RT Film Review By Manufacturer

[jmec87]

For pressure piping and/or pressure vessel manufacturers who subcontract NDE, including having a certified Level II RT tech interpret the film, do you as the manufacturer also review the film? If so, in how much depth are you reviewing it, and do you review 100% of film or only a sample of the film?

 

[XL83NL]

0%

 

[david339933]

100%. Reviewing film is considered evidence that the NDE company has complied with their written procedure. Also want to ensure that proper markings are on the film...Job #, Part #/Weld # etc. I also like to see if the reviewer lists "water mark", "film mark" on insignificant blemishes...gives an idea as to how well they are reviewing. Mistakes happen...an extra set of eyes helps.

 

[XL83NL]

Reviewing films only makes sense if you are a qualified RT-technician.

Reviewing film is considered evidence that the NDE company has complied with their written procedure

I can understand a lot of people think of it as this. Im sure experience has led them to such procedures, but in general it just doesnt make sense to check their work 100%. Why would you review something that has been reviewed? Then why not do all the NDE yourself? Or did you have a bad experience in the past with a NDE certain company? Is your regular go-to NDE company making occasional mistakes?

 

[david339933]

Not sure what you mean by "I can understand a lot of people think of it as this"...this is explicitly stated in Sec. V and Sec. VIII - UW-51. There is a big difference in doing the NDE yourself and reviewing the film. I don't need a RT source around all the time. I do it because I have ultimate responsibility as the manufacturer. Often times the reviewer is the same person who did the shot. Mistakes can easily happen.

 

[david339933]

Sec. V - Article 2 - T285: "The manufacturer shall be responsible for the review, interpretation, evaluation, and acceptance of the completed radiographs to assure compliance with the requirements of Article 2 and the referencing Code Section".

Sec. V - Article 2 - T292: "The manufacturer shall be responsible for the preparation of a radiograph review form."

 

[bcd]

Trust but verify. We were randomly checking the RT films and noticed the supplier routinely submitted the same film. If we did not check, we would not have noticed. Supplier was ultimately fired, but had to pay for re-inspection of all the castings they did not actually inspect.

 

[XL83NL]

Trust but verify.

Couldnt agree more. Im just trying to say it seems a bit overdone to do all this yourselves, if it's already done. As mistakes can easily happen, it obviously makes sense to verify films occasionally on a spot basis, especially when there's reason to have doubt like bcd posted (altough it also makes sense to start look for another subcontractor then, doesnt it?).
But checking all films 100%? Is that really what Sec V requires? Never heard of it (not saying I dont believe you), but it just makes sense to me .. How is this understood in the scope of Sec VIII-1 work?

 

[david339933]

Sec. VIII mandates Section V Article 2. UW-51.

 

[jmec87]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I figured there would be a variety of perspectives. On the one hand, the manufacturer is contracting the NDE company to interpret the film because the NDE company is competent/qualified to interpret the film and the manufacturer is not competent/qualified to do so. On the other hand, some review by the manufacturer is a good idea to verify that the NDE company is meeting the requirements; even if the manufacturer doesn't have a qualified level II RT tech, the manufacturer can check film to verify markings, IQI visibility, etc., as a basic quality check to provide some evidence that the subcontractor did it right.

Can anybody share their experiences regarding the expectations of regulators (such as the National Board or Canadian provincial regulators like ABSA) for manufacturer review of RT film?

 

[weldstan]

As a contractor who subcontracts RT and prior to radiographic examination by the AI for repairs under the NBIC, our Level II RT Interpreter reviews the radiograph. We also do this for all work. One of the reasons is to detect cheating by the subcontractor RT inspectors.

 

[david339933]

My AIA in Nova Scotia looks at every film as well. Every ASME Audit I have had asked if there was a film viewer available to review films.

 

[XL83NL]

I didn’t knew all this from a code perspective. Thanks for the valuable input, I learned a few things.
Under PED, e.g. combined with EN 13445, such requirements don’t exist. Hence my observation.