THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 74 - October 2000

FROM THE EDITOR

Congratulations to Burton laboratory who had a successful audit from UKAS. Last month I said that we expected an audit from BSI during September to ISO 9002 across the company. It hasn't happened yet, as BSI has not been in touch to make the necessary arrangements. However, Ian Bunting and John Morris have carried out a complete set of internal audits and we anticipate visits to each laboratory and sites as necessary from BSI sometime during October.

Quotation

"I'll always say yes, most of the time"

GARY WHITWORTH
15 August 2000

PERSONNEL

Clive Reaches 50
Despite all the stress of being Financial Director at Applied Inspection and having a wife, three children, a dog and an Aga, Clive reached the grand old age of 50 on 26th September. He celebrated by spending some money on a holiday in the Lake District.

Fred Watson Retires
Fred took early retirement from DSF on 31 August. We wish him all the best. Keith Barnes has taken over from him.

Ivan Marries Sally in Las Vegas
Ivan and Sally Hutson (as they are now known) decided to avoid the traditional North Derbyshire marriage (Beer and Chips) and tie the knot in the Nevada tradition (Stretched Limo and Champagne). Congratulations from everyone at Applied Inspection.

Congratulations
To Holmewood Trainees Kelly Harper and Richard Ringrose who gained 11 and 10 GCSE passes respectively.

To the following who have passed NDT examinations: Steve Wilkes and Ian Donaldson who both passed PCN level II recertification examinations in MT.

Alan Bartlett has passed PCN level II recertification examinations in RT, MT and PT.

Anthony Mitchell has passed ASNT level II examinations in MT and PT.

Overseas
The Training Division has a further 16 weeks training to carry out in Nigeria in conjunction with TWI, starting in November. Any senior engineers who would like to get involved in the lecturing side should contact either Ted Peake or Kim Sharp at Burton. Pool Tournament
The Applied Inspection Pool Knockout Tournament is nearing its conclusion. Ted Peake and Paul Goss, two of the pre-tournament favourites have drawn each other in the semi-finals. The draw is:

Graham Clay v Nick Bond or Steve Wilkes
Ted Peake v Paul Goss

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)
5 August, 2000 - £0.00
12 August, 2000 - £10.00
19 August, 2000 - £0.00
26 August, 2000 - £0.00
2 September, 2000 - £20.00
9 September, 2000 - £0.00
16 September, 2000 - £0.00
23 September, 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.

Joke of the Month

THE GREATEST IRISH PLANE DISASTER

A two-seater plane crashed on a graveyard in County Cork. The Irish police have so far uncovered 832 bodies and are expected to discover more through the night.

JOHN OLIVER

QUALITY & TRAINING

Burton UKAS Audit
Congratulations to Ted Peake, Ian Bunting, Steve Redshaw and all staff at Burton. Two UKAS (NAMAS) auditors spent a whole day at Burton Laboratory on 25th August carrying out a technical and quality system audit of the laboratory. They could only find 8 minor non-conformities.

Equipment Calibration Procedures
All ultrasonic operators have been issued with procedure number U3 Revision 1 with their wage slips this month. The procedure is entitled 'Routine verification of ultrasonic examination equipment - combined ultrasonic flaw detector and probes to BS EN 12668-3: 2000'. As the title suggests it addresses routine checks to be carried out by the operator, i.e. probe index, beam angle, physical state and external aspects, sensitivity / signal to noise ration and pulse duration.

If anyone has any problems with carrying out these routine checks, contact either David Thomas at Chesterfield or Ian Bunting at Burton.

Standards and Specifications
ASTM E 94 - 00, Standard Guide for Radiographic Examination, has superseded ASTM E 94 - 93 which is withdrawn. Current edition approved March 10, 2000. Published May 2000. Originally published as E 94 52 T. Last previous edition E 94 - 93.

ASME B31.8 - 1999, Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems, has superseded ASME B31.8 - 1995.

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

1) D    2) B     3) C    4) A    

Here are some more questions, this time on Radiography:

1. Although there may be other reasons for using calcium tungstate screens in industrial radiography, they are most usually used to:
     A. Improve definition and resolution in radiographic images.
     B. Improve contrast in radiographic images.
     C. Decrease exposure time.
     D. Make films respond to multimillion volt radiation.

2. An excellent radiograph is obtained under given conditions of exposure with the film located at a distance of 36 inches from the target of the x-ray tube. If the film is now placed only 18 inches from the target, and all exposure conditions except time are held constant, the new exposure time will be:
     A. Unchanged.
     B. Longer by approximately 80 percent.
     C. Shorter by approximately 55 percent.
     D. Only about 25 percent as long as the original exposure time.

3. An excellent radiograph is obtained under given exposure conditions with a tube current of 5 milliamperes and an exposure time of 12 minutes. If other conditions are not changed, what exposure time would be required if the x-ray tube current could be raised to 10 milliamperes?
     A. 24 minutes.
     B. 12 minutes.
     C. 6 minutes.
     D. 3 minutes.

4. In film radiography, penetrameters are usually placed:
     A. Between the intensifying screen and the film.
     B. On the source side of the test object.
     C. On the film side of the test object.
     D. Between the operator and the radiation source.

Quotation

"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people"

INDIRA GANDHI
(EX INDIAN PRIME MINISTER)

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's our Environmental Statement:

Environmental Policy Statement
The company is committed to the implementation and maintenance of an Environmental Management System in accordance with BS EN ISO 14001, with emphasis placed on prevention of adverse environmental effects rather than on detection and amelioration after occurrence.

We shall strive for continual improvement of our environmental performance at all levels in the organisation through:

    1. Carrying out non-destructive tests so as to minimise the environmental effects.
    2. Reducing waste and consumption of resources such as materials, fuel and energy.
    3. Reducing or eliminating the production of polluting releases to the environment.
    4. Meeting all regulatory and legislature requirements relating to the environmental effects of the business operation.
    5. Ensuring that, wherever possible, our purchasing of materials encourages suppliers to minimise environmental effects.
    6. Minimising the environmental effects of new developments through strategic planning.

Quotation

"Quality is like buying oats. If you want nice, fresh, clean oats, you must pay a fair price. However, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse……. that comes a little cheaper."

CHRIS CARTER'S OFFICE WALL
BUTTERLEY ENGINEERING

HEALTH & SAFETY

Tougher Penalties to Deter Health & Safety Offences
The Government has made proposals to clamp down on work-related deaths and injuries. It is to be the biggest shake up in Health & Safety for over 25 years.

Mr Callaghan the HSC Chairman has commented that he would have no sympathy for employers who choose to ignore their health and safety responsibilities, saying:

"Work related illness and injury costs this country up to £18 billion a year, while the cost in terms of human suffering cannot be measured. Unfortunately, it is the victims themselves, their families and the taxpayer who bear much of this burden. I will be giving the Government every encouragement to introduce measures which crack down hard on offending employers."

Plans outlined include: imprisonment to be available for most health and safety crimes, and the increased maximum fine available in the lower court, £20,000, to be extended to most health and safety offences. Fines will also be linked to turnover, prohibition of bonuses and suspension of managers without pay.

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 27/09/2000

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