The winner of ASNT’s first UT Competition was Aaron Guidry of Versa Integrity Group (Louisiana), taking home the top prize of $500. Guidry is certified through ASNT’s Industry Section Qualification for Oil & Gas (ISQ – O&G) program in Ultrasonic Thickness Testing (UTT) and Ultrasonic Shearwave Testing (UTSW). Tim Everhart of MISTRAS Group (Ohio) placed second, winning a prize of $250.
The competition was held 1 November during ASNT 2022: The Annual Conference in the exhibit hall of the event. Six Level IIs from five different states and Peru had 30 min at each of five stations to standardize the equipment, conduct the test, and evaluate the sample.
Each sample offered a different challenge for competitors: carbon steel corrosion; carbon steel, single vee plate weld; carbon steel pipe weld; carbon steel, and double vee plate weld. As well, one sample was a complete mystery. Naming each sample for a different horror movie added to the fun of the event.
The point system for scoring was based on the accuracy of the flaw reporting, and the winner was determined by a group of ASNT Level III subject matter experts.
Brian Frye, ASNT ISQ Program Manager, said he had an absolute blast running the UT Competition. “These six Level IIs were brave enough to try their hand at some very difficult corrosion and weld samples supplied by Materials Research & Technology,” he said. “The competition was amazingly close and the entire group finished within 10 points of each other. If I were starting a UT department, I would hire all of them.”
ASNT thanks the following companies for their support of the UT Competition:
Sponsors
- Material Research & Technology, providing test samples and answer keys
- Acuren
Testing Equipment
- Evident/Olympus, providing ultrasonic instruments, cables, and transducers
Suppliers
- Echo Ultrasonics
- Flawtech America, LLC
- North Star Imaging
- PH Tool Reference Standards
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Plan now to attend ASNT 2023: The Annual Conference, 23–26 October, Houston, Texas.
Did you miss ASNT 2022? Catch the highlights at ASNT Rewind: A Look Back at ASNT 2022, 1 February 2023. (Details will be available soon.)
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Very brave to put your UT skills to the test in front the entire industry. Congratulations to all of the competitors!
These guys are testing safety critical equipment every day in confined spaces, extreme heights, hot weather, cold weather, on scaffolding, in manlifts, around dangerous chemicals and next to welders throwing sparks. A little friendly competition is a vacation for them!
Hello Kristoffer, we do appreciate all the competitors in our first annual UT Competition. The samples were very difficult and they did a great job. Hoping to have more participation in Houston, Texas at the next ASNT 2023: The Annual Conference. Maybe you?
Fantastic competition, well done to all those who dared to compete!
These guys are testing safety critical equipment every day in confined spaces, extreme heights, hot weather, cold weather, on scaffolding, in manlifts, around dangerous chemicals and next to welders throwing sparks. A little friendly competition is a vacation for them!
Hi Stephanie, The competitors were great. We hope to have more participation in the competition. Maybe you know some people, yourself? That might want to participate next year in Houston? Looking forward to seeing you all next year. More to come.