Adam Cook

Our interviewee for this instalment of People in NDE is Adam Cook, a Core NDT Technician at Torness Nuclear Power Station. Adam embarked on a career in NDT after seeing an advert for an NDT apprenticeship while working as a scaffold labourer…

Briefly describe your current role in NDE.
I currently work for Applus RTD as a Core NDT Technician at Torness Nuclear Power Station. A significant part of my role is to carry out NDT inspections on-site and to support the station work management process.

What does a typical work day involve? Or is there no ‘typical day’?
My typical day can vary from carrying out MPI/DPI in the workshop to carrying out ultrasonic measurements in a contaminated room situated in the Reactor Building. In the morning I could be inspecting nitrogen vessels and then in the afternoon checking the thickness of a pipe 30 ft into a surge shaft.

Why did you choose NDE?
I was working as a scaffold labourer at Hartlepool Power Station when I saw the advert for an NDT Apprentice with Oceaneering. I applied and was lucky enough to be accepted and have never looked back since.

What education/training route did you follow?
My apprenticeship lasted three years and within that timeframe I became PCN Level 2 qualified in MPI, DPI and radiography and Level 1 qualified in ultrasonics and eddy current testing. When I joined Applus RTD I became PCN Level 2 qualified in ultrasonics and Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS).

What would you consider to be your biggest achievements and challenges to date?
I would say that my biggest achievement to date is becoming the Core Technician here at Torness. The fact that I am the sole representative for my company on this site reminds me that I have come far from the scaffold labourer I was in Hartlepool. I believe that this role is also my biggest challenge to date. Some of my responsibilities are supervising staff, managing health and safety issues and ensuring the work is delivered on time. Objectives like these will always challenge me and help me to become a better supervisor and technician.

Do you have any interesting NDE stories to tell? Any career highlights?
The highlight of my career (so far) would probably be carrying out boiler inspections during a vessel entry campaign. This involves working in confined space areas of high radiation, dressing like a cheap-looking astronaut in an air-cooled protective suit and hood and climbing down into the boilers situated just outside the reactor. It’s like another world.

What changes, if any, do you foresee for NDE in the future?
We are always trying out different techniques as NDE evolves. Ageing plant requires increased levels of inspection and condition monitoring and I believe NDE has a big part to play.

NDE is rarely considered a ‘hot topic’ and does not receive much media attention – what do you think about this?
I don’t think this is really a problem. Everyone who is involved with NDE, from the technicians to the engineers responsible for that item of plant, recognise the significance and importance of what we do. As they say ‘no news is good news’.

How would you describe NDE/NDT to someone who knows little or nothing about it?
NDE/NDT is the process of inspecting the integrity of a component without damaging it.

What is your favourite NDE technique and why?
My favourite NDE technique would have to be radiography. I believe it is more assuring to the engineer responsible to see a physical representation of his/her component under test rather than it being represented by a signal.

And, finally, if you could inspect any structure/component, what would it be?
I think testing components for Formula One has to be at the top of my list.

Please get in touch if you have any recommendations for future interviewees or would like to be interviewed yourself. Contact the editor at ndtnews@bindt.org or email Maria Felice direct at mvfelice@gmail.com

Comments by members

This forum post has no comments, be the first to leave a comment.

<< Back