Defect assessment reaches four continents

Connect, no.111, March - April 2001, p.6

Lighting a ceremonial flame to mark the start of a course in India

Ceremonial flame being lit to mark start of course in India

The end of 1999 saw the publication of a new British Standard, BS7910, which gives methods for assessing the significance of flaws in metallic structures. In essence, BS7910 allows the user to assess welding (and other) flaws in metallic structures, using fracture mechanics principles and the concept of 'fitness for purpose' rather than workmanship-based criteria. This can lead to substantial reductions in repair rate, and extension of the life of ageing structures.

The standard is an updated and greatly enlarged revision of the highly successful document PD6493, which has been used in many countries and industries since 1980. TWI played a leading role in the development of BS7910, and was therefore in a good position to introduce users to the new standard, even before its publication.

Although training in this field is regularly available in our centre at Abington, the standard was also disseminated through a series of 2-day training courses at sites around the world, starting in 1998 with events in Australia and New Zealand.

Subsequent courses were held in the USA, Canada, Portugal, Italy and India; events in Brazil, the Middle East and Japan are also in preparation. By running the course at a customer's site, we are able to offer substantial savings on delegate expenses - all the travelling is done by our course team, consisting of Steve Maddox and Isabel Hadley. In addition, delegates can bring their own problems to the workshops so that the procedures can be brought to life through actual application.

If you are interested in hosting or attending a training course (either for a single delegate or for a group of staff), please contact Isabel at isabel.hadley@twi.co.uk