THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 128 - April 2005

FROM THE EDITOR

Congratulations to Ted Peake
Applied Inspection's new managing director is Ted Peake. Ted has taken over from Dave Thomas who was in the job for more than 20 years.

The board of directors are confident that under Ted's leadership the company will continue its record of almost continuous growth since start up in 1984.

Joke of the Month

A man was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his 4-year-old son standing wide-eyed at the fence, soaking in the whole event. The man thought, "Great...he's 4 and I'll have to start explaining the birds and bees. No need to jump the gun - I'll just let him ask, and I'll answer". After everything was over, the man walked over to his son and said, "Well son, do you have any questions?" "Just one" gasped the still wide-eyed lad. "How fast was that calf going when he hit that cow?"

Anon

PERSONNEL

Carol Beatson Wedding and Honeymoon
Congratulations to Carol who married Bob Smallwood on Saturday 12 March 2005. Carol and Bob flew off to the Bahamas on honeymoon. We wish them both all the very best for the future.

Arthur Gardiner - 20 Years and Over ½ Million Miles
Congratulations to Arthur who clocks up 20 years at Applied Inspection on 24 March 2005. During this time he has averaged nearly 30,000 miles per year on company business. Arthur's records show the total to be 596,745 miles over the 20 years period. That's equivalent to travelling to the moon and back, and then driving around the earth four times.

Lew Devine - 20 Years
Congratulations to Lew who clocks up 20 years at Applied Inspection on 1 April 2005. Although we haven't looked at the records for Lew, we estimate that he has averaged around 25,000 miles per year on company business. This equates to about 500,000 miles; that's also equivalent to travelling to the moon and back, but without the four trips around the earth.

Welcome
To Ryan Wild who started work at the Welding Division in Burton during March.

Goodbye
To Nina Ward; we wish her well for the future.

Congratulations
To Pat Philbin who passed the 10 years recertification examinations for PCN Level 2 in Magnetic Testing (General) and Penetrant Testing (General).

To Lee Armstrong and Paul Johnstone who have passed Ultrasonic Testing of Rail Welds category U5A.

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Chesterfield and Keith Dashper at Ossett run the Applied Inspection lottery syndicate. There are currently 31 members who each pay £1.00 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)
2002 - £330.00 (52 weeks)
2003 - £230.00 (52 weeks)
2004 - £180.00 (52 weeks)
January - £20.00 (5 weeks)
5 February - £30.00
12 February - £10.00
19 February - £20.00
26 February - £0.00
5 March - £0.00
12 March - £0.00
19 March - £0.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

QUALITY & TRAINING

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.

Quote of the month

"Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th Century American author and poet)

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

1) A     2) B     3) B     4) D     

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

1. Direct visual examination is possible when the eye can be placed within:

     A. 305mm (12 in.) of the inspection surface.
     B. 381mm (15 in.) of the inspection surface.
     C. 610mm (24 in.) of the inspection surface.
     D. 762mm (30 in.) of the inspection surface.

2. The heat-affected zone is the portion of the:

     A. Material that is added to produce the weld joint.
     B. Base metal that has been melted and solidified.
     C. Base metal that has not been melted but where properties have been altered by the welding heat.
     D. Original metal that is welded.

3. During the performance of a visual examination, the borescope is used to:

     A. Determine inside pipe diameter dimensions.
     B. Examine external parts of welds.
     C. Determine outside diameter dimensions.
     D. Examine internal parts of pipes and components.

4. Visual examination tools that use flexible glass strands to transfer the image are called:

     A. Telescopes.
     B. Fiberoptic borescopes.
     C. Borescopes.
     D. Binoculars.

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.

The 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 and related information in the NEWSLETTER. Here is our Health & Safety 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.

Health & Safety Policy Statement
1. Our policy is to conduct all our operations with the health and safety of our employees as a prime objective.

2. The company's policy is to do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent injury to all its employees and to the general public.

3. The policy is applicable to all activities carried out by the company in-house and on-site, including driving and radiation safety.

4. The company has a responsibility to:

5. It is the duty of each employee to:

6. Arrangements for implementation of this health and safety policy are shown in the Health & Safety Rules and Local Rules (Radiation).

TRANSPORT

Congratulations to Applied Inspection Drivers
Our insurance brokers have notified us that our terms for renewal of the fleet insurance premium "…are well below the current fleet rating we are seeing at the moment and have been secured as a result of your ongoing good driving record and the effective Vehicle Management Policies you have in place."

HEALTH & SAFETY

Site Radiography - HSE Site Visit
The HM Specialist Inspector of Health and Safety (Radiation), Mr Mark Bradley, visited the CNIM site in Sheffield to inspect the radiography being carried out. His comments relating to the main findings from the visit were:

  1. Radiographers should designate a controlled area where radiation levels at the boundaries do not exceed the limits stated in IRR99, but are small enough such that the boundaries may be seen and patrolled.
  2. Radiographers should retire outside the boundaries of the controlled area during exposures, unless a safe area has been designated inside the controlled area.
  3. Audible and visible warning signs must be used.

Please ensure these points are taken into consideration when carrying out prior risk assessments and when carrying out the radiographic work on site.

CONTACTS

Holmewood, Derbyshire: Tel: 01246 851864 (4 Lines) Fax: 01246 852243
Burton, Staffordshire: Tel: 01283 515163 (4 Lines) Fax: 01283 539729
Ossett, W Yorks: Tel/Fax: 01924 270006 (2 lines)
Glasgow, Scotland: Tel/Fax: 0141 3355191
Internet Website: www.appliedinspection.co.uk

Published by: Applied Inspection Ltd., Holmewood, Chesterfield, UK. Editor: D K Thomas 23/03/2005

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