3 Questions to Michael Meyer, Head of Verification, Liebherr-Transportation Systems, Korneuburg (Austria)

What does verification mean and why is it necessary?

Verification means the process in which a product that we have developed is thoroughly tested at component or system level on a test bench. This allows us to check whether the device meets the technical specifications of the customer.

Once the test has been successfully concluded, we provide feedback for the project team so that they can conclude the development phase.

Which test equipment is required for these tests?

We have the possibility of conducting performance tests on hydraulic test benches at room temperature as well as at low and high temperatures. The temperature range goes from -30 °C to +60 °C.

Other test benches are available to test service life duration. This versatile equipment can be adapted to the respective requirements.

In addition, we also use a climate chamber, a salt-water spray test chamber and a rain chamber for water tests.

If the customer has requirements that we cannot meet now with our test equipment, we work together with renowned test institutes in Austria and Germany.

Could you give us a specific example of verification?

The greatest challenge we have faced in the past few years was a project for developing a compact electro-hydraulic actuator for which “safety integrity level 4” was required. This is the highest safety level. Not only the hydraulics, but also the corresponding software had to be tested at SIL 4 level for this very sophisticated product. Developing test benches that can verify a product at this very high safety level was a challenge for us. Our team rose to the occasion in the best possible way – the actuator and the software both passed all of the tests.