5 Key points to select the Best NDT services company in Bangalore, India

Introduction

Non destructive testing is becoming part of almost every manufacturing process. There are internal NDT testing departments earlier as a standard practice in medium, large size organisations. It is affordable for these organisations to employ ndt inspectors. Considering the time that is required to call a 3rd party NDT services company It is good to develop a full pledged ndt department. It not only saves on the cost front it will help the organisations to meet their production timelines.

Challenges for In-house NDT departments in Companies

Though there are more advantages than out sourcing to a third party agency, certainly has below challenges:

Recruiting the right talented professionals with relevant experience in NDT and welding
Maintaining the inspectors to continue their employment for longer duration
Equipment and accessories procurement and up-dation as per continuous increasing customer demands
Increasing costs on calibration and maintenance of equipment
Increasing client demands on accreditation of the organisations to international standards such as NABL ISO17025 and NADCAP aerospace

Overcoming challenges through outsourcing NDT inspection services

With the above challenges it is quite difficult for a manufacturing company to maintain the equipment and NDT inspectors.

Therefore considering the above factors it is advisable to choose the right NDT company in Bangalore, that is in line with your objectives. It saves cost of testing maintaining the equipment calibrations. It also reduces for the companies to reduce their overheads. Including salaries to the inspectors consumable costs which otherwise would have been more considering the volume of the business.

Also has an option to blacklist the NDT agency or personal that does not meet the quality standards. Easy option to choose, audit other facilities that suits to the requirements.

Here in this section below we provide five key points to select the best NDT services company in Bangalore India.

1. Infrastructure

A key parameter for choosing the quality of services is its infrastructure. Companies that provide non destructive testing services must have adequate infrastructure. Such as Provision for handling the customer components. Adequate environmental conditions that meet or exceed the standard requirements.

For example to outsource ultrasonic testing services the agency must have adequate UT testing machines, Probes, calibration blocks, Wedges to suit the surface profile. The missions must be adequately calibrated on specified intervals. There should be a daily checklist for each equipment to see the mission meet s international standards

For radiography x-ray testing services in Bangalore, the lab must have statutory approvals. For example in India radiography testing companies shall get their licence from atomic energy regulatory board AERB Mumbai. Check the details of the license, if it is issued for RT enclosure or Onsite radiography or both as the case may be.

Security of customer materials is important. For this for this the agency shall have adequate security measures. this includes the simplest development environmental cctv cameras, security personnel at facility.

2. NDT Personnel Qualifications, Certifications

To perform NDT testing, Inspectors shall have adequate qualifications, experience. Product standards standards and specifications clearly indicate personal certification. In some cases customers may demand certain certifications, which are special in nature. Currently the most widely used certification schemes are ASNT SNT TC 1A, ISO9712, PCN, NAS410 for aerospace.

Check your standard to know about personnel certification details. Verify that the agency has relevant certificates as per scheme for the product being tested. Not just document, see the personnel expertise of each inspector while on job performing testing. See of how the lab is encouraging continuous improvement of its personnel's skills.

3. Back Ground of Promoters, Qualifications, Experience in NDT

Organisations have their own cultures. Culture determines ethics standard practices, integrity of the people working with them. To meet this requirement promoters qualifications needs to be verified. Review educational qualifications, experience in relevant field. Ethical practices they follow and reputation of the promoters through various means and ways feasible.

Promoters background is one of the key factors that drives the quality of the organisation and its services. It is a definite advantage if the promoters are with mechanical or metallurgical engineering background that helps in evaluating the background. In our view when you perform non destructive testing of mechanical engineering structures it is vital to understand materials heat treatment production processes. Promoters whose motive is only to make money without any relevant exposure to NDT, may compromise at certain point of time, or while recruiting the inspectors and in maintaining consistency in the quality of services.

4. Extra Edge with In-House ASNT Level III, NAS410 Certified Personnel

Performing NDT is a professional skill that determines quality of products and structures. Level I, II personnel to be adequately guided and inspired. Approved NDT procedures must be available. SOP for equipment calibration, performing pre, post cleaning while performing tests.

Overall, to maintain quality in services, NDT company shall have a full time ASNT, NAS410 Level III. He/she shall have good educational qualifications, experience in working with challenging conditions onsite. Give importance for choosing an organization that is monitored round the clock by an expert professional.

5. Accreditation for NDT services - ISO17025, NADCAP

The NDT company shall have adequate quality systems. It assures proper procedures are followed, equipment are calibrated, competent personnel are employed. Test reports are properly documents, issued. Repeatability, Inter Laboratory comparision (ILC), Proficiency testing (PT) build confidence in results.

Almost majority of your scrutiny will be done by the accreditation organization. NABL under Quality Council of India QCI is a reliable entity in India that audits testing, calibration labs for confirmity assessment as per accreditation norms.

For aerospace, the lab should have accreditation from NADCAP for the scope of NDT testing. This eliminates repeat audits from clients. Save on cost and time of audits.

Check scope of accreditation for both NABL and NADCAP. Verification can be done directly from their website. Search laboratory for NABL accreditation and scope.

Consider before you choose an NDT Lab in Bangalore for providing services. Though the above 5 key factors may not exhaustive, will help as a guide in choosing the best service provider.

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