Data protection

TUV USA, Inc., does have all management commitment to impartiality in management system certification activities and we understand the importance of impartiality in carrying out its management system certification activities. TUV USA, Inc. does manage conflict of interests and ensures the objectivity of its management system certification activities. TUV USA does have a methodology to identify, analyze and document the possibilities for conflict of interests arising from provision of certification including any conflicts arising from its relationships. Having relationships does not necessarily present a TUV USA, Inc with a conflict of interest. However, if any relationship creates a threat to impartiality, TUV USA will document it and be able to demonstrate how it eliminates or minimizes such threats. This information shall be made available to all committees specified in section 6.2 of ISO/IEC 17021:2006(E). The demonstration shall cover all potential sources of conflict of interests that are identified, whether they arise from within TUV USA, Inc or from the activities of other persons, bodies or organizations.

NOTE: TUV USA will not tolerate any relationship that threatens the impartiality of the TUV USA certification decisions based on ownership, governance, management, personnel, shared resources, finances, contracts, marketing and payment of a sales commission or other inducement for the referral of new clients, etc. When or if a relationship presents an unacceptable threat to impartiality (such as a wholly owned subsidiary), then certification shall not be provided.

TUV USA, Inc., is pleased that you have decided to visit our website and are interested in our company. We treat the protection of your personal data seriously and strive to ensure that you feel secure and comfortable when visiting our Internet pages.

You can generally visit the pages of TUV USA, Inc., without us requiring your personal data.

Personal data is only acquired if you provide us with the data, for example, when registering, participating in a survey, or concluding a contract.

All personal data accumulated in part of the direct Internet services provided by TUV USA, Inc., will be acquired, processed, and used according to the respective applicable regulations governing the protection of personal data for the sole purpose of managing contracts and maintaining our own legitimate business interests in terms of consulting and supporting or our customers and interests.

By using our websites and the services contained therein, you express your consent to allow us to store the personal data that you voluntarily supplied and process and use it in accordance with this privacy policy.

According to §§ 34 and 6b of the Federal Data Protection Act, you have the unrestricted right to request information concerning your personal data stored by our system free of charge, and according to § 35 of the Federal Data Protection Act, you also have the right to have prohibited data deleted or blocked and have incorrect data corrected.

Upon request, we will gladly provide with you written notification concerning whether and which of your personal data we have stored. If possible, we will take suitable measures to update or correct data, on short notice, that has been stored by our system. In these cases, please contact our data protection representative.

We have consolidated the information in our public directory of procedures according to § 4e of the Federal Data Protection Act.

TUV USA, Inc., implements technical and organisational security measures according to § 9 of the Federal Data Protection Act to safeguard your data that we manage against inadvertent or deliberate manipulation, loss, or destruction and against access by unauthorised persons. Our security measures are continuously improved in line with technological progress. TUV USA, Inc., only stores data protection relevant information on secured systems located in Germany. Only few authorised persons and persons committed to streamlined data protection, who are involved in the technical, administrative, or editorial supervision of data, can access this data.

The processing and use of your personal data for consultation, advertisement, and market research purposes requires your expressed permission. Your data will not be sold, leased, or in any other way be made available to third parties. Personal data is only forwarded to state facilities and authorities within the scope of mandatory national statutory provisions.

To keep our website up-to-date and create the requirements with the user in mind, we collect statistical information, e.g. the number of visitors to each individual website. The following are recorded:

• Computer and browser type used, 
• Internet provider, 
• Access date and time, in addition to 
• Calculation data

This information is used exclusively for internal purposes and is not related to persons.

If, in order to improve an individual range of products and our services, we use your usage data from your visit to our website and want to consolidate it with your customer data, we will obtain your express permission to do so through Internet dialogue. If you do not wish to grant your permission, you can continue, cancel, or end every dialogue without being monitored.

Access data may be stored if a file from our download services is requested. Each data record requested comprises:

• the page from which the file was requested, 
• the name of the file, 
• date and time of the request, 
• the data quantity transferred, 
• the access status (file transferred, file not found etc.) and 
• type of browser used

The data saved is evaluated purely for statistical purposes and is not related to persons.

Furthermore, we also issue cookies. A cookie is a small file that is stored on your computer once you visit a website. If you visit the website again, the cookie indicates that it is a repeat visit. The cookie only contains a unique number. The cookie does not contain any personal information. The cookie is not intended to identify you on third party websites, including the website of the analysis provider.

You can configure your browser so that it always rejects cookies or informs you in advance if a cookie is stored. You will find more information on this in the operating instructions of your internet browser.

We do not use IP addresses or cookies to personally identify you.

We use the web analysis system with the goal of increasing our website's efficiency.

This website makes use of Google Maps to show maps and directions for travel.

Google Maps is operated by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

With the use of this website, you automatically accept the collection, processing and use of data that is collected automatically or is entered by yourself by Google, its representatives or third-party suppliers.

The conditions of use for Google Maps can be found at Google Maps/Earth Terms of Service.

More detailed information can be found in the data protection center of google.com: Transparency and Choice and Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions concerning the processing of your personal data, you can contact our representatives for data protection directly; they can also help you with information requests, applications, or complaints:

Data protection representative
Berthold Weghaus
TÜV NORD AG (Business centre in Essen)
Am Technologiepark 1
45307 Essen
Telephone: +49 201 825-2165
E-Mail: bweghaus@tuev-nord.de

Date of the public directory of procedures:
01.01.2009
Person responsible for the contents of the public directory of procedures:
The company representative for data protection of TÜV NORD