THE APPLIED INSPECTION
NEWSLETTER

Issue No. 86 - October 2001

FROM THE EDITOR

During the month of September the following audits were carried out on Applied Inspection:

Location: Burton
Auditor: AEA Technology / PCN
Standard: Railway Group Standard GM/RT-2005
Result: No non-conformities

Location: Chesterfield
Auditor: British Standards Institution
Standard: ISO 9002: 1994, ISO 9001: 2000 (Transition)
Result: No non-conformities

Location: Site
Auditor: British Standards Institution
Standard: ISO 9002: 1994, ISO 9001: 2000 (Transition)
Result: No non-conformities

Location: Burton
Auditor: British Standards Institution
Standard: ISO 9002: 1994, ISO 9001: 2000 (Transition)
Result: No non-conformities

Location: Site
Auditor: Rolls-Royce plc RPA (Mike Gaunt)
Standard: IRR99 + ACOP, and other associated regulations
Result: No non-conformities

The directors wish to thank staff at all Applied Inspection locations and on-site for their commitment, effort, and quality and health and safety awareness.

Quotation
"Integrity needs no rules"

ALBERT CAMUS

PERSONNEL

Welcome
To Laura Moorcroft who started at Chesterfield during September.

To Kelly Shacklock, David Swain and Tom Leary who all started at Burton during September.

Ten Pin Bowling at 'Burton Bowl'
There will be another Ten Pin Bowling evening at Burton Bowl on Thursday 18 October starting at 8.00 PM. Again, there will be a £50.00 prize for the winner. Just telephone Hayley at Burton to put your name on the list. Last time Kev Armstrong won, but everyone said what an enjoyable evening it was.

Stakeholder Pension
Stakeholder pension legislation recently introduced requires that all companies (With a few exceptions) offer all employees access to a designated Stakeholder scheme. Full details of the scheme selected by Applied Inspection are enclosed on a memo included with every employees wage slip. If you require any further information, please contact Clive Millard.

Honest Clive's Car Sales
'K' registered Astra, 1.7 LS Diesel (Ex Applied Inspection). A snip at £900. Phone Clive Millard for further details.

The National Lottery
Dawn Andrews at Holmewood and Keith Dashper at Cleckheaton 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)
January - June 2001 - £180.00 (26 Weeks)
July 2001 - £40.00 (4 weeks)
4 August 2001 - £0.00
11 August 2001 - £10.00
18 August 2001 - £0.00
25 August 2001 - £0.00
1 September 2001 - £20.00
8 September 2001 - £0.00
15 September 2001 - £10.00
22 September 2001 - £0.00
Any errors in the above list will be corrected as soon as possible.

Joke of the Month
One Chesterfield Football Club fan said to his mate, "What would you do if you won the lottery?"

"Easy! I'd buy a controlling interest in Chesterfield FC," says the mate.

"Yeah, but what if you got FOUR numbers up?"

INTERNET

QUALITY & TRAINING

Standards and Specifications
BS EN 10228-4: 1999 - Non-destructive testing of steel forgings - Part 4: Ultrasonic testing of austenitic and austenitic-ferritic stainless steel forgings, has been amended (AMD13204) - Addition of supersession details.

BS EN 10228-3: 1998 and BS EN 10228-4: 1999 supersedes BS 4124: 1991 which will remain current until further notice.

BS EN ISO 9001: 2000
The new standard requires organisations to monitor customer satisfaction. Clause 8.2.1 states that: '…the organisation shall monitor information relating to customer perception as to whether the organisation has fulfilled customer requirements. The methods for obtaining and using this information shall be determined.'

This requirement forces organisations to determine whether their customers are really satisfied. Hitherto, some organisations have only monitored customer satisfaction in terms of the number of complaints received. This reactive process will no longer suffice: a proactive process determined by the organisation, is required.

At Applied inspection we have already implemented a 'customer satisfaction survey'. The results of the first one, carried out in late 2000, are published on our website at www.appliedinspection.co.uk/css.

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

1) A     2) D      3) A     4) D     

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

1. Which one of the following conditions will affect the rate and the extent a liquid penetrant will enter cracks, fissures, and other small openings?

     A. The hardness of the specimen being tested
     B. The surface condition of the specimen being tested
     C. The color of the penetrant
     D. The conductivity of the specimen being tested

2. Which of the following is a commonly used classification for penetration

     A. Post-emulsifiable penetrant
     B. Nonferrous penetrant
     C. Chemical etch penetrant
     D. Non aqueous penetrant

3. A generally accepted method for removing excess nonwater-washable penetrant is:

     A. Repeatedly dipping the test specimen in a cleaner.
     B. Soaking the test specimen in hot detergent water.
     C. Blowing the excess penetrant off the surface of the part with compressed air.
     D. Wiping and cautiously cleaning the test specimen with a cleaner-dampened cloth.

4. Which of the following parts could NOT be tested by the liquid penetrant method?

     A. An iron casting
     B. An aluminum forging
     C. A part made from a porous material
     D. A part made from a non-porous material

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 Equal Opportunities policy statement. We welcome comments and/or suggestions from staff in relation to any company policy statement. Please contact any Director or Email us through the company Website.

Equal Opportunities Policy Statement
1. Applied Inspection is an Equal Opportunities employer and endeavours to foster an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and co-operation amongst it's employees.

   o We will provide equal opportunities for all employees, and aim to recruit, train, employ and promote staff according to ability and without discrimination or disadvantage of any kind which has no direct bearing on a person's ability to carry out his/her work.

   o We seek to deal with employees in ways which promote mutual toleration and co-operation, and to ensure that staff act similarly towards colleagues, customers and the general public.

2. The Company as an employer recognises that it is bound by the provisions and the spirit of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944 and 1958, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Race Relations Act 1976 and associated Codes of Practice.

3. o The Company will not tolerate acts of direct, or indirect, discrimination or prejudice by its staff and will take any necessary action to ensure compliance with its policy.

   o The Company recognises that acts of harassment or victimisation are forms of discrimination.

4. The equal opportunities policy will be implemented by the Company, and given to all employees. The Company places a responsibility on its management staff at all levels to ensure that the letter and spirit of this policy is implemented.

5. The Company will seek positively to develop practice which promotes equal opportunities in recruitment, training and promotion. Individual employees at all levels will be expected to co-operate with measures designed to develop equal opportunities and the removal of discrimination.

6. The policy will be monitored and reviewed from time to time.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Radiation Safety
This month we are continuing our series of comments, observations and advice made by, Mr James Taylor, HM Principal Specialist Inspector - Radiation at the British Institute of NDT Service Inspection Group meeting on 26 April 2001 relating to the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) and the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. This month we cover ALARP from the following list: We have covered Risk Assessments, Local Rules, Site Radiography Diagram Requirements and ALARP in recent months. This month we cover Outside Workers and Radiation Enclosure / Compound Engineering Controls. And finally, next month we'll cover Seven Day Notification and Investigation Levels

Outside Workers
  · By definition, outside workers are classified personnel.
  · The IRR99 regulates the use of radiation workers employed by a first party, working in a radiation area controlled by a second party.

Radiation Enclosure / Compound Engineering Controls
  · Engineering controls, e.g. interlocks, should be examined and maintained (together with appropriate records) at regular intervals.
  · Interlocks should also be installed on compounds where gamma rays are used and it is practicable to do so. Where isotopes are used infrequently the installation of interlocks may not be reasonable.
  · Clear and distinguishable pre-exposure and exposure warning signals should be used for both enclosure and site radiography.
  · Radiation dose rate meters should always be used to ensure safe retraction of the isotope into its container. This applies to both enclosure and site radiography. Personal radiation 'bleepers' should not be used as a substitute for calibrated radiation dose rate meters.

To reinforce the last point above, Applied Inspection local rules require that an isotope container must be checked with a calibrated radiation monitor after EVERY exposure.

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 26/09/2001

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