Hired instruments enhance trainng

“The candidates were overwhelmed by the quality and volume of equipment for their personal use,” comments TWI Principal Project Leader and Advanced NDT Lecturer Neil Harrap. “Most of the Madrid trainees were from the Spanish Association of Non Destructive Testing (AEND) and their customers. At previous courses, the participants had had to share equipment, but we find that training is more effective when every candidate has his or her own equipment.”

To supplement the TWI fleet of instruments, Neil hired Olympus OmniScan SX flaw detectors from Ashtead Technology. “These were chosen because of their simplicity and cost,” Neil adds.

The TWI course, entitled ‘Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) – Welds’ is a blended learning package; combining eLearning and in-class practical training followed by certification to BS EN ISO 9712. The online modules can be studied when and where convenient and at the candidate’s own pace, and the practical sessions are included within 10 days of classroom training. The package separates the learning of key concepts from learning about a specific instrument, coupled with interactive exercises focused on the principles behind set-up, calibration, acquisition and data analysis.