Annabel Dance

Our interviewee for this instalment of People in NDE is Annabel Dance, a trainer at the South West School of NDT in Cardiff. Annabel has had a very varied education and career, including obtaining a PhD in geophysics, carrying out NDT on oil rigs and teaching science…

Briefly describe your current role in NDE.

I specialise in training ultrasonic testing (UT) and eddy current testing (ET) at Levels 1, 2 and 3 for the South West School of NDT in Cardiff. The ultrasonic training includes phased array ultrasonics. I give courses at Cardiff and on-site in both the UK and around the world.
As a Level 3, I compile and administer both general and specific theory examinations and, in addition, oversee practical examinations on-site for our clients.
I also carry current Level 2 certification in those methods and, when required, perform aerospace inspection tasks on both metallic and composite parts.
Additionally, I undertake necessary supporting activities such as updating master documents of training and examination samples, as well as compiling and reviewing procedures and instructions.

What does a typical work day involve? Or is there no ‘typical day’?
There is no typical day. Outside of training, examination and inspection tasks, there is the unexpected. Today, I have been assisting a Jordanian NDT engineer on the phone who was having difficulty setting up his ultrasonic array equipment to carry out an inspection of a hole in an engine pylon, in addition to reviewing the future training requirements for a major client.

Why did you choose NDE?
After finishing university I started a job in an engineering consultancy organisation and ended up in their NDT department. I got involved with developments to the internal rotary inspection system (IRIS) ultrasonic tube testing system. It involved ultrasonic immersion testing and carrying out tube inspections on a variety of sites. It was really good fun! The combination of technical challenges coupled with getting your hands dirty really appealed to me. The lads I worked with were a good laugh and I enjoyed the site environment and having to struggle with some practical aspects of the job.

What education/training route did you follow?
I have a BSc in physics and a PhD in geophysics. Most of the NDT was on-the-job training as quite often I was working with specialist equipment. I left the NDT industry for a career break and returned in 2012. Having already accumulated the UT and ET experience hours, I undertook the mandated formal training elements and, after further hands-on experience, successfully obtained Level 2 certification. After further experience at Level 2, I gained EN 4179 Level 3 UT and ET.

What other roles/jobs have you had in the past?
During my NDT career break, I trained as a school teacher and taught science and maths in many schools on a part-time and supply basis. I also worked in adult education and private tuition. This experience has proven very useful in my role as a trainer as our students are from all academic backgrounds.

What would you consider to be your biggest achievements and challenges to date?
Challenges? Working on oil rigs, refineries and chemical works in the 1980s. Someone once asked me why I did it. I told them I did it for women’s rights. Some of the biggest issues included finding a ladies’ toilet on industrial sites and coping with ‘girlie’ pictures on the walls. The equipment was incredibly unreliable so a huge challenge was actually completing the job.
My new position has challenges, such as preparing and delivering new courses, especially managing the foreign travel and ensuring the equipment gets through customs for the start of the course (and then ensuring it does not get lost on the way back – which sometimes it does!). However, it is an exciting position with something new happening all the time.
A particular challenge at the moment is becoming the Rolls-Royce specialist in terms of their specific training and examination protocols.

Do you have any interesting NDE stories to tell? Any career highlights?
When I was working on a development project for the IRIS tube inspection system back in the 1980s, I found that smaller holes could be detected if a smaller gain was used on the front-wall echo rather than on the back-wall echo. Our electronics engineer was able to achieve this by the deft adjustment of a potentiometer within the instrument. I am proud to have been involved in the time-corrected gain (TCG) concept before it was the norm for it to be built into UT equipment. When I returned to the NDT industry I was really pleased that it had become standard practice.

What changes, if any, do you foresee for NDE in the future?
It is hard to say. There are as many new problems as solutions, but I guess the constant introduction of new techniques and methods as the science develops demands an increasing academic element as part of an NDT engineer’s background.

How would you describe NDE/NDT to someone who knows little or nothing about it?
I usually refer to ultrasonic baby scans or medical radiography, both of which most people have heard of.

What is your favourite NDE technique and why?
Well, I specialise in the ET and UT methods and would probably point to the use of arrays in those methods and the advantages over single transducers.

And, finally, if you could inspect any structure/component, what would it be?
Another bank of heat exchanger tubes using my old IRIS with knobs and a CRT display!

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