August 2001 Newsletter for Applied Inspection, NDT / Non-destructive Testing specialists

THE APPLIED INSPECTION

NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 84 - August 2001

FROM THE EDITOR

We have had a very busy year so far and with the holiday season upon us the pressure is greater than ever, despite increasing staff numbers to over 70.

The constantly rising workload is a tribute to the quality of our workforce. The directors thank all staff for the effort they have put in to keep our customers satisfied.

Quotation
"What miracle do you want us to perform for you today?"

Clive Millard (To a difficult customer)

PERSONNEL

Welcome
Welcome to the following: Carl Ringrose (Chesterfield), Leanne Taylor (Burton) and Laura Patrick (Burton) who started at Applied Inspection during in July.

Ten Pin Bowling
Report by Hayley Brown
The night was a great success!!! Kevin Armstrong won the Ł50.00 prize with a score of 166. A good time was had by all. Some of the 'innocent' comments made during the evening were as follows:

"Do you find it gets harder with the lights out" - Ted Peake to Hayley Brown.

"You could do with neon balls" - Jane Page to Pat Slater. Pat replied, "I've had five kids with the ones I've got".

Congratulations
To Scott Young (Cleckheaton) who passed ASNT level 2 UT Forgings, and also passed an examination for the ECITB Safety Passport.

To Peter Kemp (Chesterfield) who passed NVQ level 3 Key Skills and to Richard Ringrose (Chesterfield) who passed NVQ level 3 in Fabrication and Welding.

Overseas
Arthur Gardiner flew to Linz, Austria to carry out third party inspection on steel castings for our client GE of America.

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 - Ł160.00 (40 weeks)
1996 - Ł297.00 (52 weeks)
1997 - Ł220.00 (52 weeks)
1998 - Ł251.00 (52 weeks)
1999 - Ł290.00 (52 weeks)
January, 2000 - Ł50.00 (5 weeks)
February, 2000 - Ł30.00 (4 Weeks)
March, 2000 - Ł50.00 (4 weeks)
April, 2000 - Ł10.00 (5 weeks)
May, 2000 - Ł20.00 (4 weeks)
June, 2000 - Ł0.00 (4 weeks)
July, 2000 - Ł10.00 (5 weeks)
August, 2000 - Ł10.00 (4 weeks)
September, 2000 - Ł30.00 (5 weeks)
October, 2000 - Ł30.00 (4 weeks)
November, 2000 - Ł0.00 (4 weeks)
December, 2000 - Ł30.00 (5 weeks)
January, 2001 - Ł50.00 (4 weeks)
February, 2001 - Ł30.00 (4 weeks)
March 2001 - Ł10.00 (5 weeks)
April 2001 - Ł20.00 (4 weeks)
May 2001 - Ł30.00 (4 weeks)
2 June 2001 - Ł10.00
9 June 2001 - Ł10.00
16 June 2001 - Ł0.00
23 June 2001 - Ł0.00
30 June 2001 - Ł10.00
7 July 2001 - Ł10.00
14 July 2001 - Ł20.00
21 July 2001 - Ł10.00
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.

BS EN ISO 9001: 2000
The new standard requires a minimum agenda to be provided for Management Review meetings. Applied Inspection already meets this requirement.

Clauses 6.2.1, 6.2.2 (a), (b) and (c) address competence of the employers staff. The clauses demand that, for the first time, organisations will be required to identify systematically the competencies for each job, and provide suitable training. Most importantly, organisations will have to evaluate actions taken and address their outcomes.

Again, Applied Inspection already meets these requirements through its existing quality systems and through meeting the Investors in People standard throughout the company.

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

1) B 2) B 3) D 4) B

Here are some more questions, this time on Radiation Safety:

1. Radiation particles and photons lose their energy primarily through which of the following processes?

     A. Radioactive decay
     B. Ionization
     C. Atomic absorption
     D. Thermionic emission

2. Because it is frequently supplied as a water-soluble compound, which of the following is considered to have an additional radiological hazard potential associated with it?

     A. Cobalt-60
     B. Thulium-170
     C. Iridium-192
     D. Cesium-137

3. Thulium-170 emits which of the following gamma-ray energies?

     A. 1.33 and 1.17 MeV
     B. 0.084 and 0.052 MeV
     C. 0.310 and 0.470 MeV
     D. 0.110 and 0.150 MeV

4. The half-life is a useful characteristic of a radioisotope. After six half-lives, the amount of decaying atoms is reduced to approximately what percent of the amount at the beginning?

     A. 2 per cent
     B. 3 per cent
     C. 6 per cent
     D. 1 per cent

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 Health and Safety statement. We welcome comments and/or suggestions from staff in relation to any company policy statement. Please contact any Director or Email us through the company Website.

Health and Safety 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 company has a responsibility to:

Comply with all statutory requirements.
Provide and maintain healthy and safe working conditions.
Provide adequate training and instruction to enable employees to perform their work safely and efficiently.
Make available all necessary safety devices and to supervise their use.
Liaise with employees or their representatives whenever possible in all matters relating to health and safety.
Review this health and safety policy annually, or whenever the need arises, whichever is the sooner.

Radiation Safety

Ensure that all "classified" personnel have had adequate training/instruction in radiation safety.

4. It is the duty of each employee to:

Comply with all statutory requirements.
Always work in a safe and efficient manner, ensuring the health and safety of him or herself and others.
Use protective clothing and equipment provided by the company.
Report incidents that have led or may lead to injury or damage.
Comply with the company safety procedures.
Assist in the investigation of accidents in order to prevent any future occurrence.

Radiation Safety

Make himself/herself available for medical examination and blood test by the Appointed Doctor as and when required by the company (classified personnel only).
Wear in a proper manner any dosemeter (TLD) or other radiation safety device provided for him/her (classified personnel only).

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

Joke of the Month
A man on holiday in American Indian country saw a sign saying, "140 year old Indian knows everything. You get 25,000 dollars if he can't answer your question".

He went into his wigwam and asked him, "Wimbledon v Charlton Athletic, 25 September 1997, who scored the winning goal?" The Indian thought for a few seconds and said, "Bill Smith in the 67th minute". "Incredible, amazing" said the man.

10 years later the man was on holiday again in the area and saw the same sign, but 150 years old. He decided to go and see the Indian, but not ask him any questions as at 150 years old he didn't want to put him under any pressure. He went into his wigwam and said, "Remember me?"

The Indian thought for a moment and said, "Diving header".

Jim Davidson

HEALTH & SAFETY

Rail Testers
A worker was recently killed whilst using his mobile phone when working on a railway line. Applied Inspection staff must not use their mobile phones whilst working on rail track. They should only be used in emergency from a safe area.

Radiation Safety
In last months NEWSLETTER we reported on comments, observations and advice made by, Mr James Taylor, HM Principal Specialist Inspector - Radiation at the British Institute of NDT Service Inspection Group meeting on 26 April 2001 relating to the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) and the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. Last month we covered Risk Assessments and Local Rules. This month we cover the next heading in the following list:

Risk Assessments
Local Rules
Site Radiography Diagram Requirements
ALARP
Outside Workers
Radiation Enclosure / Compound Engineering Controls
Seven Day Notification
Investigation Levels

Site Radiography Diagram Requirements

Radiation monitor dose readings should be recorded on the sketch made of the radiation controlled area.
A sketch is not expected for every exposure, only when exposure conditions change significantly.
When re-establishing a site exposure in a controlled area after a gap of a few days or so, then a new exposure sketch will be required even if all other exposure conditions are identical.
The HSE are concerned about oversized controlled areas as it is felt that they are difficult to police adequately. Therefore the controlled area should be as small as possible unless there is good reason for it to be otherwise, e.g. doors make good entry restrictions provided they can be adequately controlled to unwanted access by the Radiographer.

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 25/07/2001

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