The changing face of future events

By the time you read this, the NDT 2021 Webinar Week will have been and gone for another year. The presenters, chairs and organisers were again very professional and the event went very well online. The range and breadth of topics covered was interesting, with some expanding on the use of familiar technologies and others exploring novel applications. The camp is split as to whether an online event is better than an in-person event, both having advantages and disadvantages. The fact that BINDT hosted the event online for the second year demonstrates how versatile the Institute is, especially when you consider how few members of staff there are. The staff work with a great many volunteers who have a vast range of experience and knowledge; some are supported by their company, while others self-support or are retired. Without these volunteers helping to look after ‘our’ Institute there would not be an Institute as we know it, so many thanks to all. The same support is also given to the Branches, from the simpler Branch meetings to the more involved events such as the Burns supper, which have also been held remotely.

One of the changes the Education and Professional Development Committee is implementing is the redefinition of NDT in the title of the apprenticeships. ‘Non-destructive testing’ is the current definition, but to encompass condition monitoring it has been proposed that NDT would be better defined as ‘non-destructive technologies’. The more I think about this the more I like the term ‘technology’ as there are methods that are used in both NDT and CM, including ultrasonics and thermography. In the case of guided wave ultrasonic testing the transducers can be left in situ and used as both an NDT and CM application.

There will be changes with the apprenticeships driven by the government and cascading down via employers to the apprentices. The recently introduced T-level qualifications are currently being heavily promoted. There is a need for these but there are significant challenges in work placements and what it is possible to gain in short periods of time. From the perspective of our industry, there is such a wide range of applications and working environments with associated hazards, including radiation, chemical and metal manufacturing to mention but a few, and introducing a T-level student to these for a short period of time could be challenging. Would appropriate T-levels count towards Engineering Council registration?

I have contacts who are working in the NDT sector, typically in South Yorkshire, and they often show me images of flaws and defects they have found. I have been wondering if readers would like to send images in to me that I can use in these memoranda. Permission must be obtained from the employer, the client and any other involved parties and, if possible, a brief outline provided of what the image is and how the flaws have been found.

One of the more recent communications received mentioned wire rope testing and I remember that there used to be a course and examination for this that fell outside of the PCN umbrella and was more closely aligned with the mining industry. Looking online it would appear that there is a training course being run in the Far East that has an examination on the last day and we are wondering if there is a requirement for PCN to investigate this technology further. The technology does seem to have been updated and crosses the NDT and CM boundary, with permanent sensors on such applications as elevators and hand-held sensors for other applications. If you have any knowledge and are willing to share it, please contact me at: john.moody@bindt.org

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