Abstract

Nondestructivetestingisoneofthemostimportantmeanstodetectand
verifythequalityofitems.AsanorganizationprovidingNDTservices,itis
essentialtoassurethecorrectnessandaccuracyofthetestresults.Toassure
thequalityoftheNDTinspections,itisnecessarytohavenotonlythe
advancedequipmentsandmaterial,butalsowelltrainedandqualified
inspectorsandgoodinspectionprocedures,aswellasadequateattentions
paidtotheenvironmentalimpactsontheinspectionresults.Thearticle
describesthepracticesofthequalityassuranceforthenondestructive
testingserviceorganizationbycarryingoutISO9000qualityperformance
initsserviceactivities.
Keywords:QualityAssurance,NondestructiveTesting
1.0 General
Itseemstobethetrendthatthenondestructivetestingofmaterial,semi
andfinalproductsorinstalledcomponentsaredesignatedtothespecial
servicingcompaniesprovidingNDTservicesotherthanthemanufactureror
theownerhimselftodothework.ThereforespecialNDTservicing
companiesarebecomingpopular.Itistheresponsibilityfortheservice
companytoprovidereliabletestingandprovideconfidencetothecustomer
ofitsgoodqualityoftestresults.ThepracticesofSNPI,SuzhouNuclear
PowerResearchInstitute,whichprovidesNDTservices,showsthatquality
assuranceprovideusaneffectivetooltoreachthisgoal.
2.0 Customer's and regulatory requirements for NDT
ThemainobjectiveofaNDTserviceorganizationistomeetthe
requirementsofcustomersandregulatorybodiesforthesafetyofindustry
applications,forexample,pressurevessels,electricalcomponents.The
customer'srequirementsarenormallyrelatedtothehighqualityoftheNDT
service,i.e.accurateandreliabletestresults,goodservice,aswellaslow
cost.Theregulatoryrequirementsarenormallyrelatedtothetestmethod,
personnelqualificationandclassificationoftestresults.Thepracticesof
SNPIistosetupandmaintainaqualitysystemwithreferencetoISO9000
familystandards,sothatagoodqualityculturearecreatedandmaintained
bythewholestaffwithintheinstitute.
Thequalitysystemismaintainedsothatallthecustomerdemandsand
regulatoryrequirementsaresatisfiedduringalloursiteapplicationsofnon
destructivetestingactivities.

3.0 Quality assurance measures for NDT activities

AllaspectsrequiredbyISO9001standardarecontrolledbythequality
system,whichincludestheorganizationalstructure,procedures,processes
andresourcesforimplementingqualitymanagement.Themainideaof
settingupISO9001qualitysystemistopreventoccurrenceofanynon
conformancethroughvariousofpreventivemeasures.Despiteofdifferent
kindsofsuchsystematicmeasures,themainQAmeasuresforcontrolling
siteNDTactivitiesare:controllingNDTinspectorqualifications,validness
oftestequipmentandtestmaterial,effectivenessoftestprocedures,impact
ofenvironmentalconditionstotestresults,andmonitoringactualNDT
performancebyqualitysurveillanceinspectors.
3.1Personnelqualifications
Inspectorqualificationisessentialtoareliableinspection,anditisalso
mandatoryrequiredbyregulatorybodies.ChinahassuchaNDTpersonnel
qualificationsystemthateachindustrialsectorhasitsspecificrequirements
inadditiontothebasicNDTsocietyrequirements.Therefore,inorderto
fulfilldifferentrequirementsfordifferentindustrialapplications,ourNDT
personnelholddifferentqualificationcertificates,includingforeign
certificates,tosatisfydifferentcustomersfordifferentrequirements.
Althoughmuchexpensesarespentforthetrainingandqualifications,our
NDTpersonnelarewellqualifiedinsuchaway.
3.2Testequipmentandmaterial
TestequipmentandmaterialareveryimportantforNDTinspections.Asan
inspectionserviceorganization,wedevelopedandpurchasedallnecessary
equipmentandmaterialsforourservices,includingultrasonictesting,
radiographictesting,eddycurrenttesting,magneticparticletesting,liquid
penetratetesting,andvisualtestingaswellasacousticemissiontesting.
Theseequipmentandmaterialsaremainlyusedinpowergenerating
industryandchemicalindustryforpressurevesselandrelatedcomponent
inspections.
Periodiccalibrationoftestequipmentsarecarriedoutanddocumentedso
thattheiraccuracyandtoleranceareidentifiedandcontrolled.
Testmaterialsarecontrolledsothattheyarevalidforthetests,andhaveno
harmfultothecomponenttested,whichisextremelyimportanttostainless
steelcomponenttesting.Forexample,whenstainlesssteelcomponentsfor
nuclearpowerplantsaretestedbyultrasonictestingmethod,thecoupling
materialshouldcontainverylittleamountofchlorinate,sulphate,phosphate
materials,andshouldbequalified.

3.3Testprocedure
Testproceduresdefinetheresponsibilities,techniques,operationalstepsand
controlmeansforspecificmethodoftestingandtestobjects.SNPI
establishesaseriesoftestproceduresfordifferenttasks,whichweconsider
isnecessaryforcarryingoutqualityservicesoftestings.
3.4Environmentalconditions
Environmentalconditionsaffectthetestresultsseriouslyonsomeoccasions.
Attentionshouldbetakenforthetemperature,humidity,radioactive,and/or
surroundingmaterialstothetestobjects.Forexample,theultrasonic
transmissionspeedinthesteelchangesabout8m/swhenthetemperature
varies1;radioactivebackgroundoftestobjectsaffecttheradiographic
testingresults.
3.5MonitoringofNDTprocesses
Asanimportantqualityassurancemeasure,qualitysurveillanceinspectors
areassignedtoverifytheeffectivenessofactualperformanceofNDT
activities.Thesurveillanceinspectorshaveverygoodbackground
knowledgeofNDT,theychecktheprerequisiteoftestingforaspecifictask,
includingNDTexaminer'spersonnelqualification,statusoftestequipment
andmaterialstobeused,testproceduresadapted,andtheenvironmental
conditionspresented.Theymakesamplecheckstomajortestperformance
toverifyifthetestproceduresarefollowedbytheNDTexaminers.They
checkalsothetestresultstoverifyiftheresultsarecorrectandthe
regulatoryrequirementsaremet.
Ofcourse,theresponsibilityoftestingisstillonNDTexaminershoulders;
thequalitysurveillanceinspectorisresponsiblefortheverifications.Such
verificationsarenormallycarriedoutbymeansofimplementationof
witnessandholdpointsinspectionsofqualityplansforNDTtesting.
4.0 Feedback from customers
SNPIhasprovidedvarietyofNDTservicestonuclearandfossilfuelfired
powerplants,chemicalplants,machineandmechanicalcomponent
manufacturers.TheservicescoverNDTexaminationsofUT,RT,ET,MT,
PT,VT,andAET,aswellasqualitysurveillanceinspectionservices.
ThecustomerssuchasGuangdongandLingAonuclearpowerjointventure
companies,Suzhouchemicalworks,JiangsuChangshuandGuangxi
Liuzhoupowerplantsgiveushighpraiseofthequalityprovidedand
reachedaswellasthequalitymanagementsystemimplemented.

Allfeedbackinformationareanalyzedandusedforcontinuous
improvementofourqualityofNDTservicesandourqualitymanagement
system.