GKN Aerospace is UK's first manufacturer to achieve BINDT 'Outside Agency' accreditation
30/11/2007
GKN Aerospace at Cowes on the Isle of Wight has become the first European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 21 and Part 145 manufacturing and repair facility to achieve The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) 'Accredited Outside Agency' status, satisfying the National Aerospace NDT Board (NANDTB) specification NANDTB/12.To date, company-based schemes for the certification of NDT personnel have been essentially unregulated, relying largely on customer audits to maintain standards. This new requirement will now set a common standard for NDT personnel across the UK aerospace industry.
Civil Aviation Authority Airworthiness document CAP 747 GR23 required all company-based qualification schemes that complied with European standard EN4179, to be under the control of the NANDTB by 28 September 2007. The options for compliance were to use an accredited agency or to gain accreditation for a company-based scheme.
Mike Watts, Chief Materials Engineer (NDT) for GKN Aerospace, told ndtnews.org: "At GKN Aerospace, we chose the accreditation route to ensure that our NDT skills base, operational flexibility and costs are retained within the control of our highly specialised composites activity. We approached the BINDT for advice and, as the first manufacturing company to be BINDT audited, worked closely with them to pilot the audit process."
Watts continued: "Clearly there are differences between the accreditation of an agency/training facility and that of a manufacturing company and this became apparent during the audit. It was advantageous for both GKN and the Institute to work together to develop an auditing procedure suited to the manufacturing sector and we believe other manufacturing organisations may now follow our lead."
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