About us · Method
About this knowledge: how our content is created – and why you can rely on it
There is no shortage of technical knowledge on the web – often copied, rarely maintained, and almost never connected to the daily work of a real warehouse. This page explains the rules by which our knowledge base is built: where the figures come from, who checks the content, how we deal with standards growing old – and what our view as a specialist distributor adds to the pages that is not written in any standard.
- Publisher
- Otto Zickwolff GmbH, Saarbrücken, Germany
- In the trade
- since 1922
- Principle
- the standard checks, practice explains, service solves
- Contact
- report an error by e-mail, see footer
Where the figures come from
We maintain dimensional and product data in a central data layer of our own and take it from there into pages and drawings – so there is not the same table in three versions that can drift apart, but one source for each value. The data layer is fed from our inventory system, which has grown over decades, from manufacturers’ documents and from our own calculations and evaluations. Where a standard is referenced, we check the data against the current edition of that standard wherever possible before final technical approval. Where this check is still pending, we say so openly on the page concerned – we do not call such content conclusively checked against the standard, but a source-based classification customary in the market. We do not reproduce standard texts, tables or figures unchanged. Drawings, tables and overviews are our own presentations. Where catalogue, reference book and standard differ, the text of the standard decides – we have found such differences before and document them on the page concerned. Our technical drawings are our own dimensional drawings in the tradition of classic catalogue drawings, fed from the same data layer.
How we deal with knowledge growing old
Standards are revised, legal acts are replaced, catalogues are out of date the day they are printed. That is why every page shows when it was last revised – the date is not set by hand, it only changes when the content of the page has changed. In addition, we keep internal registers of superseded standards and new editions against which the pages are checked. Where information ages quickly by its nature, we say so and show how you can check the current status yourself. And where we know typical outdated items in the market – withdrawn standard numbers on drawings, obsolete references in requirement letters – we name them explicitly.
What the trade adds that is not in the standard
We have been a specialist distributor of piping materials since 1922. The second layer of these pages comes from this daily work: which designations are confused in the market, which details may be missing in an enquiry and which may not, what is usually held in stock and what takes procurement time, which old DIN designations customers still use today and what they should order instead. This experience goes into the pages as practical notes and frequently asked questions – written by us, checked by experienced colleagues from sales and warehouse. We also use AI tools for research and drafting. Every page is technically checked, and Otto Zickwolff GmbH is editorially responsible for it.
From knowledge to solution
A good answer ends the search – but rarely the task. That is why every page leads on to where things become practical: to part identification when all you have is an old part with a stamp, to certificate research when the 3.1 document is missing, to a bill-of-materials check when an old requirements list needs to be verified, or straight to the matching product range.
Questions, corrections, topics you are missing?
This knowledge base grows with our customers’ questions. If you find an error or miss a topic, we look forward to hearing from you.
This page describes how the Zickwolff knowledge base works. Despite careful checking, the following applies to all content: the current standards, legal acts and the manufacturers’ technical documents are always authoritative.