THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 113 - January 2004

FROM THE EDITOR

Thanks to All Staff
The directors wish to thank all staff for making 2003 a great year. Despite the insurance industry trying to put us out of business (Public liability insurance raised by 800 per cent to nearly £200,000 and professional indemnity insurance raised by 400 per cent to over £60,000, even though we have never made a claim) our excellent workforce has worked hard throughout the year to maintain Applied Inspection's position as the best service inspection company in the UK.

Jack Lavender Dies
It was with great sadness that we heard Jack had died. Many staff will know him through training at Lavender International. Applied Inspection's association with Jack goes back to before the company was formed; and when we started in 1984, Jack's support was much appreciated.

Customer Satisfaction Survey 2003
Despite rapid expansion of the company during the last year, the overall Customer Satisfaction measurement has gone up by 0.16 per cent. It is again an extremely high figure and reflects the importance that all staff place on satisfying the requirements of customers. The figures for the last four years are as follows: The Company's stated quality objective and quality target of increasing the level of customer satisfaction by one per cent by the end of 2005 has been achieved early. This has been achieved solely through the excellent performance of management and staff. John Morris carried out the survey assisted by the Chesterfield office staff, Dawn Andrews, Kelly Harper, Carol Beatson and Joanne Skinner. There is a full report with more analysis on our website at www.appliedinspection.co.uk/css2003.html.

PANI 2 results
PANI is a programme of research into NDT. In particular, it focuses on manual ultrasonic testing of welds in an 'on-site' environment. The PANI 2 research was carried out by Serco Assurance. It was funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and managed by a management committee drawn from industry. Thirty PCN approved operators took part, including Applied Inspection's senior NDT engineer Pat Philbin.

PANI 1 was carried out about two years ago, resulting in an overall detection rate ranging from 30% to 70%. PANI 2 attempted to improve these detection rates by dividing the thirty operators into three groups of ten. One control group that tested the welds to EN 1714, a second group working to an improved procedure, and a third group that given training specific to the weld configurations prior to carrying out the tests.

This time the overall detection rate ranged from 30% to 80%, with little difference noted between any of the three groups. Whilst all operators who took part are guaranteed anonymity, we are confident that Pat was at the top end of the detection rate.

Joke of the Month - Question

What's brown and sticky?

(Read on for answer)

PERSONNEL

Staff Night Out in Sheffield
A great night was had by all staff at the night out in Sheffield. Lew Devine, Jack Rodgers, Ian Donaldson, Ivan Hutson, Steve Wilkes, Russ Swain, Lee and Kevin Armstrong, Lee Davies, Angie White, Sandra Spencer, Kelly Shacklock, Teresa Geary, Nick Bond, Mark Skelland, Fred Hawksworth, Paul and Phil Johnstone.

Steve WilkesNick Bond

A considerable amount of alcohol was consumed, and many staff had the foresight to book into a hotel. The fun continued as can be seen from the photos where Steve Wilkes (Night dress and shoes) and Nick Bond (Bra and pants) and can be seen trying on clothes after sneaking into Angie and Sandra's room!

Thanks to Angie for the photos.

Congratulations
Congratulations to Doug Thomas and his wife Carol. They got married in Las Vegas, on 12 November, 2003, and then flew to Hawaii to cruise the Pacific Ocean for their honeymoon, visiting various Hawaiian Islands (US) and Kiribati (Australian). We wish Doug and Carol a long and happy marriage.

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Holmewood and Keith Dashper at Ossett run the Applied Inspection lottery syndicate. There are currently 33 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)
January to June 2003 - £90.00 (26 weeks)
July - £30.00 (4 weeks)
August - £30.00 (5 weeks)
September - £10.00 (4 weeks)
October - £30.00 (4 weeks)
1 November - £20.00
8 November - £0.00
15 November - £10.00
22 November - £0.00
29 November - £0.00
6 December - £0.00
13 December - £10.00
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.

5-A-SIDE FOOTBALL MATCH

DATE: TO BE ARRANGED (EARLY 2004)
VENUE: JJB SPORTS, DERBY

AEA TECHNOLOGY HAVE CHALLENGED US TO A 5-A-SIDE FOOTBALL MATCH

WOULD ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN REPRESENTING APPLIED INSPECTION PLEASE CONTACT EITHER LAURA PATRICK OR FRED HAWKSWORTH AT BURTON.

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

1) C     2) C      3) A     4) D     

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

1. The difference between discontinuities and defects is that:

     A. A defect is a rejectable discontinuity.
     B. Discontinuities affect the base metal, whereas defects affect the weld metal.
     C. There should be no distinction between discontinuities and defects.
     D. A discontinuity is a rejectable defect.

2. In a borescope, the image is brought to the eyepiece by:

     A. An objective lens.
     B. Relay lenses.
     C. An eyepiece lens.
     D. All of the above.

3. The welding process in which there is a higher degree of probability of entrapping slag is:

     A. GMAW.
     B. GTAW.
     C. SMAW.
     D. All of the above.

4. In welding, temperature indicating sticks are used to monitor:

     A. Preheat temperatures.
     B. Post heat temperatures.
     C. Interpass temperatures.
     D. All of the above.

Quote of the month

"When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work."

George Bernard Shaw

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 Vision 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.

Vision Statement
Applied Inspection aims to be internationally renowned for its supply to industry of first class nondestructive testing (NDT), engineering inspection and consultancy services.

Joke of the Month - Answer

A stick!

Pat Philbin

HEALTH & SAFETY

Company Car Hazards Reminder
Both management and staff alike must ensure that company vehicles are driven in a safe manner. One major cause of serious accidents, often involving death, is the driver falling asleep at the wheel.

At Applied Inspection we must continue to raise awareness of such a danger, particularly when long shifts have been worked. The company car is a place of work and should be treated as such. Health and safety rules and regulations still apply to staff whilst driving.

If any member of staff feels that tiredness could present a danger when driving, he / she must make alternative arrangements, e.g. an overnight stay or a different driver. In addition, at this time of year, all staff should ensure that they don't drink and drive. The best policy is, if you are driving; don't drink any alcohol at all.

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 17/12/2003

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