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It has been 140 years since industry representatives, technicians and engineers gathered on June 11th, 1872 to found the "Steam Boiler Inspection and Safety Society for Mutual Benefit". How did this historic foundation of the society, which today, as TÜV AUSTRIA, is renowned for the reliable, thorough inspection and monitoring of potential safety hazards of technology come to be? Join us on a journey from the early days to the exciting expansion and evolution of TÜV AUSTRIA to gain a better understanding of how intricately interwoven its history is with your very own. The Steam Engine
The year is 1769. James Watt single-handedly inaugurates a new age with his invention of the steam engine, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution. The key component of a steam engine is the steam boiler. A steam boiler is a self-contained, heated vessel where steam is generated under high pressure. The hot steam drives a piston to transform caloric energy into mechanical force. Mining and metallurgy were the first and rather isolated areas of employment of steam engines, which eventually began to put their mark on daily life as propellants of boats and locomotives. By the dawn of the 19th century, the steam engine had grown into an indispensable machinery. While these engines were initially run on low pressure, more powerful models which operated at five-times the natural air pressure followed soon. High pressure steam engines performed radically more efficiently. Such great advantage over early models was as welcome as the exceedingly greater operational hazard was dreaded. Hazardous steam boilers When the steam engine was created, invention was constantly overshadowed by its innate hazards. Historic records from all over Europe show an average of three deaths every two days due to steam boiler explosions. Such incidents also entailed numerous casualties and considerable collateral damage to buildings. Technical flaws as well as missing safety valves and overpressure gauges, but also inexperienced and poorly trained personnel were the most common causes. The Imperial Court had remarkably decreed annual inspections of steam boilers to be obligatory. Catastrophic accidents occurred nevertheless, which could partially be traced back to the government inspectors' lack of competence. Society of Steam Boiler owners The industry naturally also took its toll due to the loss of production the massive explosions had caused. Leading industrialists and engineers therefore realised early on that these hazards had to be held at bay. To this effect, the "Society of Steam Boiler Owners" was founded. It was an important precursor to today's TÜV AUSTRIA, whose members vowed to improve the safety of steam boilers and provide the best training possible for operational personnel. The "Steam Boiler Inspection and Safety Society" The inspection of steam boilers was firmly reserved for government authorities. Following interminable negotiations, a law was passed in 1871 granting non-governmental bodies the right to also perform inspections. Now all obstacles preventing the foundation of the "Steam Boiler Inspection and Safety Society for Mutual Benefit" had been removed. Foundation
At the constitutional assembly held on June 11th, 1872, Baron Adam von Burg, professor of mechanics and machinery at the Imperial Polytechnial Institute, today's Vienna Technical University, was made the society's founding president. Inspections began only a few months later in September 1872, so pressing was the situation, so committed the society's proponents. While roughly 1.000 boilers were registered for inspection at the outset, the society grew so rapidly, there were already 3.000 boilers to inspect a mere three years later. This stellar rise made the Steam Boiler Inspection and Safety Society into one of the leading institutions of Europe at the time. A pupil of Baron von Burg, Wilhelm Exner, who had already been instrumental in the drafting of the pivotal 1871 law, was appointed president of the Steam Boiler Inspection and Safety Society in 1913, when the company boasted 5.592 members and its records listed a stunning 17.755 steam boilers.
Steam boilers today
Subsumed under the general term "pressure equipment", steam boilers today feature in many areas of everyday life. From typical household appliances such as pressure cookers, hot water boilers, hot oil and sewage tanks to the industrial boilers of breweries and dairies, steam boilers have remained as ubiquitous as ever. Huge power stations, such as caloric or nuclear power plants also make use of pressurised air. This indispensable, important nature of compressed air as a major industrial utility therefore renders "Department of Pressure Equipment" a core part of TÜV AUSTRIA's operations.
Contact Person: Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard HÖLTMANN Phone: +43 (0)1 514 07-6100 E-Mail: hoel@tuv.at
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