THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 107 - July 2003

FROM THE EDITOR

Insurance
There has been much said and written recently about huge increases in premiums relating to employer's statutory insurances, that is, employer's liability and public liability. It has been reported that some companies have either gone into liquidation or are trading illegally, without insurance.

Applied Inspection has suffered along with everyone else, possibly more so due to our exposure to the rail industry. Our premiums for the statutory insurances have increased this year by about one thousand per cent to nearly £200,000. Other insurance premiums, for example, for professional indemnity and company vehicles, have also risen.

The directors, and Clive Millard in particular (financial director), have worked hard to achieve a satisfactory outcome to the problem. Some of the costs have been passed on to our customers, and some have been absorbed by the company through improvements in efficiency.

Joke of the Month

Two old guys suffering from Alzheimer's are sitting on a bench when an ice-cream van comes down the street.
'Do you want one?' asks the first guy.
'Yes, I'll have a cone, but write it down or otherwise you'll forget' says the second.
'No I won't' says the first.
'Look, I want a cone with a flake, and I know you'll forget, so write it down' says the second.
'I won't forget' says the first guy, getting slightly irritated.
'OK then, look - I want a cone, a flake and strawberry sauce. Now write it down or you WILL forget' says the second.
The first guy is getting quite miffed now and still argues that he won't forget.
The second guy says irritably 'I want a cone, a flake, strawberry sauce and hundreds and thousands little chocolate bits sprinkled all over. You won't remember all that so 'WRITE IT DOWN!'
The first guy, now really annoyed, walks off and five minutes later comes back with a meat pie.
The second guy looks at him and says 'Where's my chips?'

PERSONNEL

Welcome
Welcome to Rebecca Starkey and Sandra Spencer who have started at Burton. Also to Rachel Brittain who has returned to work at Burton.

Congratulations
To Martin Hall who passed PCN Level II in Radiographic Testing (Castings).

To Jeremy Hodgkins who passed PCN Level 2 MPI.

Goodbye
To Claire Orme who has left the company. We wish her well for the future.

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 2003 - £20.00 (4 weeks)
February - £0.00 (4 weeks)
March - £20.00 (5 weeks)
April - £40.00
3 May - £10.00
10 May - £0.00
17 May - £0.00
24 May - £0.00
31 May - £0.00
7 June - £0.00
14 June - £0.00
21 June - £0.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

QUALITY & TRAINING

Standards and Specifications
ASTM A703/A703M-02, Standard Specification for Steel Castings, General Requirements, for Pressure-Containing Parts, has been withdrawn and replaced by ASTM A703/A703M-03.

NDT Training
The answers to the questions on Product Technology (Castings) in last month's NEWSLETTER are as follows:

1) A     2) A      3) D     4) B     

Here are some more questions, this time on Radiation Safety: 1. Which of the following equipment work on the principals of ionisation?

    A. Film badge.
     B. T.L.D.
     C. Survey meter.
     D. All of the above.

2. Who is/are responsible for the control of local rules?

     A. The H&SE.
     B. NRPB.
     C. An individual company.
     D. The local council.

3. X and Gamma rays are part of:

     A. The electro magnetic spectrum.
     B. The ionic spectrum.
     C. The ionising spectrum.
     D. None of the above.

4. Which of the following has a single positive charge?

     A. Photon.
     B. Proton.
     C. Electron.
     D. Neutron.

Understanding North Derbyshire language:
The following are translations from the Clay Cross 'language' used extensively in North Derbyshire, England.

athareht t'neyt? - Are you going out tonight?
didtha guweht last neyt? - Did you go out last night?
wieryabin? - Where have you been?
wivbin dertern - We have been into Chesterfield
oos tern got Satdi? - Who are Chesterfield FC playing on Saturday?
didthagu? - Did you go?
worit oreyt? - How was it?
thas seen nowtyit - Prepare to be amazed
astha goraleyt? - Do you have any matches?
worisit? - What's that?
cana ayaluk? - May I see it?
carweyntgu - My car will not start

More next month!

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 Quality 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.

Quality Policy Statement
It is the aim of the company to provide a service compliant with requirements and of the highest possible quality, with particular emphasis on:

  1. Standard of operator competence, qualification and certification.
  2. Calibration of equipment and instruments.
  3. Standard and accuracy of reporting.
  4. Punctuality.
  5. Setting and meeting realistic turn-round dates.
  6. Continually improving the effectiveness of our quality management system, our processes and the services we offer.

Only operators who meet the training, qualification and certification requirements of the company's training manual shall carry out non-destructive tests.

The quality policy shall be communicated, and explained when necessary, to all company employees through induction training, newsletters, memos and the company Website.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Manual Handling
The manual handling of any load represents a risk of injury. The risk increases as the weight, dimensions, height of lift and the length of carry increases. The risk increases again if the lift involves twisting or bending the body.

The following precautions should be taken to minimise the risk of injury: Manual handling notes are displayed on notice boards at each office / laboratory illustrating the kinetic method of lifting.

CONTACTS

Holmewood, Derbyshire: Tel: 01246 851864 (3 Lines) Fax: 01246 852243
Burton, Staffordshire: Tel: 01283 515163 (3 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 25/06/2003

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