One of the biggest powerhouses in the energy sector is the Oil and Gas industry. Nondestructive testing( NDT) plays a vital part in most industries. Keeping potentially dangerous chemicals and fluids safely held within pipes and pressure vessels means careful examination of welds and metals for flaws and corrosion using ultrasonic and eddy current NDT testing results.
NDT is a process that involves a range of in- depth analysis methods to estimate the safety and the integrity of materials used in various ways without destroying or damaging them. NDT plays a part in many parts of the oil and gas industry. The entire Oil and Gas sector has three parts;
- Upstream
- Midstream
- Downstream.
NDT technologies are being enhanced all the time with inventions in instrumentation, probes, and software. NDT is necessary for each stage. Efficient upstream NDT results are needed to run a safe and effective extraction operation on land and offshore. Transferring the extracted crude Oil and Gas to refineries needed smooth functioning of the pipelines and transportation system. Hence, effective midstream NDT is the answer for it.Also, conversion of the extracted petroleum to useful products requires effective downstream NDT results.
With NDT, you can carry out activities such as measuring wall thickness, checking pipes for corrosion, detecting faults in welding, and identifying flaws that aren’t visible to the naked eye.
The NDT Supervisor is accountable for ensuring non-destructive inspection of products. The NDT Supervisor provides functional direction to the NDT workforce, and provides specialized support services to the NDT personnel through training and certification, support for equipment troubleshooting, and support for new equipment installation systems. This position also includes the development of advanced process control systems to cover the real- time effectiveness of our NDT systems.
Essential duties of NDT supervisor includes;
- Develop standard operating practices for NDT systems.
- Supervise and coordinate work performed by the NDT team as appropriate to make sure that work targets are met in a timely schedule in accordance with applicable norms.
- Develop, qualify, and authorize NDT procedures and associated techniques related to UT/ RT.
- Maintains calibration of all NDT equipment.
- Give explanation of NDT results in terms of existing codes and specifications.
- Maintaining the exact level of stock for all NDT consumables.
The responsibility includes;
- Make sure that all NDT technicians are completely conversant with HSE aspects of their work especially radiation protection requirements and that these are strictly adhered to.
- Create initiatives on NDT installations, equipment, and testing techniques
- Ensure that the correct approach of NDT is applied where testing is requested by the inspection engineer.
- Establish NDT operating setups and criteria
- Provides necessary training to NDT personnel.
- Collaboration of NDT verifications qualifications
- Maintain contact with NDT equipment suppliers and consumable dealers to promote advances in NDT technology;
- Help research and development programs.
NDT in the oil and gas industry is essential. Though all described ways are useful in some way, Ultrasonic and eddy current testing offer two of the safest, and most effective results for maintaining the giant sector’s infrastructure integrity.
