Wed, 01 December, 2021
I have been working in the Oil and Gas industry for more than 11 years and currently, I am working as a Material Corrosion Inspector Engineer. In my job, I need to deal with a number of welding and fabrication-related activities covering all aspects from yard to offshore installations. I need to deal with my NDT team as well as the contractors that work for us who are really competent in their field.
However, at the end of the day, this is me who is responsible for reviewing the procedures and preparing the reports. That is why I have decided to attend the PAUT course as I believe it is very important for me to understand the technology and its applications and limitations that they have to deal with so that I can set realistic expectations from my team. This way, I can create a balanced plan that is conclusive and useful for our project goals.
Previously, I have completed the welding engineering courses and gained my IWE certification. To further enhance my skills and knowledge, I took Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Level 2 course, and as I would like to keep myself updated with the new technologies, I am continuing my learning by taking the phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) course.
Now that I am taking this course, I can see that the field of NDT is quite vast and techniques like PAUT can help inspectors define the defects very accurately. Besides the very detailed inspection capability of PAUT, it also allows you to quantify the defect. It is especially of high importance when you deal with the technical activities and need to decide what level of technical safety assurance operations you need to implement into your asset management.
When you have a certification for the skills you have, it makes entering the industry easier and you become more marketable. Needless to say that the CSWIP certificate is well-known all around the world and it would be a great advantage for me to get certified. However, that certificate itself is not the only reason why I am taking this training. I am also benefiting from the detailed and comprehensive course which is delivered by TWI’s experienced and approachable lecturers.
This is not my first time at TWI Malaysia, I have been to this center quite a few times and I find the facilities very convenient, the equipment in good condition and the lecturers very knowledgeable and up to date with the latest industry-relevant expertise. I enjoy how the classes are very interactive and that we can discuss our real cases from work in the class and get feedback from our classmates and the lecturers.
Not only to the inspectors, but I would also like to recommend my fellow engineers to consider career development training courses that TWI offers. As engineers, we are bound to rely on what is being reported to us. However, I would like to encourage my peers to dive a bit further and try to understand the technology so that we can speak the same language, understand the challenges and appreciate what NDT is really about!