Safety and reliability standards could be jeopardised by skills shortage
10/12/2013
Safety and reliability standards across all manufacturing sectors could be compromised if the number of engineers specialising in non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition monitoring (CM) continues to decline, warns the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT).
Cameron Sinclair, CEO of BINDT, said: “The UK punches above its weight in NDT and CM, but we are becoming increasingly aware of an emerging skills shortage. Many highly skilled and experienced engineers are reaching retirement age, whilst too few young people are choosing to enter the profession. The result is an ageing workforce.”Though largely unseen, NDT and CM are used all around us. They are required, for example, in the inspection of airplane parts, bridges, power stations and railway lines. These testing techniques are critical to ensuring materials, components and structures are manufactured to the correct standards and function optimally throughout their lifecycles.
“The ramifications of an NDT and CM skills shortage are profound,” continued Mr Sinclair. “A lack of qualified NDT and CM engineers could result in safety and reliability standards being compromised.”
Mr Sinclair’s comments follow the publication of a report into UK engineering by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Professor John Perkins’ Review of Engineering Skills describes a ‘substantial demand for engineers in the UK economy.’ He calls for a coordinated, long-term strategy to ‘increase the supply of engineers at both professional and technician level in the UK.’
This need was also highlighted in an EngineeringUK poll of 1000 UK children aged 11-14. The survey, published in October, revealed that less than one in ten (7%) plan to be engineers when they finish school.
Mr Sinclair remarked: “Too few young people are pursuing careers in engineering. Of those, even fewer specialise in NDT and CM. This needs to change if the UK is to maintain its position as a world leader in these engineering disciplines.”
BINDT works closely with providers of further and higher education to incorporate NDT and CM into vocational curricula. Its Personnel Certification in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN) scheme is used to certify engineers based in over 100 countries. The Institute also sponsors Arkwright engineering scholarships, designed to create a pipeline of top talent into the engineering profession.
However, Mr Sinclair believes much more can be done. “The industry needs to work together to inspire a whole new generation of engineers,” he said. “BINDT supports Professor John Perkins’ review and looks forward to cooperating with other industry leaders to implement a successful engineering skills growth strategy.”
To read Professor John Perkins’ Review of Engineering Skills visit: www.gov.uk/government/publications/engineering-skills-perkins-review
Notes for editors
About BINDT
The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) is a UK-based professional engineering institution working to promote the advancement of the science and practice of non-destructive testing (NDT), condition monitoring (CM), diagnostic engineering and all other materials and quality testing disciplines. Internationally recognised, it is concerned with the education, training and certification of its members and all those engaged in NDT and CM and through its publications and annual conferences and events it disseminates news of the latest advances in the science and practice of the subjects. For further information about the Institute and its activities, visit www.bindt.org
What are NDT and CM?
Non-destructive testing is the branch of engineering concerned with all methods of detecting and evaluating flaws in materials. Flaws can affect the serviceability of a material or structure, so NDT is important in guaranteeing safe operation as well as in quality control and assessing plant life. The flaws may be cracks or inclusions in welds and castings or variations in structural properties, which can lead to a loss of strength or failure in service. The essential feature of NDT is that the test process itself produces no deleterious effects on the material or structure under test. The subject of NDT has no clearly defined boundaries; it ranges from simple techniques such as the visual examination of surfaces, through the well-established methods of radiography, ultrasonic testing and magnetic particle crack detection, to new and very specialised methods such as the measurement of Barkhausen noise and positron annihilation spectroscopy.
Condition monitoring (CM) aims to ensure plant efficiency, productivity and reliability by monitoring and analysing the wear of operating machinery and components to provide an early warning of impending failure, thereby reducing costly plant shutdown. Condition monitoring originally used mainly vibration and tribology analysis techniques but now encompasses new fields such as thermal imaging, acoustic emission and other non-destructive techniques. The diagnostic and prognostic elements, in addition to more and more sophisticated signal processing, is using trends from repeated measurements in time intervals of days and weeks.
