Denize Ivy Pilarta

Our interviewee this month is Denize Ivy Pilarta, NDE Engineering Technician at BAE Systems Submarines and Associate Member of BINDT…

Describe your current role
I am a Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) Engineering Technician at BAE Systems Submarines.
I work alongside highly skilled inspectors, ensuring the integrity of structural components and critical systems. Our techniques include visual inspection, crack detection and manual/automated ultrasonics.

What education or training route did you follow?
Having always gravitated towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects through school, I completed A-Levels in biology, chemistry and maths and an AS Level in law, as well as an extended project.
My preference for practical learning alongside growing up in Barrow-in-Furness, which is rich in industrial history, led me to pursue an apprenticeship with BAE Systems. I saw NDE on offer and did not have much knowledge on the subject, but after reading the description it seemed like the perfect fit.

What other roles and jobs have you had in the past?
Prior to starting my apprenticeship, I was a waitress at a local restaurant, which helped me to gain important skills to bring to the workplace. These included teamwork, communication and organisation.

What would you consider to be your biggest NDE achievements and challenges to date?
My biggest achievements would be being awarded the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Mary George Memorial Prize (the Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) Awards) and the Make UK: National Rising Star award. It felt surreal to be part of these awards as I would have never expected to be awarded them nor the number of opportunities they have brought.
My biggest challenge would be the way I look at failure. My first PCN course was for magnetic particle inspection (MPI) and I put a lot of time aside to prepare to ensure I was confident for my exams. I passed my theory; however, I didn’t pass the practical first time. This was challenging for me as it knocked my confidence in myself, which I had to rebuild before completing my re-sit, which luckily I passed. That being said, this was an important lesson for me as, upon reflection, challenges/failures are not knockbacks. Instead, they are really effective learning curves that you can bring to the rest of your career.

What do you think are the pressing challenges for the NDE industry?
I think a challenge within the industry is to encourage people from a wide range of backgrounds to enter careers in the field. When joining NDE within the business, I was the second woman to join and am still currently the only woman in my team. However, I’ve seen a steady increase in women in our teams as the percentage has risen from 2% to 10% in the last four years alone.
I predict a steady increase in diversity as awareness of NDE continues to grow through events such as early careers fairs, work experience placements and STEM ambassadorial activities.

What changes, if any, do you foresee for NDE in the future?
The modern technology scene is constantly evolving. I predict that this will contribute to the development of NDE in the future. An increasing number of businesses using NDE could be utilising more robotics, automation and artificial intelligence allowing inspection methods/processes to be conducted more efficiently.

How would you describe NDE to someone who has not heard of it before?
NDE involves many scientific concepts working to ensure that structures and components are free from unwanted defects, either hidden on or below the surface. Each day as an NDE technician is different. One day you could be using magnetism to find surface defects invisible to the human eye and the next day you could be using sound energy to produce cross-sectional images of what’s lying beneath the surface.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not carrying out NDE?
When I’m not doing NDE, I enjoy baking and have become quite good at it, which I can credit lockdown for! If you ask my team, they will probably tell you their varying favourites as I think they are my biggest critics. Living close to the Lake District in Cumbria, I also like going there and paddle boarding, especially when the weather is nice. I like to spend my free time with my family and friends to wind down and socialise.

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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