The UK’s aerospace sector is set to benefit from £6 million of government investment in collaborative research and development projects that encourage innovative solutions to some of the higher-risk challenges facing the industry. The projects will develop technology that will grow the sector and give the industry a competitive advantage in the global market.

So, why engage with NDT? Principally, the role of NDT is to augment and enhance the human senses. The vast majority of inspection of plant and equipment is carried out by suitably qualified and experienced people, who are able to visually examine those items, making use of their other senses as well as sight: ie aural – how the item sounds when operating; tactile – how the item feels when operating; and even olfactory – how the item smells when operating. Those of you who drive will have done this sort of inspection – you just know if your car doesn’t look, sound, feel or smell right!

Now in its 37th year, easyFairs MAINTEC – the only UK show dedicated to the industrial maintenance and asset management sectors – returns to Birmingham’s NEC from 28 February to 1 March 2012, to showcase the very latest technologies in the sector.

As part of an extensive refurbishment programme of its training facilities in Abington, UK, TWI has recently re-opened its much improved training radiographic facility. Whether coming for training or examination in general weld inspection or aerospace, candidates will find that both the X-ray and gamma bays have been updated and a brand new dedicated classroom built. Also available is the latest Viking gamma equipment and a new digital electronic wind out built to TWI’s specifications.

Applus RTD CEO Iain Light and Regional Director Neil Hannah recently presented Crystal awards at a special celebration event to 12 apprentices who had successfully completed a four-year ECITB (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) programme. Alyson Morrow, HRD for Applus RTD North West Europe, is closely involved with the whole programme and also took care of the special celebrations, where the apprentices and their families were given a ‘time to remember’.

Past surveys of BINDT members have highlighted a concern amongst members that there is a lack of understanding of NDT and condition monitoring (CM) by the general public. To address this issue, BINDT is undertaking a number of actions around engagement, to connect with more people in and out of the industry, and marketing, to understand our stakeholders better and promote our industry. In short, BINDT has a strategy to raise our profile.

The Directors of NDT Services Ltd, Victory Park, Derby, and QVS Ltd, Winterstoke Road, Weston-super-Mare, have announced the acquisition of the QVS Ltd business by NDT Services, as from 1 February 2012. The companies are well established in the non-destructive testing industry and both are considered to be market leaders in their respective fields.

With its expansion for growth continuing, Ultramag Inspection Services has acquired additional premises opposite the existing site in Southampton, as well as offices in Bournemouth.

The UK’s dedicated Plant, Maintenance & Asset Management Exhibition, to be held 17-19 April 2012 at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, is organised in association with SOE IPlantE, the Institution of Diagnostic Engineers, RoSPA, the British Compressed Air Society, the British Fluid Power Association, The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and the Integrated Maintenance Centre at Cranfield University.

A leading manufacturer of PTFE hose used in the automotive industry has integrated a vision inspection system designed by Olmec-UK Ltd into the extrusion line at its UK manufacturing facility. Capable of continuous inspection of the hose travelling at speeds of up to 6 m/min, the vision system is linked to a novel failure mechanism, which catastrophically destroys a defective product by puncturing the hose at the point any defect is detected so that it will later fail a high-pressure test.