It goes without saying that nondestructive testing is a highly regarded method of asset protection and quality assurance. Industries from every region of the global economy rely on nondestructive testing to support full productivity and ensure safety for their structural assets, employees, and consumers. Like any quality assurance method, it is crucial to understand the strengths and weaknesses of nondestructive testing if it is an inspection method your company wants to use. Like anything, NDT has pros and cons. Here, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of nondestructive testing.
As useful as NDT is, there are some considerations to be made before hiring nondestructive testing services. There are certain limitations to every method that can make testing difficult, if not impossible.
Depending on the method of testing, NDT can be limited by the material of the component under inspection. For methods like magnetic particle testing, ferromagnetism is required for the test to yield any relevant results.
Many assets that require NDT may consist of complicated pipes and wires. In this case, part geometry and limited access to the asset can also be a hindrance to testing.
Some nondestructive testing can also create a bit of a mess, depending on the materials used for testing. For methods like magnetic particle testing, extensive cleaning before and after inspection is necessary.
The most significant disadvantage to nondestructive testing may be the financial investment required. Since nondestructive testing is a thorough and detailed process, hiring an NDT technician is a lot more involved than hiring someone less qualified to take a look at your machines and do the bare minimum by quickly looking over your valuable asset. When you hire an NDT technician, your investment reflects hours and hours of study and hands on training that technicians receive during NDT courses to achieve their NDT certification. Just like a doctor’s bill represents their years of training, an NDT inspection bill also represents the investment that technician has made in their own expertise and experience. In other words, you will end up getting what you pay for by ensuring your assets are properly inspected and maintained by a qualified technician, which will pay off in the long-run.
While there are some disadvantages to nondestructive testing, they are greatly outweighed by the advantages of these critical inspection methods. Simply by the diversity of testing methods available, almost every hindrance to testing can be circumvented just by using a different test. If part geometry is an issue, certain methods are not limited by this. If an asset is not made of ferromagnetic materials, plenty of methods can be performed regardless of the material under inspection. The variety of methods themselves ensures that the limitations of nondestructive testing can be easily overcome.
In most circumstances, ndt schools incorporate hands-on experience into the education of their prospective technicians. Even if you hire a technician who is right out of school, you can rest assured that they already have experience performing the job for which you hire them. While a seasoned technician is typically more skilled, even a new ndt technician has quite a bit of experience.
Most importantly, the biggest advantage to nondestructive testing is the precision of results it can yield. Nondestructive testing is crucial for identifying flaws and inconsistencies that may be undetectable through other methods. Nondestructive testing is the best method for catching issues early on so they don’t become big problems. NDT can help you to ensure safety and prevent costly errors that put your customers and employees at risk.
Ultimately, nondestructive testing is always a good choice to protect your investments. In the right hands, nondestructive testing methods can be the key to saving time and money, and reducing risk. This is precisely why achieving NDT certification requires quality education through NDT courses that offer hands-on instruction from experts who know this terminology backwards and forwards.
Becoming an expert technician starts with high caliber training at an NDT school like TXNDT. Since the requirements of an NDT technician can change from job to job, the expert instructors at TXNDT ensure that all prospective technicians are qualified to take on whatever their next job throws at them.
From introductory NDT courses to NDT level 3 certification, we take an active approach to educating all of our students and encourage all prospective technicians to take an active role in their own learning.
If you or your staff are looking for ways to expand your skills and broaden your career opportunities through nondestructive testing courses, consider NDT certification. Don’t trust just any NDT school. If you’re looking for a top-tier experience, give us a call today at 281-231-0001 or check out our website for more information.
