Hello everyone,
I am a CWI. I have decided to go in the summer of 2010, and take the RT film interpretation course, but that is for personal benefit only. My question is that other than a resume builder, the benefit to me getting my PT or UT LVL 2 certifications are not certain. So MY QUESTION is.. I work as an inspector using mainly section I and IX for power plants and B31.1. When the code requires Hydro, but the customer contract states that they want "100% UT..ie linear phased ray, shear wave, etc" as an addition to code requirements, is it a conflict of interest for me to administer the UT tests as an employee of the company doing the job if I was certified to do so. I would like to know any information on this matter. If there are any references that I have missed in the NBIC or ASME code, please reference them. Thank you all...
"Pleasure in the job, puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle
I believe the codes say if you are qualified then there is no conflict, but me personally I do not like to see it. Hire a contractor to do the work.
How would it be any different than you doing the VT?
It is a little more intensive than a ut. The welder is the first line inspector, he does the vt, but I am of the opinion that a 3rd party needs to do any final testing and anything that needs a written report.
I suggest issuing an RFI to the owners rep, QC, GC or who ever you report to and see if they have a problem with it. If you meet the qualification to perform the NDE required and the contract specifications do not prohibit you or state that the work is to be done by TPI then you could argue that there is no reason that you cannot do it.
I quite often get approval to do the VT on our companies welds as long as I do not make the weld. Army Corp. of Eng. allows me to do it but on the next job with the same verbiage in the specs and with a different Eng. it will not be allowed.
So it may just be up to the individual(s) that address the RFI.
Don't have NBIC but I can't recall B31.1 or 31.3 prohibiting it but I could be wrong.
I'm guessing that the answer will be no. But I could be wrong.
Saved us a small fortune fortune not having to outsource the VT.
On the examination side (NDE), Inspection side (QC/CWI), Testing side (Hydro) I can see no conflict. Where I think you could consider a conflict to exist would be if you performed any fabrication/welding on the job that is subject to examination/inspection/testing.
Regards,
Gerald
2009933
That is why we exclude NDT other than Visual. If it is a requirement of the customer they should hire the inspector. If they will hire you, to do it, do it.
Just my comment.
Good Luck
Most of the ASME codes as weld as AWS makes the contractor liable for the inspection of the work they do. As long as the contractor has personnel qualified to do the work, there is no conflict. If the contractor doesn't have the proper personnel with the required qualification, the services of a third party can be used to perform the required NDT. If you have the qualifications and your employers wants you to perform the NDT, there is no conflict, it is part of their responsibility.
Under the auspices of ASME, the owner has a responsibility to perform sufficient QA to ensure the work is performed and the required inspections and tests are completed. The owner can retain the services of a third party to perform the NDT, but that is because most contractors performing the installation and welding don't have in-house personnel to perform NDT.
Best regards - Al
Thank you for the reply everyone. I might say that I am not being told to this, but merely looking into incorporating this into our company, and was wanting any feedback from code, or opinion on whether it would be worth while. Thank you for the input, and as stated in a post, our contracts do say that we will do either RT, or "or UT in lieu of RT" as an addition to hydro, and instead of paying for the third party contractor, I wanted to do it myself, but anyhow.. I thank all of you for your replies and insight
A caveat.
Does your company/employer already have an NDT department with qualified UT techs who you can work alongside as an assistant? As a benchmark, ACCP UT Level II qualification eligibility requirement is 1600 hours practical experience in the method, i.e. approximately 9 months working experience. The road from rookie to confident and capable UT shear wave tech is much longer than the length of a Level II course - no school or tutor has a magic wand to wave over you. Ensure that whoever is footing the bill for your qualification is aware of this and makes allowance for the necessary on-the-job experience.
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