Considering the potential advances technology may bring to NDT and CM

I have been thinking about the versatility of the mobile phone, including the iPhone range, and how NDT equipment compares. Some of the methods would not seem to have much in the way of compatibility, but after a little more thinking there would seem to be a degree of commonality. With the surface methods there is scope for flaw imaging, characterisation, sizing, sentencing and reporting. Providing that the flaw image could be detected accurately and referred back to a datum, and the acceptance criteria introduced along with a reporting format, it could be used for MT, PT and VT. If the dimensions of the object could be accurately measured by the device, the amount of current required for MT could also be automatically calculated. Some of the above are already possible but bringing them together in one device would be good. For the volumetric methods there is a need for both hardware and software, but do these devices perform as many functions as they could? Could they be married up with the surface methods and the results be more comprehensive? For UT, could one device cover all the different technologies and techniques and possibly be used for ET? A step further would be to use it for RT. With RT, the device could assess the item, calculate the exposure parameters and set the barrier limits; for X-ray it could become the control panel and for gamma ray it could be used to operate the wind-out mechanism and then process the data generated. The options are not limited to NDT and would be readily transferable into the condition monitoring (CM) sector.

There could also be security controls allowing only approved testers to use the equipment for just those methods for which they are company-approved. The evidence of use could also give an additional level of confidence that a test has been performed accurately. This information could also be linked to the certification, again giving evidence that the tester is using the method(s) they are certificated for.

The above suggestions represent some of my wide-ranging thoughts considering the potential advances technology may bring to NDT and CM using a sole hardware controller with the additions of software and hardware to increase the scope and capacity, in the way that mobile phones are changing our lives and continuing to change our lives. The historical analogue equivalent would be the Swiss Army knife, which has attachments to perform many tasks. Currently, the above single hardware controller concept is probably a step too far and too costly to implement, but in a few years’ time who knows what will be possible?

Notification was issued in late December 2021 that the revision to ISO 9712 has been published, affecting all companies that claim to provide testing in accordance with this standard. Therefore they will need to obtain a copy and review the updated requirements. All Level 3s should also be familiarising themselves with the new revision and considering the implications. The PCN Scheme will be affected, which will include the training requirements, but these changes will not immediately be put into effect as all interested parties need to be able to implement the changes.

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