Collaudation
A collaudation (from Latin collaudare or laudare = to praise), or collaudation, is the common term in Switzerland and Austria for the testing and acceptance of structures and facilities such as roads , railroad lines , canals , bridges , dams , but also organs . The official collaudation takes place z. B. with railway bridges by as many heavy locomotives as possible , which are placed on the bridge to be tested in order to test its resilience.
Bridges have to go through a routine examination even after several years. To do this, the railway companies use special wagons with lifting platforms pulled by shunting locomotives . The employees standing on the lifting platform check all the details of the structures, with steel bridges every single weld, screw or rivet.
The acceptance of new locomotives by the responsible authority, in Switzerland the Federal Office of Transport , is also known as a collaudation.