NDT Ethics: Embracing Ethics and Integrity for the New Year (And Every Year)

Editor’s note: This NDT Ethics article is published in conjunction with the January 2024 issue of Materials Evaluation. Published quarterly, each NDT Ethics column presents ethics issues and invites readers to respond here on ASNT Pulse with their comments. Readers are also invited to email column editor Toni Bailey with their own ethical scenarios, which may be featured in future columns.

.

By Antionette (Toni) Bailey

.

.

Welcome to Materials Evaluation’s quarterly column on ethics in nondestructive testing (NDT). We want to start the year off on a positive note and take a moment to highlight how various companies in our industry have successfully embraced ethical practices while still satisfying quality assurance requirements. For this article, I had the pleasure of interviewing several key quality assurance (QA) managers and highlighting their reputations for being well-respected in their specific industries of oil and gas, aerospace, and Department of Defense industries. The QA and NDT personnel interviewed were:

• Francis X. Clark: Aerospace NDT Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Repair Station, Chief Inspector, Velocity Maintenance Solutions
• David Cloak: Development, Department of Defense, NDT Department Manager; and Alloy Surfaces, Vice President, Quality Assurance and Research
• Allen Sanders: Prior NDT Quality Manager and Responsible Level III in the oil and gas industry; ASNT NDT, SNT-TC-1A Level III, and NAS 410 Level 3 in MT, PT, VT, UT, and RT

.

We asked our highly esteemed guests a few key questions and their answers follow.

—Toni Bailey

.

Francis Clark

.

Bailey: Please tell us a little about velocity maintenance. How do ethics play a role in establishing QA and NDT procedures at your company?

Clark: Velocity Maintenance Solutions is an FAA-certified repair station providing maintenance, repair, and overhaul on many corporate aircraft. As such, we understand our moral responsibility to and ethical commitment to the people that fly on the aircraft we inspect and work on. Having highly trained and qualified NDT technicians and the latest equipment is an integral part of our quality control when we supply NDT services to our customers.

Bailey: Can you give us an example of a time where a customer asked your company to do something unethical and tell us how you handled that situation?

Clark: There are times when a customer does not like the outcome of an NDT inspection on their aircraft, due mostly to cost and downtime to repair. We will not be persuaded to deviate from our findings and are always willing to have another qualified NDT technician perform the same inspection to confirm our findings.

.

David Cloak

.

Bailey: please tell us a little about alloy surfaces. How critical is QA and adherence to procedural practices to your company?

Cloak: Alloy Surfaces designs and manufactures products that aid in the defeat of heat-seeking missiles from acquiring aircraft. Adherence to procedural practices is critical. Therefore, QA is the tool by which Alloy ensures our products meet performance requirements.

Bailey: Does QA have a significant impact on business and company growth?

Cloak: QA within our company drives business and company growth by ensuring overall customer expectations are met. QA drives business and company growth by assuring that product performance is consistent, and controls are in place to monitor, contain, and address quality issues in order to achieve on-time delivery.

Bailey: Your company recently passed critical audits for state and government agencies, and you passed those NDT and QA audits with compliments from the auditors. Was your journey stressful, and how did you maintain ethical policies (your moral code of honor) while still satisfying production and quality at the same time?

Cloak: The stress was only momentary while we sought out an outside vendor that could supply the radiographic equipment that would allow us to meet customer requirements. Once we understood the scope of requirements and sought outside guidance, our stresses were relieved. As a DoD contractor, we have ethical guidelines that we must follow to fulfill our contractual obligation. Whenever there are constraints that may interfere with our ability to act within the guidelines, we collaborate with our customers to find an amenable solution.

Bailey: Your company transitioned from meeting Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A to meeting the very strict NAS 410 standard for NDT. Was the journey to convert challenging?

Cloak: Yes. We needed to acquire new equipment to meet customer radiographic requirements. In addition, we needed assistance to educate in-house operators to be able to navigate the new equipment, software, and NAS 410 skills and responsibilities, all while sustaining our production schedule to meet customer delivery requirements.

.

Allen Sanders

(Note: Sanders has held the Certified Quality Auditor credential from the American Society for Quality. In his prior role, he implemented ISO and AS 9100 certifications for multiple companies while also serving as the company’s Responsible Level III.)

Bailey: Please tell us a little about your former role as an NDT quality manager. What is the impact of a company not implementing an NDT quality procedure or not adhering to a quality system such as ISO 9000 or as 9100?

Sanders: The purpose of a quality system is to assure that we delight our customers and fully meet their requirements. When we follow a “quality system,” it provides a road map to that satisfaction. Without a quality system, we are much like a ship without a rudder.

.

In Conclusion

Readers can see why QA goes hand-in-hand with NDT and how having an ethical quality department can have a tremendous impact on reputation, business, and company growth. We want to thank the quality managers featured here for offering their expertise and transparency in maintaining a good company name by ensuring ethics are always considered first regardless of the rigorous production struggles.

We now ask you, the reader, to evaluate the following questions. What is your secret to maintaining ethics and integrity while satisfying QA requirements? What are your thoughts on the questions and answers presented in these interviews?

We hope this column is helpful to you and we’d love to hear from the NDT community. Please leave your comments below.

.

_______

.

Editor

Antionette (Toni) Bailey: TB3 NDT Consulting LLC; ASNT NDT Level III, IRRSP, NAS 410 Level 3 (MT, PT, RT, UT, ET, Nital Etch); toni@tb3ndt.com

..