasts. This led to Hengs immediately offering dual investor guarantees when the "Renewable Energy Development Act" was passed in 2010. The dual guarantees consist of total warranty service and guaranteed generating capacity throughout the 20-year warranty period. To enforce this dual guarantee policy, Hengs maintains high engineering quality, plentiful parts inventory, data quality management, and a dedicated O&M management.
To further standardize and internationalize its service process, Hengs turned to TUV Rheinland for Operation & Maintenance (O & M) company certification service, making it a leader in the PV system industry. PV power stations have a life-cycle of over 20 years, and their actual construction is just the beginning. While the design, construction, and O&M phases may all seem to be independent of each other, each phase has an impact on the next, as well as on the ultimate return. Ignoring any warning signs in each phase, or failing to carry out concrete improvements, will have an impact on the power station's bottom line. Though there are many companies that claim to offer O&M services, TUV Rheinland believes that O&M involves more than just cleaning modules. There are many other hidden factors that influence generating efficiency. Experience, technology, and certification are therefore the three most important criteria when selecting a suitable O&M contractor. O&M certification is like seeing a licensed physician -- a contractor certified by an independent third party will not only do its job, but also provide the power station owner with a degree of protection.
Hengs President Victor Chow has indicated that Hengs applied for O&M certification to "emerge from the pack and not have to compete on price." The process of acquiring O&M certification from TUV Rheinland took 6 months. Changes had to be made before the certification was finally confirmed, on the eve of the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing the project staff to finally relax and enjoy their moon cakes. Chow has this to say about the long and difficult journey to certification: "The TUV Rheinland review was very strict. There were many small details during document management and process management for which we had underestimated the impact. It really made us appreciate how the devil is always in the details."
At present, only TUV Rheinland provides O&M certification services around the globe. This is a QMA comprehensive internal assessment standard developed by TUV Rheinland, based on its century-plus of experience, consisting of 8 main internal review indicators. A score of over 80 must be achieved both for each indicator and for the overall average to obtain certification. The full process generally takes 6 months. The purpose of the certification is to help a company standardize its documentation and on-site processes. The emphasis is on certifying team capabilities, and ensuring that personnel changes won't impact corporate competitiveness. The QMA standard even covers such details as whether O&M personnel don proper protective devices and safety ropes before the start of work. The detailed requirements ensure that any problems encountered during future maintenance can be quickly identified. Chow said, "Our company's products are used for generating power, so safety is very important. TUV Rheinland's priority on personal safety matches perfectly with our company's corporate values." Management based on systematic SOPs also helps Hengs cultivate training teams for the establishment of overseas support capacity.
As TUV Rheinland is the first international certification body to propose the value of power station O&M, Hengs hopes that its O&M certification will help to highlight and demonstrate the company's professional capabilities. Prevention is better than cure. As Hengs has learned from its 19 years of experience with power stations, proper planning and routine O&M management are essential to ensuring the reliability of PV systems and reducing business risks.
To banks, the returns produced by stable power generation are also an indicator of trustworthiness. TUV Rheinland is a third-party certification organization that has extensive experience with PV power station testing and inspection, O&M certification, and buyer services recognized by Munich Re. It can therefore effectively help power station operators control their investment and technical risks, improve the generating efficiency and quality of their power stations, and expand into overseas markets.
