THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 75 - November 2000

FROM THE EDITOR

ISO 9000
As I am sure you know, Applied Inspection holds ISO 9002 approval at Chesterfield. You may not know that we believe that we were the first service inspection company in the world to gain the approval (in the guise of its predecessor, BS 5750) on 22 October 1986. Since that date we have expanded the business to cover most of the UK with laboratories/offices in Burton, Cleckheaton and Glasgow.

We now intend extending the approval to the whole of the organisation. To this end, British Standards Institution (BSI) will be carrying out audits at Burton on 7 and 8 November, at Cleckheaton on 9 November and at Chesterfield on 10 November. In addition, a site audit will be carried out on 8 November.

The audit will be to ISO 9002: 1994. The new standard, ISO 9001: 2000, is not out yet. It will be introduced in the future with transitional time to enable companies to conform. In the mean time, the directors ask everyone to continue working to the highest standards and so ensure our success in the forthcoming audit.

PERSONNEL

40 Years in NDT
David Baker celebrated 40 years in NDT on 26 September. He started at International Combustion Ltd in 1960 and, exactly 40 years later; he's at exactly the same place. The name has changed but the location hasn't, and David's wife Mo says that David hasn't changed a deal either.

His first job on 26 September 1960 was to radiograph High Marnham Power Station cross-over header welds using a 1 curie Iridium source. It seems that safety training in those days was not quite as stringent as today!

Welcome
Welcome to Kadir Aziz who started at Burton. He has already passed ASNT Level II in Magnetic Particle and Penetrant Testing - congratulations.

Welcome back to Paul Lemmon. Paul is back at Burton after a five-year break. He has extensive experience in the rail industry.

Pool Tournament
The Applied Inspection Pool Knockout Tournament is nearing its conclusion. Paul Goss, one of the pre-tournament favourites from Burton is through to the final. The pre-tournament favourite from Chesterfield, Steve Wilkes, is still in the competition. But he need to get past both Nick Bond and Graham Clay to reach the final. The current situation is:

Finalist: Paul Goss
Nick Bond v Steve Wilkes - winner to play Graham Clay.

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Holmewood and Keith Dashper at Cleckheaton run the Applied Inspection lottery syndicate. There are currently 32 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)
January, 2000 - £50.00 (5 weeks)
February, 2000 - £30.00 (4 Weeks)
March, 2000 - £50.00 (4 weeks)
April, 2000 - £10.00 (5 weeks)
May, 2000 - £20.00 (4 weeks)
June, 2000 - £0.00 (4 weeks)
July, 2000 - £10.00 (5 weeks)
August, 2000 - £10.00 (4 weeks)
2 September, 2000 - £20.00
9 September, 2000 - £0.00
16 September, 2000 - £0.00
23 September, 2000 - £0.00
30 September, 2000 - £10.00
7 October, 2000 - £0.00
14 October, 2000 - £20.00
21 October, 2000 - £0.00
An additional £150.00 has been spent from our winnings in an attempt to win the three roll over jackpots in 1996.
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

Applied Inspection's Granny
As we announced in the August 2000 issue of the NEWSLETTER, Applied Inspection has been involved with the ADOPT A GRANNY scheme run by Help the Aged for over five years.

Our granny is Rosa Maria Collazos who is now 87 years old and lives in Bogata, Columbia. She is looked after by the Pro Vida organisation (Pro Vida meaning 'For Life').

The money we contribute to this scheme enables Pro Vida to extend and update their care programmes, in addition to covering the cost of bare necessities for our adopted grandparent. The latest correspondence from Pro Vida is as follows:

"She appears radiant and active; now that she has overcome all the troubles which worried her. She has learnt to control her diabetes and so has regained the weight she lost and she feels better than ever. She attends cllub meetings and all the activities she is invited to. At all times she is grateful to her sponsors for the help she receives."

Help the Aged provides practical support to help older people live independent lives, particularly those who are frail, isolated or poor. It is a registered charity (No. 272786). Its Website is www.helptheaged.org.uk

TED PEAKE

QUALITY & TRAINING

Standards and Specifications
ASME B31.3a-2000 Addenda to ASME B31.3-1999 Edition, Process Piping has been issued. Date of issuance was July 14, 2000 and mandatory date is January 14, 2001.

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

1) C     2) D      3) C     4) B     

Here are some more questions, this time on Ultrasonics:

1. When a sound beam travels from a liquid into a metal through a contoured surface, the sound beam inside the metal will:

     A. Have larger beam diameter
     B. Have same beam diameter
     C. Not be effected by the part geometry
     D. Be convergent if the surface is concave, and divergent if the surface is convex

2. The resonant frequency of a 2 cm thick plate of Naval brass (V=443000 cm/sec) is:

     A. 0.903 MHz
     B. 0.443 MHz
     C. 0.222 MHz
     D. 0.111 MHz

3. Resonance testing equipment generally utilizes:

     A. Pulsed longitudinal waves
     B. Continuous longitudinal waves
     C. Pulsed shear waves
     D. Continuous shear waves

4. Preventing the decrease of sensitivity close to a wall which is parallel to the beam direction, the probe used should be:

     A. As small as possible
     B. Of as low frequency
     C. Both A and B above
     D. Large and with a frequency as high as possible

Quality at Applied Inspection
As do most other companies, 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 are our Mission and Quality policy statements:

Mission Statement
Our mission is to make Applied Inspection the best service inspection company in the world. We will provide our customers with a high quality NDT service at an economic price through an ongoing system of quality improvements in all areas of the company's activities. We will promote co-operation internally between divisions and individuals and externally between our staff and our customers and suppliers. The company's intention is to continually strive for higher levels of:

    o integrity of staff
    o staff competence
    o standard and accuracy of reporting
    o punctuality
    o service and value for money for each and every customer
    o awareness of the environment and the company's influence on it
    o health and safety performance

Quality improvements will be achieved through education and training leading to greater empowerment of the workforce.

The strength of the whole workforce is the most effective way of meeting or exceeding the requirements of all of our customers, enabling us to become the best of the best.

Quality Policy Statement
It is the aim of the company to provide a service 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 service we offer.

As part of our commitment to provide our customers with a quality inspection service we have implemented a system which satisfies the requirements of BS EN ISO 9002 : 1994.

The quality director is the appointed management representative who, irrespective of his other responsibilities has the authority and responsibility for ensuring that the requirements of the above standard are implemented and maintained.

The directors assign authority through all Managers, Supervisors and Senior Technicians to implement the requirements of the quality system in the laboratory and on site.

Joke of the Month - Answerphone Messages:
  • Hello! If you leave a message I'll call you soon. If you leave a sexy message, I'll call you sooner.
  • Hi. I'm probably home, I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message and if I don't call back, it's you.
  • Hello, you are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need double glazing and their carpets are clean. They give to charity through their office and do not need their picture taken. If you are still with me, leave your name and number and they will get back to you.

TED PEAKE

HEALTH & SAFETY

Company Vehicles
There is a responsibility on both management and staff alike to 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 need to be applied to staff sitting behind a wheel, probably more so than when they are sat behind a desk.

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.

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 24/10/2000

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