For the most part the world has never heard of NDE/NDT/NDI, or NonDestructive Examination/Nondestructive Testing/Nondestructive inspection. As long as we do our jobs in this industry most people don't need to know and don't want to know. When we don't do our jobs the world is a lot less safe for everyone.
NDE affects more areas of our lives than most people realize. Some examples would include welded pipelines that carry Natural Gas, liquid petroleum products, and water. Every refinery, every power plant, the cell phone towers that carry the signals for our favorite communications devices all receive some form of NDE. All food processing plants, Hospitals, schools, skyscrapers and prisons get the NDE treatment. Airplanes, space ships, Railroad cars, automotive parts, and tanker trucks are on this list. Bridges that we drive across and walk on, if it is a manufactured product made any number of different materials, it is possible it was inspected at some point in its life.
These inspection are made before a product is placed in service, and in some cases throughout its service life. We inspect looking for flaws in the product that would cause it fail, rupture, break or otherwise not be able to perform its job. Every pipeline in this country that carries hazardous materials gets some kind of NDE. Every airplane that carries passengers gets regular inspection before and after it is placed in service. Bridges get regular inspections. Every power plant and refinery undergo constant inspection processes to insure the mechanical integrity of the facility.
Some of the methods we use to inspect all this with are X-Ray, Ultrasound, Magnetic fields, liquid Penetrant dyes, and visual testing, Acoustic emissions, eddy currents, leak testing, and others. I like to think of all of these as applied physics, these are based on something, some principal of physics. We have become very good at the training of personnel to perform these inspections, you don't need a college degree, or even a high school diploma, we can teach you how to do this in less time than you think. This is a career where annual wages are in the high 5 figures into 6 figures. Yet most people have no idea that this exists as a career choice.
Places we work range rom the middle of nowhere out in some remote location, to downtown in the middles of the biggest cities. From working in the field, out in the open to working in a lab. It's a matter of selecting a company that works the places you want to work.
Based on numbers from the industry there is a shortage of personnel for performing these inspections. There are more inspection jobs available than we have people to fill them. I think largely because we have failed to recruit adequately. We should be looking at STEM programs in high schools and colleges looking for potential people.
As I continue to write, I'll try to give an overview of the different NDE methods out there and how the work. For now...
Have a great day
Paul
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