THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 132 - August 2005

FROM THE EDITOR

Revised Newsletter Format
From this month onwards there will be no section on NDT training questions. In place of them we are doing monthly profiles of employees. James Bailey, Quality Manager at Burton, will be writing the profiles and this month he has focused on Fred Hawksworth, the Welding Division manager. In addition, in this month's NEWSLETTER there is the usual information (Personnel, Quality etc.) as well as information on Transport from Pat Slater and Health & Safety from John Morris.

Joke of the Month

A man's house is on fire. No help is in sight so he takes matters into his own hands. He runs out of the house with his son and tells him to wait outside. Then he runs back in and gets is daughter and brings her outside, then his wife, then the dog, then the cat. Then he goes back in three more times without bringing out anybody or anything. So a bystander is curious and asks him, "Why do you keep going back into your burning house and not coming out with anything?" The man replies, "I'm turning over my mother in law."

Anon

PERSONNEL

Welcome
To Sandra Spurr who started at Ossett during July.

Congratulations
To Paul Johnstone and Jeremy Hodgkinson who both passed PCN Level 1 in Eddy Current Testing.

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)
February - £60.00 (4 weeks)
March - £20.00 (4 weeks)
April - £10.00 (5 weeks)
May - £10.00 (4 weeks)
4 June - £10.00
11 June - £0.00
18 June - £0.00
25 June - £10.00
2 July - £0.00
9 July - £0.00
16 July - £0.00
23 July - £0.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

PROFILE
(James Bailey)

Profile on Fred Hawksworth

Fred is born & bred in Derby; he has over twenty years engineering experience in manufacturing training focusing on welding, inspection and project management. He also has extensive knowledge of information technology, NDT, railway traction and rolling stock, and rail vehicle structures. His areas of specialisation are welding procedure writing, method development and verification, and welder training. His breadth of knowledge ranges from hands on practical application to welding consultancy and management, and he is also a qualified NDT operator. Fred is a member of the Institute of Rail Welding and the Welding and Joining Society.

QUALITY & TRAINING

Standards and Specifications
BS EN ISO/IEC 17025 (2005), General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, has superseded BS EN ISO/IEC 17025 (2000), which has been withdrawn.

ASTM E 1444 - 05, Standard Practice for Magnetic Particle Testing, has superseded ASTM E 1444 - 01.

Quote of the month

"Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them."

François de La Rochefoucauld
(French author)

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

1) B     2) C     3) C     4) C

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 are our Environmental objectives. 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 and Safety Objectives
  1. Ensure that all employees understand the policy of the Company, receive sufficient motivation and possess the necessary skills to carry out their tasks efficiently.
  2. Ensure all employees are consulted and informed on all matters affecting the environment.
  3. Carrying out non-destructive tests so as to minimise environmental effects
  4. Reducing waste and consumption of resources such as materials, fuel and energy.
  5. Reducing or eliminating the production of polluting releases to the environment.
  6. Meeting all regulatory and legislature requirements relating to the environmental effects of the business operation.
  7. Ensuring that, whenever possible, our purchasing of materials/services encourages suppliers to minimise environmental effects.
  8. Minimising the environmental effects of new developments through strategic planning.
  9. Committing to continual improvement by assessing the risks, aspects and impacts, and setting appropriate objectives and targets.

TRANSPORT
(Pat Slater)

After the recent terror attacks in London Applied Inspection have been contacted by the Police to ask all employees for extra vigilance as we go about our daily work. Obviously we are involved on the rail network and any suspicious incidents should be treated seriously. Secondly, obviously is the security of our radiation capabilities. All necessary steps should be taken to ensure all isotopes are securely locked and stored at all times, and while transporting, drivers should be extra vigilant especially as the authorities make us advertise what we are carrying with stickers.

HEALTH & SAFETY
(John Morris)

John Morris (QHS&E Manager)
John has just returned from holiday in Switzerland. Amy Skelland drew the above sketch of how she thought John would have looked whilst taking a well earned rest overseas with his wife, Linda.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
You are reminded that PPE is provided free of charge by the Company and must be worn as required. When issued with PPE, all personnel must sign for each item of equipment to indicate that they have received it. A PPE record file is located at each laboratory.

On site always ascertain the requirements for PPE and ensure that you are in full compliance before entering the work area, and also be prepared that the task you are to perform may require further PPE in addition to the minimum site requirements. If in doubt, contact your supervisor, manager, or John Morris before starting work.

Site Radiography - Reminder
Remember the following points that must be observed when carrying out gamma radiography on site:
  1. You are required to carry with you a copy of the local rules (Company Rules, Health & Safety) and be familiar with them, including contingency plans.
  2. Drivers are required to carry with them their certificate applicable to Class 7 (radioactive) dangerous goods, or internal training certificate, as appropriate.
  3. The dose limit at the barrier must not exceed 7.5 µSvh-1.
  4. The source must be monitored after every exposure to ensure that it has returned.
  5. Local shielding / collimation must be used whenever possible.

CONTACTS

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

Published by: Applied Inspection Ltd., Holmewood, Chesterfield, UK. Editor: D K Thomas 28/07/2005

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