Testing labs in Nijmegen

ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by RvA (No. L623) testing laboratory (accreditation status: active). Accredited test areas include: Bio Food Safety; Food Microbiology. Located at 6545 CJ, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

The Accredited Oil Laboratory (AOL), operated under the Royal SMIT Transformers service division of the SGB-SMIT Group, is the largest dedicated transformer oil laboratory and knowledge centre in the Netherlands. Headquartered in Nijmegen and housed in a purpose-built facility delivered in 2022, AOL functions as a fully independent analytical laboratory, accepting transformer oil samples from operators, utilities, and asset managers regardless of the transformer brand, age, or manufacturer. The laboratory's mission is to extend transformer service life by providing deep, evidence-based oil and gas analyses combined with expert diagnosis of both the oil condition and the internal health of the transformer itself. AOL's routine analysis portfolio is structured around the electrical and chemical characterisation of insulating transformer oil. Core analyses include Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA, or 'Gas in olie'), which identifies fault gases dissolved in oil as early indicators of thermal and electrical faults; water content measurement (watergehalte), which is critical to the dielectric strength of oil; breakdown voltage testing (doorslagspanning) to assess insulating capacity; colour and appearance evaluation; interfacial tension (grensvlakspanning) as a marker of oil oxidation and contamination; acid number (zuurgetal) to track oil aging and degradation; and tangent delta (loss angle) measurement, which indicates the dielectric loss characteristics of aged or contaminated oil. Beyond routine oil quality analyses, AOL offers a suite of advanced and specialised tests. Furan analysis (furanen) is used to assess the degree of paper insulation degradation inside the transformer, allowing engineers to estimate remaining transformer lifetime. Degree of polymerisation (polymerisatiegraad) provides a complementary measure of insulation paper condition. Inhibitor content analysis quantifies the remaining antioxidant (inhibitor) concentration in the oil, indicating how much protective additive life remains. The laboratory also performs copper strip corrosion testing (koperstrip test) to evaluate the corrosive sulphur content of oil; DBDS (Dibenzyl Disulfide) determination, an analysis targeting a particularly aggressive corrosive sulphur compound associated with copper conductor damage; passivator concentration measurement; and PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) screening, which is required for regulatory compliance and environmental safety when handling legacy transformer oils. The diagnostic philosophy at AOL draws a deliberate analogy between transformer oil and a patient's blood: the oil is an information carrier that reveals the internal condition of the entire asset. To make a reliable diagnosis, AOL integrates oil analysis results with contextual factors including transformer age, fault history, and known issues specific to particular transformer populations. This multi-factor approach is underpinned by three pillars: the in-house expertise of the AOL team, internationally recognised IEC standards (the IEC 60422, IEC 60599, and related norms that govern transformer oil testing and DGA interpretation), and a continuously growing proprietary database containing decades of accumulated oil analysis results. This historical dataset enables trend analysis across entire transformer fleets and supports increasingly accurate residual-life estimations and maintenance recommendations. Analysis packages at AOL are tailored to the needs and risk profile of each transformer. Routine analyses are grouped into three progressive tiers, each with a distinct diagnostic purpose, allowing asset managers to balance analytical cost against the criticality of the asset. For high-value or high-risk units, the full spectrum of standard and specialised tests can be combined to create a comprehensive health picture. AOL explicitly positions itself as a knowledge partner, not merely an analytical service provider, offering diagnoses and maintenance recommendations alongside raw data. Clients access their analytical results through Centr-AOL, AOL's proprietary online portal. Upon sample registration and analysis completion, customers can log in to a dashboard displaying the current status and last diagnosis for all their registered transformers, recommended dates for follow-up sampling, full historical analysis data per transformer unit, graphical trend visualisations, and downloadable PDF oil reports. This digital platform is particularly valuable for utilities and industrial operators managing large transformer fleets who need consolidated, auditable records of asset condition over time. AOL holds ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for its testing activities, granted by the Dutch national accreditation body Raad voor Accreditatie (RvA) under accreditation number L627. ISO 17025 accreditation is the international gold standard for testing and calibration laboratories, confirming that AOL's methods, equipment, staff competence, and quality management system meet rigorous technical and organisational requirements. The scope of accredited analyses is published by RvA and covers the core oil and DGA test methods offered by the laboratory. This accreditation is particularly important for clients whose transformer maintenance programmes require defensible, third-party-validated analytical data for regulatory, insurance, or asset-management purposes. Operating from its modern 2022 Nijmegen facility as part of the wider SGB-SMIT Group — one of Europe's major transformer manufacturers and service organisations — AOL combines the independence of a third-party analytical laboratory with deep domain knowledge of transformer technology. Its customer base spans electricity transmission and distribution network operators, industrial plant managers, and any organisation responsible for maintaining oil-insulated power transformers. AOL is reachable for sample submissions, analysis enquiries, and diagnostic consultations via aol@sgb-smit.group.

ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by RvA (No. L606) testing laboratory (accreditation status: active). Located at 6534 AT, Nijmegen, Netherlands.