A new global award for engineering has been launched, which celebrates truly outstanding advances in engineering that have created significant benefit for humanity.

The Government is to invest up to £6 million in new collaborative research and development projects that stimulate innovation in manufacturing and drive economic growth.

This feels a bit like déjà vu, having already retired from RWE nPower in 2009. Having served 12 years in the Royal Navy, my first involvement in NDT was when my uncle, Ron Burgess (who worked alongside Ron Halmshaw (Past President) in the Woolwich Arsenal), persuaded me to attended the Lloyd’s-approved course on industrial radiography, run by the Kodak School in Pinner, north London. I did quite well for a novice, but that was largely due to the training school being run by John Grimwade (Past President) and tutors Peter Forsmen and Alan Clark (the A Team).

Hot hydrogen attack (HHA) is a form of degradation caused by carbides reacting in steel, thereby forming methane (CH4). The probability of HHA damage in industrial plants is dependent on its partial hydrogen pressure and operating temperature. In the worst cases, HHA may lead to damage, which can have catastrophic results for people and the environment. Since even a minor failure could cause unacceptable downtime and a substantial loss of money, conducting regular hot hydrogen attack inspections is indispensable for detecting failures and discontinuities at the earliest stage possible.

Rolls-Royce had a number of NDT engineers who wanted to know more about The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) and the services it offers. Instead of every interested person approaching BINDT individually, Dr Iain Baillie, Team Leader, NDE Laboratory, approached the Institute with a view to staging a BINDT Roadshow for Rolls-Royce personnel at Derby.

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