DGZfP was founded in 1933 in Berlin, and is the world’s oldest society dedicated to non-destructive testing, with around 1,600 members including companies, research institutions, universities, authorities, and individual professionals.
Its mission is to promote the development, application and dissemination of non-destructive testing methods across industry, research and academia. DGZfP functions as a bridge between researchers, equipment manufacturers, service providers, and end-users to ensure the advancement of NDT practices.
Events, Conferences & Community Activities
DGZfP organizes a comprehensive programme of events and activities intended to foster knowledge exchange, professional development and innovation in the NDT community:
- Annual Conferences
DGZfP’s flagship events attract professionals from industry, research, and academia. These conferences showcase the latest developments in methods, applications, and research, and provide a major platform for discussion and networking. - Workshops, Seminars & Specialist-Committee Meetings
Through its technical committees and working groups, DGZfP regularly convenes meetings (e.g. for phased-array ultrasonic testing, acoustic emission, civil-engineering inspection, etc.) where experts discuss standards, guidelines, emerging technologies, and industry needs. - Training & Qualification Programmes
DGZfP provides training courses and certification exams according to recognised standards (e.g. DIN EN ISO 9712) in multiple NDT methods. With numerous training centres across Germany, it is one of Europe’s largest trainers for NDT personnel. - Knowledge Dissemination
The society publishes technical guidelines, standards, and a dedicated ZfP-magazine. It also recently partnered with an international platform to launch a digital repository, making its conference papers, technical publications and research output widely accessible to the global NDT community.
Value & Impact for NDT Community
- DGZfP serves as a central hub for connecting industry, academia, and service providers — enabling collaboration on research, standardisation, training, and technology development.
- Its events foster exchange of knowledge, latest research findings, and best practices; its certification programmes ensure qualified, standardised competence across NDT practitioners.
- It supports the continuous evolution of NDT methods — from traditional techniques to advanced approaches such as phased-array UT, acoustic emission, terahertz inspection, and other emerging technologies, helping drive adoption and innovation across industries.
