Mon, 31 January, 2022
My name is Mohd Fadhil bin Mohd Salleh and I am from Benut Pontian Johor. I have a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and have been involved in the inspection industry for over 20 years.
Initially, I was working at Honda Factory as a technician. But I was inspired to change my industry when I saw my friend who entered this field and after getting a CSWIP certificate landed international projects and went to Norway for work. The salary range was also quite good ranging from 300 to 400 USD per day so I also was excited to give it a try to enter this field and asked my friend for a recommendation. He suggested that I look into the NDT Ultrasonic Testing, so that became the first course I took at TWI and managed to enter the industry through the NDT line.
Luckily, at that time UT was in high demand. Starting from there, I built up myself. I took Welding Inspector and become Project Quality Engineer and after that, I took Radiographic Interpretation which helped boost my career.
If we don’t have certificates, our career progression would be slow but if we get qualified for what we are specialized at, the demand for our services would be high. Having experience is essential in your career growth, however, even if you are experienced, but not certified you cannot go that far as the CSWIP certificate is a globally recognized certificate that is sought after by employers. That’s why, even working in the position of quality engineer, I found it hard to enter the inspection field and that is why I took CSWIP welding Inspector and Radiographic Interpretation courses which enabled me to work as a freelance inspector today. Before this, I’ve been working as a Subsea Equipment Inspector at BP Company for 7 years.
In my opinion, the knowledge of NDT is really useful if you want to work in the oil and gas sector. I also believe that having experience but not enough knowledge is not enough for successful career growth.
To be professional, one shall follow the acceptance criteria, standards, and ISO. Taking professional qualifications such as courses at TWI helps you gain this knowledge.
When we become welding inspectors, we must know about NDT especially in Radiographic Interpretation because welding inspectors must do the inspection and review the NDT report as well. Therefore, to feel confident when reviewing, accepting, or approving the reports, being certified in the area of expertise can play an important role.
The outbreak of Covid 19 impacted my life. Following the lockdowns, the projects were put on hold and the demand for our work was decreased drastically up to the point where I lost my job. This incident motivated me to invest more in my self-development and look into additional qualifications which can support me in my job. Now I am planning to take painting inspector because it is one of my job requirements. As a general inspector, I have to know a lot about welding, NDT as well as painting since the end product is coated.
What I can recommend based on my own experience is to consider certification after one year of working and gaining some experience, it is valuable to take a globally recognised certificate to boost up the career development. And where better than at TWI with knowledgeable and professional lecturers, friendly staff, and up to date and modern equipment.
