April 2002 Newsletter for Applied Inspection, NDT / Non-destructive Testing specialists

THE APPLIED INSPECTION

NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 92 - April 2002

FROM THE EDITOR

Congratulations to Burton - Ten Years of Growth
April 2002 means that Applied Inspection Burton has been established for 10 years in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. From humble beginnings of 5 staff and a 1200 square feet unit at Wharf Road, the division now has 2 adjacent units at Bond Street and Green Street comprising over 10,000 square feet and 52 staff.

Quotation

"Strive for perfection in everything you do."

Henry Royce

PERSONNEL

Ten Pin Bowling at Burton
Steve Redshaw was the winner of keenly contested ten pin bowling competition held at Burton Bowl in February. His prize was a box of Thorntons chocolates and a bottle of wine.

Goodbye
To Michael Kirkman, Metallurgist, who left the company during March. We wish him well for the future.

Overseas
Leigh Clarke is now in South Korea for three weeks carrying out inspection of train axles.

Joke of the Month
Overheard in a Wild West saloon bar:
"Hey, broken nose, play the piano."
"I ain't got a broken nose and I can't play the…"
T H U M P
Plink, plonk, plink, plonk…

Barry Heightman
Circa 1975

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Holmewood and Keith Dashper at Cleckheaton run the Applied Inspection lottery syndicate. There are currently 33 members who each pay Ł1.00 per week (stopped at source) which is put on the Saturday lottery. Anyone who is not a member, and who would like to join, should contact Dawn or Keith.

Our winnings to date are as follows:
1995 - £160.00 (40 weeks)
1996 - £297.00 (52 weeks)
1997 - £220.00 (52 weeks)
1998 - £251.00 (52 weeks)
1999 - £290.00 (52 weeks)
2000 - £270.00 (53 weeks)
2001 - £382.00 (52 weeks)
January 2002 - £30.00 (4 weeks)
2 February 2002 - £10.00
9 February 2002 - £0.00
16 February 2002 - £0.00
23 February 2002 - £0.00
2 March 2002 - £50.00
9 March 2002 - £10.00
16 March 2002 - £0.00
23 March 2002 - £0.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

QUALITY & TRAINING

High Quality
British Standards Institution (BSI) carried out audits at two Applied Inspection laboratories, Cleckheaton and Chesterfield, during March covering all NDT work carried out in-house and on-site. There was one minor non-conformity raised relating to documentation to the new ISO 9001: 2000 standard.

Burton fared even better in audits during the month. The following is an extract from an email received following a client audit:

"The Railtrack auditor was extremely impressed with the evidence provided to him on Wednesday, resulting in no areas of non-compliance at all being found."

Standards and Specifications
There have been no changes this month notified by the BSI PLUS update system to the company's list of controlled documents.

NDT Training
The answers to the questions on Ultrasonics in last month's NEWSLETTER are as follows:

1) B 2) A 3) C 4) B

Here are some more questions, this time on Visual Testing:

1. A high-intensity source of light may cause an inspection problem because:

     A. It produces excessive glare.
     B. It produces considerable heat.
     C. It has a short bulb life.
     D. The lamp head cannot be adjusted.

2. A common inspection instrument that is used to visually inspect internal bore surfaces is a:

     A. Magnifying glass.
     B. Borescope.
     C. Phototube.
     D. Microscope.

3. Glare can be reduced on an inspection surface by using:

     A. Visible light.
     B. Spectral light.
     C. Screens.
     D. Polarized light. 4. The physical characteristics of colour are:

     A. Hue, purity and brightness.
     B. Wavelength, spectrum and contrast.
     C. Acuity, perception and distance.
     D. None of the above.

Quality at Applied Inspection
Applied Inspection has a number of statements relating to its position on that subject. They are Vision, Mission, Quality, Training, Health & Safety, Environmental, Equal Opportunities and Alcohol & Drugs.

These statements are contained in the Company Rules booklet, available at each site on the Notice Board, and the Health & Safety booklet, issued to all employees. In addition, from time to time we also publish the statements in the NEWSLETTER. Here is our Equal Opportunities Policy statement. We welcome comments and/or suggestions from staff in relation to any company policy statement. Please contact any director or e-mail us through the company web site.

Equal Opportunities Policy Statement
1. Applied Inspection is an Equal Opportunities employer and endeavours to foster an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and co-operation amongst it's employees.

We will provide equal opportunities for all employees, and aim to recruit, train, employ and promote staff according to ability and without discrimination or disadvantage of any kind which has no direct bearing on a person's ability to carry out his/her work.
We seek to deal with employees in ways which promote mutual toleration and co-operation, and to ensure that staff act similarly towards colleagues, customers and the general public.

2. The Company as an employer recognises that it is bound by the provisions and the spirit of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944 and 1958, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Race Relations Act 1976 and associated Codes of Practice.

3. The Company will not tolerate acts of direct, or indirect, discrimination or prejudice by its staff and will take any necessary action to ensure compliance with its policy.

The Company recognises that acts of harassment or victimisation are forms of discrimination.

4. The equal opportunities policy will be implemented by the Company, and given to all employees. The Company places a responsibility on its management staff at all levels to ensure that the letter and spirit of this policy is implemented.

5. The Company will seek positively to develop practice which promotes equal opportunities in recruitment, training and promotion. Individual employees at all levels will be expected to co-operate with measures designed to develop equal opportunities and the removal of discrimination.

6. The policy will be monitored and reviewed from time to time.

Mobile Phones
It's emerged that 600,000 UK mobile phone owners dropped their handsets down the toilet last year.

Another 400,000 deposited theirs in a drink, while 200,000 popped theirs in the washing machine for a quick rinse. Furthermore, 2.9m people broke their phones, 1.6m lost their handsets, and 1.3m were stolen.

So can we expect the boffins at Nokia et al to come up with water-proof (or should that be idiot-proof?) phones that are much harder to use after they're stolen?

Possibly not. If you add all those figures up (as Continental Research has done) you'll find that around 7m people had to replace their handsets last year through theft or accidents. Which is, of course, extra cash in the pockets of Nokia et al...

So next time you go to the toilet, take care. Spending a penny could cost you a new mobile phone.

www.silicon.com

HEALTH & SAFETY

Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men aged 20 - 34, however all men are at risk. More than 80% of diagnosed cases are cured. All men should self examine their testicles at least once a month, checking for any:-

Lump or hardness
Swelling
Tenderness
Change in size or weight
Heavy dragging feeling in the scrotum
Blood in the urine
Back pain

If any of the above are found you must consult to your Doctor immediately. Further information is available from your Doctors Surgery, Wellman Clinic or Local Health Authority.

An illustrative leaflet will be posted on the notice board at each location.

John Morris, QHS&E Manager

CONTACTS

Holmewood, Derbyshire: Tel: 01246 851864 (3 Lines) Fax: 01246 852243
Burton, Staffordshire: Tel: 01283 515163 (3 Lines) Fax: 01283 539729
Cleckheaton, W Yorks: Tel/Fax: 01274 869900
Glasgow, Scotland: Tel/Fax: 0141 3355191
Internet Website: www.appliedinspection.co.uk

Published by: Applied Inspection Ltd., Holmewood, Chesterfield, UK. Editor: D K Thomas 27/03/2002

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