Our interviewee for this instalment of People in NDE is Alex Smith, a Manufacturing Engineer in NDT at Rolls-Royce. He completed a technical apprenticeship a year ago and is a Graduate Member of BINDT…
What education/training route did you follow?
I started a technical apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce in September 2010. I was originally planning to become a designer but during my second year I was offered the opportunity to train as an NDT specialist and I accepted this. I completed my apprenticeship in September 2013 and have been an employee at Rolls-Royce since then.
Briefly describe your current role in NDE.
I am a Manufacturing Engineer in NDT at Rolls-Royce in Filton, Bristol. I am a Level 3 in dye penetrant inspection and trained as a Level 2 in ultrasonic testing, radiography and magnetic particle inspection. My work is a mix between manufacturing, engineering and NDT. I work on new manufacture parts, as well as supporting new component repair work in-load. Typical tasks include sorting out approvals for NDT processes and personnel, managing technical instructions and dealing with non-conformance, etc. I am also currently working on a project replacing magnetic particle inspections with dye penetrant inspections and cost-saving initiatives, such as reducing drying times during the cleaning of components.
Why did you choose NDT?
When I first had a tour of the business, I was shown the NDT line and thought that it was the most interesting process I’d seen. I think NDT is very diverse and it can take you anywhere. I like NDT because of the importance it gives to delivering products of high quality to customers. I find meeting suppliers interesting; for example, I once had to visit a supplier to check that they were interpreting a quality standard correctly following a non-conformance issue. Following the visit, I wrote a component specific rationalised quality standard (RQSC) specific to the component to rectify the issue, which was approved by the materials laboratory and added to the drawing that the supplier works to.
What would you consider to be your biggest achievements to date?
Our facility is NUCAP[1] accredited on a regular basis and one of my biggest achievements to date was successfully hosting the audit last September, retaining our merit status, together with our Level 3 in radiography.
What changes, if any, do you foresee for NDT in the future?
With regards to dye penetrant inspection, I think we will still be using it in the future but it will become easier, with the introduction of UV LEDs and borescopes for example. Currently, we use UV mercury lamps, which have a limited life span and will not be manufactured for much longer. Thermography inspection is a modern NDT method that our business will be acquiring in the near future. I look forward to learning more about it and the kind of applications it will have
NDE is rarely considered a ‘hot topic’ and does not receive much media attention – do you think this is a problem?
I actually heard an announcement in the news recently that the government and industry are investing £30 million in advanced materials and NDE research[2]! I think if the government is supporting NDE then that is good. However, our work is very much ‘behind the scenes’, which is a shame because whenever we have visitors at Rolls-Royce they are extremely interested in what our team does.
How would you describe NDE/NDT to someone who knows nothing or little about it?
NDT is the method by which a material’s integrity is measured without disrupting its properties.
What is your favourite NDT technique and why?
Dye penetrant inspection because it is good to be able to see defects on the surface and interpret them from a close angle. I am also interested in pulse thermography – thermal imaging will be a very interesting method of inspection in the future.
And, finally, if you could inspect any structure/component, what would it be?
The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol!
References
- http://www.p-r-i.org/nadcap/nucap/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/innovation-and-the-uks-knowledge-economy
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
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