October 2023
From the desk of Paul James Simpson
CGSB 48.9712 RT, RT/AS, UT, PT, MT Level 3 CGSB 48.9712 XRF Level 2 ACCP/SNT TC-1A/NAS 410 RT, RT/AS, RT/CR, UT, PT, MT, VT Level III
Lead Auditor ISO 9001 and ISO AS 9100
Chapter 1
"Knowledge is Power; to have the courage to step forward requires the experience, the knowledge and the intelligence of the responsibility involved." P J Simpson
Standards and Certification Chronology (www.asme.org)
1971975 In 1975 the formation of the Nuclear Power Codes and Standards Supervisory Committee (now known as the Nuclear Board) was created. This was my first year in the NDE industry. The NDE standards and codes were in the infancy stage and the beginning of a gradual but significant expansion of quality expectations. For example, ASME BPVC Sec V Article 2 and Article 3 1974 edition referencing Radiography was only a dozen pages and a shadow of the ASME BPVC Sec V Article 2 CED present day (this incorporated Article 3 into Article 2 many years ago). The present edition, including mandatory and nonmandatory appendixes, is a 44 page section. The present edition of course references additional articles and other codes such as ASTM that have all followed the significant expansion of quality expectations of the last 40 years.
Chapter 2
NDE in Business and the Business of NDE
In my early years, starting in the mid 1970’s, I found myself in an NDE (Non-Destructive Examination) industry that was really in the infancy stage and at the edge of what was to become a major factor in manufacturing and in-service examination.
The technology was simple and in comparisons to todays standards was frankly somewhat crude. However, at this point in time, the information, standards and technology were limited and was presented incrementally on a yearly basis to those of us in the industry. The years passed by and under the tutelage of technicians and managers from such prestigious institutions as the British shipyards, Krautkramer, NRCan and ASNT, I acquired the KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) of the NDE industry.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) - The attributes required to perform a job and are generally demonstrated through qualifying service, education, or training.
• Knowledge - Is a body of information applied directly to the performance of a function.
• Skill - Is an observable competence to perform a learned psychomotor act.
• Ability - Is competence to perform an observable behavior or a behavior that results in an observable product.
Chapter 3
Leaping forward into the early 90’s I found myself in the position of holding certifications for both CGSB and SNT TC-1A/NAS410 in most of the NDE methodologies. Under the direct direction of craft masters
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such as Mr. Peter Brady of Atlas Testing Labs/AITEC, Newport News, McDonnell Douglas/Boeing, to mention only a few, and a now robust Nuclear industry my learning curve expanded on that gradient assent.
In the 1990’s I began studying for and acquired my Level 3 certifications and found myself part owner and Corporate QA Manager and Corporate Level 3 of a large USA and Canadian NDE company (AITEC Inc.). My numerous duties included corporate SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures for NDE) and included the mentoring, training and certification of the future technicians within the NDE industry. I applied the teaching principals and skills that had been present to me in my earlier years by the great pioneers in the industry. By this time my mentors and earlier teachers had retired, and I inherited the task of teacher; the torch had been passed on so to speak.
At this time and into the 2000’s more and more information in the form of technical knowledge, higher code and specification standards were thrust upon us in the industry. It became increasingly more difficult to teach and have the new technicians in the industry meet the required and expected standard.
I needed to sit down and analyze the issue and dilemma before all of us in the industry. Why was it such a formative task to reach the required level of expectation?
My conclusion was somewhat simple.
Firstly, there is no such thing as “Common Sense”. Common sense is a relative term that only applies to your unique perspective and level of responsibility. What I considered to be common sense was beyond comprehension to the students that I was mentoring. After all I was in the industry for decades with a gradient learning period, and of course it was common sense to me, however, for the newbies it was overwhelming.
Secondly and lastly, after understanding the first statement regarding common sense, what a huge leap it is for the up and coming technicians in the industry. What I had learned on a gradient basis over the past years as incrementally presented was now the expectation in todays environment, see the attached illustration (Learning Curve related to ASME CED 1974 to CED present Day).
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What I discovered was that I needed a methodology for teaching, as I was now in charge of writing and updating all Standard Operating Procedures, technical papers and techniques for NDE for the entire corporate entity. All the above fore mentioned documents were audited and approved by both our customers and ANI’s (Approved Nuclear Inspectors) and thus had been scrutinized to the Nth degree.
How to pass on the wealth of knowledge to the up and coming NDE technicians and personnel within a relatively short time span and as well on a continuing basis?
What I decided and used as the starting point to teach was all the approved documents that I had created. After all they contained the knowledge and acquired knowledge of past years. I set up, on my own time and at no charge, classes on the first Saturday of every month. An open-door policy was critical, no questions were too trivial to address. It was time to pay back and pay forward what had graciously been gifted to myself over the past decades. Imagine having to leap forward from the early 1970’s to present day.
It is now the task of all us who are seniors in the NDE industry to recognize the responsibility that presents it self to us. As I explained to an esteemed colleague who comment to me “all the people who taught us are gone and there is nobody to teach any more”. I replied “there are two in the room right now…. you and me, it’s our turn. We have the advantage of a gradient learning curve over the years and with the guidance of the standards such as ASNT, our classroom training with the related experience and available reference materials are well positioned to execute this task.”
"Knowledge is Power; to have the courage to step forward requires the experience, the knowledge and the intelligence of the responsibility involved." P J Simpson
