CONTENTSNews ................................................. 1-3
20th WCNDT .................................... 3-4
Pan-American Regional Group ............. 5
Asia-Pacific Regional Group ................. 6
European Regional Group ............... 7-11
Calendar of Events .............................. 12

The World Organisation for NDTVolume 9 Issue No 8CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Sweeping through 2020 and leadinga new normal by the end of 2021

It was a challenging year for all of us last year; we lost 2.6 million
lives globally due to the pandemic, it affected our businesses,
the operation of national societies and the way we do our testingand inspection and put us all in an exceedingly difficult situation.
With collective efforts from all over the world, we are getting our
vaccinations and looking forward to living a ‘new normal’.
While social distancing is being practised across the world,
we have embraced greater digitalisation and telecommuting has
become the new mode of working. I am glad that members of
ICNDT stayed safe throughout 2020 and are now bringing thesocieties back into full operation.
ICNDT started the year with its Annual Meeting. Held virtually over Zoom on 11 February
2021, several members attended the meeting and we set our budget for 2021. David Gilbert
presented the ICNDT Annual Report and Gerhard Aufricht, ICNDT Treasurer, presented thebalance sheet, which was approved during the meeting. Reports from various working groups
were presented and a key update on the 20th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing(20th WCNDT) was also presented by the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing (KSNT).
Several national societies successfully delivered virtual exhibitions and conferences in2020 and I have noticed that some have already planned their events for 2021 and beyond.
I would request that those members succeeding with their virtual events kindly assist themember societies in their region that are seeking help to organise such an event.
On 14-15 and 20-21 April 2021, ICNDT co-hosted the International Virtual Conference on
NDE 4.0 with the German Society for Non-Destructive Testing (DGZfP). Digitalisation,
artificial intelligence and the combined use of multiple NDT methods and techniques aresome of the key areas where more research and specific practical applications are needed
to improve our productivity and reliability and take it to the next level. This will further
improve the safety and performance of various industries.
NDT societies are playing a greater role in attracting young engineers into the industry
by actively working with educational institutions. One such example in Singapore is the
success story of the Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP) offered by the Singapore
Institute of Technology (SIT). Within the programme, students are attached to industries
to gain NDT work experience for almost 12 months during the midterm of university
education. Students are then given the opportunity to take certification examination to
ISO 9712 Level 2 in certain methods after the programme and are readily employable in theindustry after their four years of study and graduation.
As a closing note, I hope you all stay in good health and I look forward to meeting inperson at one of our national or international conferences.
Stay safe, stay positive and stay healthy.

Ir Sajeesh K Babu, Chair, ICNDTMay 2021
Welcome to the world of
NDE 4.0
Johannes Vrana and Ripi SinghICNDT SIG NDE 4.0
The world of non-destructive evaluation (NDE)
has seen digitisation since the Third Industrial
Revolution. Over the last decade or so, we
have also observed digitalisation, to a point
where it is now ready for digital transformation,in sync with the Fourth Industrial Revolution(Industry 4.0). This, however, needs serious
connectivity of technology and processes,
which requires further standardisation andconcurrence of industry leaders, globally.
Digital transformation is not an overnightswitch. It is a journey full of challenges anduncertainty. It is possible only when we
work together. Fortunately, we have several
professional bodies around the world thathave shown interest in collaborating on this
topic. It is time for action.

Introduction
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, fuelled
by digital connectivity and cyber-physicalconfluence, is rapidly changing every sector.
For the world of NDE, it offers unprecedented
opportunities for infrastructure and asset safety,
inspector wellbeing, manufacturing quality
assurance and product design improvement.
A design thinking approach systematicallybrought out over a dozen use cases and a way
to look at the emerging transformation[1].

NDE 4.0 international collaboration
The global inspection community is taking
NDE 4.0 seriously. In 2017, the German
Society for Non-Destructive Testing (DGZfP)
started the ‘ZfP 4.0’ committee, in 2018
the ICNDT Specialist International Group(SIG) ‘NDE 4.0’ was formed and in 2019 theAmerican Society for Non-Destructive Testing(ASNT) established a committee on ‘NDE 4.0’.
ASNT also formulated an NDE 4.0
Global Ambassadors sub-group to exchange
practices across national boundaries.
Continued on page two

The Official Journal of the International Committee for Non-Destructive TestingICNDT Journal
Publisher:

Organised by the German Society for
Non-Destructive Testing (DGZfP eV)

The International Committee for Non-Destructive Testing (ICNDT).
The ICNDT is registered as a legalised Association with its seat in Vienna,
Austria. Jochen-Rindt-Straße 33, 1230 Vienna, Austria.
Secretariat: The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT),
Midsummer House, Riverside Way, Bedford Road, Northampton NN1
5NX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1604 438300; Fax: +44 (0)1604 438301; Email: info@
bindt.org

Editor:David Gilbert, The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT).
Tel: +44 (0)1604 438300; Fax: +44 (0)1604 438301; Email: david.gilbert@
bindt.org

Production:

Corinne Mackle, BINDT
Zoe White, BINDT
Hannah Nichol, BINDTStephanie Hepworth, BINDT

Published three times per year.
Editorial contributions are welcomed.
Articles should be sent to David Gilbert, BINDT. Email: david.gilbert@bindt.org
Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the International Committee for
Non-Destructive Testing. No liability is accepted whatsoever for errors or omissions.

International
Conference on
NDE 4.0
26-28 April 2022
Munich, Germany
Contact: Steffi Dehlau, DGZfP eV,
Max-Planck-Straße 6,
12489 Berlin, Germany.
Tel: +49 30 67807 120;
Fax: +49 30 67807 129;
Email: tagungen@dgzfp.de

ICNDT member societies are authorised to distribute this newsletter and/or its contents; however,
permission should be obtained for reproduction of individual articles and extracts.

Material for the next ICNDT Journal should be sent toDavid Gilbert, email: david.gilbert@bindt.org
Continued from front page
During the first meeting of global ambassadors, it became obvious thatdevelopments on cyber-physical integration of NDE are happening
within corporations and universities, whether they call it NDE 4.0 or
not. Areas of shared interest that emerged in the introduction session
included: an acceptable definition of NDE 4.0; intersection withcertification; and stakeholder awareness. The ambassadors decided
collectively that an international exchange would be useful andshould be carried out periodically, preferably every quarter.
By the end of 2020, the global ambassadors and the SIG agreed tocome together under the banner of ‘ICNDT SIG NDE 4.0 and create
internationally acceptable guidelines. As of today, the following 18
nations are actively engaged: Argentina; Australia; Canada; China;
Finland; France; Germany; India; Italy; Japan; Portugal; Mexico; theNetherlands; Russia; South Korea; Spain; the UK; and the USA. The
SIG is looking forward to including more nations as they pick up
speed and enhancing the knowledge exchange on this topic, which
has become even more relevant with the new reality.
The SIG encourages nations to broaden engagement on the
topic of NDE 4.0, spread the idea, start activities regarding building
national committees on NDE 4.0 and meet regularly with the otherambassadors for international exchange (best practice sharing). The
idea is to have two ambassadors from each country/national NDT
society and one from each of the following NDT regional groups:
the Asia Pacific Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (APFNDT),
the European Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (EFNDT), the
Pan-American Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (PANNDT)
and the African Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (AFNDT). Allambassadors must have a keen interest in NDE 4.0 and Industry 4.0.
As of January 2021, the topics deserving SIG attention (not all
inclusive) can be broadly classified as follows:l Technical standards: interfaces, data formats, inspections,reliability (probability of detection (POD)), validation, etcl Process: terminology, NDE 4.0 roadmap and application
guidance, knowledge platform, etcl Business: data ownership, business models, etc

2

https://conference.
nde40.com

l Human: changing role, training and certification, ethics,
diversity and inclusion, COVID-19, etc.

Current NDE 4.0 definition
The SIG has defined NDE 4.0 (for the moment) as cyber-physical NDE;
arising out of a confluence of Industry 4.0 technologies and traditional
NDE physical methods, to enhance inspection performance anddecision-making for safety and quality assurance, as well as to provide
relevant data to improve design, production and maintenance[2].

ICNDT International Specialist Workshop on NDE 4.0
At the 20th WCNDT, an ICNDT International Specialist Workshop
on NDE 4.0 will be organised by Johannes Vrana and Roman Maev
for further promotion and knowledge exchange on the topic
of NDE 4.0. This workshop is planned for three hours and will
include a panel discussion and nine presentations.

International NDE 4.0 conference
Due to the current situation, the first International Conference on
NDE 4.0 was organised in two parts: a virtual conference, which took placein April 2021, and a three-day conference taking place in April 2022.

NDE 4.0 special issuesl Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation: https://link.springer.com/
journal/10921/topicalCollection/AC_784b1b0b7c2fa6cb021e
9b4eb3b770ael Research in Nondestructive Evaluation: www.tandfonline.com/
toc/urnd20/31/5-6
l Materials
Evaluation:
https://mydigitalpublication.com/
publication/frame.php?i=664559
l ’Welcome to the World of NDE 4.0’: www.youtube.com/c/nde40

References
1. J Vrana and R Singh, ‘NDE 4.0 – From design thinking to strategy’,Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Vol 40, No 8, 2021.
2. R Singh and J Vrana, ‘NDE 4.0 – Why should ‘I’ get on this bus
now?’ CINDE Journal, Vol 41, No 4, pp 6-13, 2020.

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

OBITUARIESDr Hae Lee

Eduard Stepanovich Gorkunov

16 September 1932 – 5 December 2020

Died 25 October 2020

Dr Hae Lee, former President of
the Korea Institute of Machineryand Materials (KIMM) andformer President of the Korean Society
for Nondestructive Testing (KSNT), sadly
passed away on 5 December 2020 inSeoul, Korea.
Dr Lee was one of the first-generationengineers educated abroad, most ofwhom contributed to the national
restoration of science and technology
in Korea after lagging behind many other nations due to thedevastating Korean War. After obtaining his PhD degree from thePennsylvania State University, USA, he established a career asa system dynamics engineer at Westinghouse in the 1970s andjoined the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) as aVice President. This provided the opportunity for him to recognise
the importance of NDT technology, as there were many new
constructions of nuclear power plants in South Korea.
Dr Lee was one of the founding members for the inaugurationof KSNT in 1980. Besides his tenure as the President of KSNT for
two terms in the early 1990s, he was instrumental in bringing KSNT
activities to the international arena. During the 14th WCNDT in
New Delhi, India, he inspired his junior colleagues at KSNT with
the idea that Korea could one day host the WCNDT. This initiative
has been realised with the organisation of the 20th WCNDT andhe was ready to attend the long-awaited event last June. However,it was postponed and, regretfully, he could not wait any longer.
Dr Lee’s contributions to the nation include his role asCommissioner of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission andother governmental positions, all of which led to him being honoured
with the Peony Medal, the second highest order of civil merit in Korea.
Our deepest condolences are extended to the family, friends
and colleagues of Dr Lee.

A

distinguished scientist and lecturer
in the fields of magnetic phenomena,technical diagnostics and nondestructive methods and a talented, loved
and respected leader and teacher, Eduard
Stepanovich Gorkunov died on 25 October
2020 after a brave battle with coronavirus.
Eduard was a Professor, Doctor of Sciences,
Head of the Institute of Mechanical Scienceof the Ural Branch of the Russian Academyof Sciences (URO RAN), Deputy Professor of
Sciences and Chairman of URO RAN, and Honorary President of theRussian Society for Non-Destructive Testing and Technical Diagnostics(RSNTTD). Chair of the RAN Scientific Council on the problems ofautomatic diagnostic systems, Eduard was Editor-in-Chief of Diagnostics,
Resource and Mechanics of Materials and Structures and a member ofthe Editorial Board of the journals Defectoscopy and Control Diagnostics.
He was also a member of the Editorial Board of the journal NDT Days,
published by the Bulgarian Association for Non-Destructive Testing(BGSNDT), as well as Machines. Technologies. Materials, published by
the Scientific and Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering. He wasrecognised for his achievements in the science and application of NDTwith state honours of the Russian Federation: the Order of Friendship, theOrder of Honour and the Order of Labour Glory Third Class medal.
Eduard Gorkunov was a Member of Academia NDTInternational and an Honorary Member of the Israeli National
Society for Non-Destructive Testing (ISRANDT). In the last 30
years of his life, Eduard Gorkunov was actively involved in thescientific and public life of the non-destructive testing specialists
in Bulgaria. He was an Honorary Member of BGSNDT and an
Associate Member of the Institute of Mechanics at the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences (BAS). His contribution to the developmentof cooperation between the Russian Federation and Bulgaria wasrecognised when he was awarded Bulgarian citizenship in 2020.

20th WCNDT postponed again due tothe global impact of COVID-19

T

he 20th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing(20th WCNDT) has been rescheduled again and will now
take place from 28 February-4 March 2022 at Songdo
Convensia, Incheon, South Korea.

Background of the decision to postpone
The decision was made based on the fact that the chance of somedefinite improvement in the situation regarding the COVID-19
pandemic before the latter half of 2021 appeared to be very slim. The
Organising Committee of the 20th WCNDT has closely monitored thecurrent pandemic situation and tried constantly to explore possible
options for the successful hosting of the 20th WCNDT. Sponsors andexhibitors clearly indicated their preference for a physical in-person
conference in the survey that was conducted as part of the Organising
Committee’s efforts. At the same time, the health and safety of
everyone participating at the conference must be the top priority. The
new dates were determined after careful consideration of any possible
conflict with other NDT-related events, including the 13th European
Conference on Non-Destructive Testing (ECNDT 2022) and the 16th
Asia Pacific Conference for Non-Destructive Testing (APCNDT 2023).

The venue
Located in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), Songdo
Convensia is readily accessible from/to the Incheon International

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

Airport (IATA: ICN) and is less than an hour from Seoul via public
transportation. The conference and exhibition facilities were
fully renovated in 2018. Attendees can enjoy a stay in worldclass accommodation within walking distance of the venue andexperience diverse local cultures.

Related logistics issues
All paid registrations, accepted abstracts, contracts for exhibition andsponsorship that have been made to date shall be maintained androlled over to the rescheduled conference. Updated ‘important dates’
for the additional submission of abstracts and rescheduled registration
deadlines in accordance with the new dates are available on theconference website. Participants are advised to visit the website
regularly to check relevant information about the conference.
The Organising Committee is committed to providing a
dynamic technical programme and delivering the best outcomes toall delegates and participants. While the postponement has caused
much trouble for all stakeholders, the 20th WCNDT will be an
exciting place to network, exchange ideas and share experienceswith professional colleagues in NDT and related fields from allaround the world.
For further information, contact the Conference Secretariat,
email: secretariat@wcndt2020.com or tel: +82 2 6257 7568, orvisit the website at: www.wcndt2020.com / www.20thwcndt.com

3

WCNDT

4

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

Contact:
C Belinco – belinco@cnea.gov.ar
N Couture – ncouture@asnt.org

Regional Report
PAN-AMERICA

News from the American Society for Nondestructive Testing
ASNT conferences and events
ASNT has the following events planned for 2021:

ASNT Learnl 10-12 August 2021: 16th International Symposium on
Nondestructive Characterization of Materials (ISNDCM)
Venue: Baltimore, Maryland.

Every month, ASNT hosts three different webinar series:
NDT Applications; Management of NDT (co-hosted by the
Nondestructive Testing Management Association (NDTMA));and Innovation in NDT. Through ASNT Learn, users can accessselect presentations from previous events, explore demos fromcompanies and discover more free resources. ASNT’s learning
opportunities also offer contact hours, which may be applied
towards continuing education units (CEUs) or Level III certification
renewal points.

l 15-18 November 2021: ASNT 2021 – The Annual Conference
Venue: Phoenix, Arizona.

Virtual Section

It is hoped that a return to in-person events will soon bepossible, but there will be a virtual component to all ASNT events.
Visit www.asnt.org/events to see the full event information.

ASNT now has a Virtual Section, connecting members fromaround the globe. This allows members to stay current on topics
relevant to the NDT industry. The ASNT Virtual Section expands
ASNT’s global reach by bringing educational programming andnetworking opportunities to ASNT’s highly dispersed members.

l 22-24 June 2021: NDT of Composites 2021
Venue: Renton, Washington.
l 27-29 July 2021: Digital Imaging & Ultrasonics for NDT 2021
Venue: Reno, Nevada.

Industry Sector Qualification – Oil & Gas
ASNT continues to provide the industry with the Industry Sector
Qualification – Oil & Gas (ISQ – O&G) examinations. ASNT has
added to its ISQ examinations with the addition of Shear Wave
Pressure Equipment Weld. ASNT currently has two locations
offering the ISQ examinations and will be adding more locations
to its ASNT Authorized Examination Centers (AECs).

ASNT Central Certification Program
ASNT continues to reshape its Central Certification Program(ACCP) to fully adopt ISO/IEC 9712. This also includes theimplementation of a revised AECs process to administer ACCP
examinations and the ISQ programme. ASNT has been soliciting
new AECs to conduct ACCP examinations and ISQ assessments.

Career Center
ASNT has relaunched its new and improved Career Center. Here,visitors have access to content and resources, plus the ability toview and apply for new job postings. Organisations can also postjobs on the site.

ASNT Pulse
ASNT Pulse is the go-to blog for the latest in NDT industry news,
career tips, ASNT programme information and more. Bookmark
blog.asnt.org now and continue to discover the latest posts
throughout the year.

Employer-Based Certification Audit Program
Recently launched, the Employer Based Certification (EBC) Audit
Program provides the NDT industry with a registry programme that
ensures NDT service providers and inspection agencies meet theminimum compliance with either SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 throughthe employer’s Written Practice. ASNT is currently auditing several
companies and has added two companies to the official registry of
all companies and locations that hold an accreditation with ASNT
for the EBC Accreditation Program.

International Chemical andPetroleum Industry Inspection
Technology Conference 2022
(ICPIIT 2022)
16-18 March 2022
Sugar Land, Texas, USA
Contact: ASNT, 1711 Arlingate Lane, PO Box 28518,
Columbus, OH 43228-0518, USA. Tel: +1 614 274 6003;
Fax: +1 614 274 6899; Email: conferences@asnt.org

www.asnt.org

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

5

Contact:
N Ooka – nori-ooka@rio.odn.ne.jp
L Dick – ljdick@ndt.co.nz

Regional Report
ASIA-PACIFIC

AINDT confirms new dates for 16th APCNDTT

he Australian Institute for NDT (AINDT)’s roadmap to hosting
the 16th Asia Pacific Conference for Non-Destructive Testing(APCNDT 2021) began back in 2013. A large contingent of
AINDT delegates attended the 14th APCNDT in Mumbai, India,
and presented a compelling proposal to host the 16th APCNDT in
Melbourne, Australia. Thankfully, AINDT was successful in its bid!
The following eight years have been a blur of marketing APCNDT
2021 around the world! AINDT made the strategic decision very
early on to form a committee of active AINDT volunteers to assist inpromoting the event at non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition
monitoring (CM) events around the globe. The readers of this article
are probably now very used to seeing the Aussies roll into events
around the world, bring some true blue Aussie enthusiasm with them!
Everything was going well and AINDT received the official APCNDT
torch from the NDT Society of Singapore (NDTSS), which did a tremendous
job hosting the 15th APCNDT. AINDT had started to make some hugeadvancements in preparation for its event. The venue was locked in, thebudget was agreed, technical sessions had begun to be programmed andsponsorship and exhibition space had started to be filled.
In December 2019, the Organising Committee had just completed
back-to-back events in the USA and Singapore and returned toAustralia looking forward to a nice Christmas break before hitting
the road again in 2020. Then, news of a very contagious virus washeard and COVID-19 hit the streets. As we are all fully aware, theoutbreak spread quickly and, before we knew it, borders had been

locked down, including the borders between most of the states
within Australia. A state of emergency was announced, seeing very
strict restrictions being placed upon the nation.
During 2020, the Australian Institute still held out hope that
APCNDT 2021 would go ahead. However, as the year progressed
and the worldwide pandemic grew immensely, AINDT unfortunately
had to follow the decision made for the 20th World Conference on
Non-Destructive Testing (20th WCNDT) and postpone APCNDT 2021.
As with WCNDT, APCNDT is a time where the NDT and CM
communities from around the region come together as a united
industry. As the international borders remained tightly closed,questions arose around the possibility of a virtual conference. After
careful consideration by the Organising Committee of all aspectsof a virtual event, it was decided that it was not within the bestinterests of the global industry or AINDT to proceed virtually.
To that end, AINDT is happy to announce, with the approvalof the AINDT Federal Council and its membership base, that the
16th APCNDT will be held as a ‘facemask-to-facemask’ sociallydistanced event. The event will be hosted at the Melbourne
Conference and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and will open from Tuesday
28 February to Friday 3 March 2023. This will be a ‘fair dinkum’
Aussie event and one to be remembered for a long time to come!
AINDT and the APCNDT 2023 Organising Committee lookforward to welcoming the global NDT community back toAustralia with a bang! Until then, please stay safe.

20th Conference on NDT Technology held in TaiwanT

he 20th Conference on NDT Technology, which brings together
academics and industrialists every two years to explore thelatest developments and applications of non-destructive
testing (NDT) in Taiwan, was held from 22-23 October 2020 inKaohsiung. Co-organised by the Society for Nondestructive Testing& Certification of Taiwan (SNTCT) and China Steel Corporation(CSC), the event attracted more than 400 participants from the major
corporations, NDT specialists and academia.
SNTCT opened the conference with two plenary lectures ongreen energy development and remote NDT techniques. The latter

was presented via the internet by Takahide Sakagami, President of
the Japanese Society for Non-Destructive Inspection (JSNDI), who
has been working on thermography research and NDT applications.
The 20th Conference focused on standardisations of NDTacross qualification and certification for general NDT services
and for the aerospace industry. Special sessions on pipeline safety
for petrochemical industries were also highlighted. Thanks to thematerials provided by Sajeesh K Babu, ICNDT Chair, the panel
discussion moderated by Chih-Hung Chiang, President of SNTCT,
received significant attention from the audience.

KSNT celebrated 40th anniversary with 2020 Annual ConferenceCelebrating its accomplishment of 40 successful years
contributing to the development and revitalisation of
the non-destructive testing (NDT) industry in Korea, theKorean Society for Nondestructive Testing (KSNT) hosted a very
successful Annual Fall Conference from 5-6 November 2020 at
the International Conference Hall of the Korean Federation of
Science and Technology Societies (KOFST) in Seoul. More than 300
attendees, including domestic experts from industry and academia,
participated in the conference, where 128 papers were presented.
In addition to the professional programme, the exhibition hall,sponsored by more than ten companies, was kept open and theconference was followed by the 2020 Annual Business Meeting.
Founded in 1980, KSNT is a unique technical society in Korea
dedicated to personal certification and the dissemination ofadvanced NDT technology to industries. By combining the eventwith its 40th anniversary celebrations, KSNT provided a very special
opportunity for members to look back on its history and consider
the future direction of the society. A special display, with a series ofphotos to retrace its records of achievement during the past 40 years,
was located between the meeting rooms and the exhibition hall.
KSNT also published a 40-year history book to commemorate the6anniversary, which was distributed to all attendees and members.
An abridged edition of the book will be available in English forfree to all registered delegates and participants of the 20th World
Conference on Non-Destructive Testing (20th WCNDT).
Woo Il Lee, KOFST President, joined the ceremony anddelivered his congratulations. In addition, video clips ofcongratulatory messages from Sajeesh K Babu (ICNDT Chair),
Norikazu Ooka (APFNDT President), Michael V McGloin(ASNT President), Gongtian Shen (ChSNDT President) and
Takahide Sakagami (JSNDI President) were presented.
KSNT had initially planned to commemorate its 40th anniversary
from 8-12 June 2020, the original dates of the 20th WCNDT, but thishas been postponed twice. Nevertheless, KSNT was lucky enoughto be able to successfully hold this special event in November
2020 as a face-to-face meeting while strictly observing the social
distancing guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the only
possible time from October to mid-November that the nationalguidelines allowed any event of less than 500 people attending, as
the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Korea was relatively low
in that period. However, KSNT was unable to arrange the planned
40th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Party.

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

Contact:
F Gómez Fraile – fgomezf@aend.org
A Mullin – mullin@ndt-rus.ru

Regional Report
EUROPE

Burns Supper with a whisky flavourT

he 2021 British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT)
Scottish Branch event was different from normal in two ways.
Firstly, as is the new normal, it had to be online and, secondly, it
combined the traditions of a Burns Supper with the opportunity to taste
five different whiskies, one for each of five toasts during the event.
Around a hundred people logged into Zoom on 29 January
2021 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns,
Scotland’s favourite poet. The Burns Supper has been held annually
since the early 1970s, when Ken Geddes and Bob Service, among
others, started the tradition. This year, the event was organised withthe cooperation of Rachel and Jen of The Grail, a boutique whisky
shop in Doune, near Stirling. Each person registered for the event by
Karen Cambridge, BINDT, was sent a pack of five whisky miniaturesand instructions on how to prepare for the serious business of tasting.
Mike Farley welcomed the guests, including Iain Baillie,
attending his first social occasion in the role of BINDT President,
Sajeesh K Babu (ICNDT Chair) in Singapore, Gerard Aufricht(ICNDT Treasurer) in Vienna, Caroline Bull, John Hanson,
John Whittle and Tony Wooldridge (all Past Presidents of BINDT),
Tony Gachagan and Mark Perston (Co-Chairs of the Scottish Branch)
and David Gilbert (BINDT CEO).
After the traditional Selkirk Grace, recited by Fraser Hardie,
Rachel, with the benefit of some excellently designed slides,
explained how best to taste whiskies (chosen to link to ourBurns theme) and maximise the flavours. She then introducedPeter McAlister who sang ‘There was a lad born in Kyle’.
The Address to the Haggis was given in fine style by Hugh Kerr,a friend of Mike, who toasted the haggis with a glass of Timorous
Beastie, a very pleasant blend of Highland malts. For clarification
for the uninitiated, the Timorous Beastie refers to a mouse, in
Burns’ poem of that title, not to the haggis, which is a much morefearsome beast!
Charles Macleod, a member of the Scottish Branch committee,
proposed the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns, explaining the lifeof Burns and quoting some of his works, and toasting the bard with
Deanston 12-year-old, a single malt distilled just outside Doune,
close to Doune Castle (a tourist hotspot since it was used for filming
Outlander and Game of Thrones). It is a beautiful golden colour,
which comes from the bourbon barrels in which it is stored.
Peter McAlister sang ‘Duncan Gray’ and the programme moved
on to the Toast to the Lassies, (brilliantly) proposed by Mike Farleyusing a Glendronach eight-year-old malt from, appropriately,
the first distillery in Scotland to have a female Master Blender.
Glendronach is known as the ‘sherried dram’ because it is matured
in former sherry casks.
David Gilbert, in his solo debut at the Burns Supper sang ‘Aefond kiss’, probably Burns’ most famous love song. Well doneDavid – you’re sure to be asked back!
The next item on the programme was another first and, formany, the highlight of the night. Hugh Kerr presented an audiovisual version of Burns’ epic tale of Tam O’Shanter. This brilliant
presentation, prepared by Hugh, brought the poem to life andmany people said afterwards that there were parts that they
understood for the first time!
The fourth toast, to BINDT (and the Scottish Branch), wasproposed by President Iain Baillie, wearing his Highland dress.
Iain hails from Burns country (Ayrshire) and raised a glass of North
British. The North British distillery is in Edinburgh, where Burns
headed in 1786. The whisky was a single cask grain Scotch, aged
26 years and 52% ABV, and the most expensive tasted at around£110 a bottle! Only 148 bottles were made. It was very popular
too among the tasters.
Staying on message, ‘Scotch drink’ was the next recitation,
excellently presented by Peter McAlister. A bottle of Timorous
Beastie supplied by The Grail was raffled and won by
Teti Stratoudaki.
Scottish Branch Co-Chair Tony Gachagan toasted the guests
and artists, thanking all concerned for their performances, Rachel
for expertly talking through the whiskies and for her excellent
slides, and Mike Farley and Karen Cambridge for organising theevent. His whisky was a very pleasant Arran ten-year-old malt.
The evening was completed with a short whisky quiz, a poll ofpeople’s preferences (the North British was the favourite) and thesinging of ‘Auld lang syne’, led by Peter McAlister.

Afternotesl While we would hope that the 2022 event will be back tonormal, if it needs to be held online then we have a suitable
formula for a very enjoyable event!
l The Grail has remained open for online sales during lockdown
and it would be good to support the business. Visit the website
at: www.thegrail.scot

RELACRE officially hosts CANENDThe Associação de Laboratórios Acreditados de Portugal(RELACRE) now officially hosts the National Aerospace
Committee for Non-Destructive Testing (CANEND), after thesignature of the cooperation protocol during the General Assembly
held on 15 December 2020.
CANEND supports the industry and regulatory bodies in
the aerospace sector with regards to the implementation andsupervision of EN 4179 for the qualification and approval of
personnel for non-destructive testing (NDT). This joint committee
is an important milestone in RELACRE’s history, which will allow
a new branch of activity, especially for the safety and reliability of
the aerospace sector to be developed.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the national
aviation authorities recognise the role that these committees have,namely, providing the capacity building and training recognition
carried out through qualification examinations of personnel
working within the scope of NDT. CANEND is the Portuguese
representative at the European aerospace sector forum of theEuropean Federation for Non-Destructive Testing (EFNDT).

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

Sérgio Nascimento (left), President, CANEND, and Álvaro Ribeiro,
President, RELACRE

7

EUROPE

8ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

EUROPE

News from the French Confederation for Non-Destructive Testing
New Civil Engineering Sectoral Committeeof COFREND
The new Civil Engineering Sectoral Committee created in2020 by the French Confederation for Non-Destructive Testing(COFREND) covers the construction of buildings and engineering
structures in reinforced concrete (RC) and/or pre-stressed
concrete (PC).
The use of non-destructive testing (NDT) methods within
maintenance operations, whether inspections, diagnoses oranalyses, is becoming more widespread, supplementing thelaboratory tests and analyses traditionally carried out on samples.
The scope of application of these NDT methods generally concerns
the following missions:l Inspections: quality control of construction, positioning andthe reconstruction of the reinforcement plan of the structuralparts or elements made of RC or PC on existing structures;l Diagnosis: measurements for pathological diagnoses(reinforcement coating thickness, corrosion levels, moisturemeasurements, surface resistance, etc); andl Analyses: searching for defects, construction anomalies,
pathological cracks, etc.
The Civil Engineering Sectoral Committee will initially(2021-2022) certify operators involved in inspections of thepositioning and reconstruction of the reinforcement plan ofstructural parts or elements made of RC or PC, using the mostcommon NDT methods, from the simplest to the most complex:l Pachometers, and the like, using eddy currents; andl Ground-penetrating radar.
These methods represent an important part of the activities
carried out on-site during the construction or maintenance of civilengineering buildings and structures, for which a guarantee ofthe quality of the measurements (validation of the execution ofwork phases, verification recalculations, pathological diagnostics,
analyses, etc) is necessary in view of the stakes.
In the second stage (2022-2023), certification will be extended
to other methods used in diagnostics and analyses. This will coverelectrochemical corrosion measurements, capacity measurements,
sclerometric methods, ultrasound methods, etc.
These applications as a whole require a high level of expertise,
and a single form of certification with three levels is being studied.
The training and examinations for this certification must ensurethat the agents concerned have the necessary qualifications tointervene in the sector of the products concerned, with all therequired quality guarantees. In parallel, the establishment of
a network of accredited qualification bodies and examination
centres, and the certification of examiners, will take place.
For more information, email: pole.certification@cofrend.com

2020 SHM@COFREND webconference
scores a great success
Despite the precarious situation regarding face-to-face events,
the members of the structural health monitoring (SHM) branchof COFREND maintained the community’s flagship event by
remotely organising the third annual SHM@COFREND Day
on 10 December 2020. With nearly 100 online participants,
the turnout was a real success and demonstrated the strong
interest around the initiative to structure the SHM sector
in France.
Indeed, launched three years ago by COFREND, this is a jointreflection initiated, in parallel with the annual events, in working
groups, the work of which reveals the significant rise in SHM inmany industrial sectors expected in coming years. It is part of

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

a logical approach, as highlighted by Etienne Martin, Presidentof COFREND, in his opening speech: “What could be morenatural than developing, within COFREND, an SHM structure
for customers, academics and instrumentation providers, so thatthey can find answers, and promoting and federating technicalexpertise, an area in which COFREND fully plays its role ofsharing knowledge and disseminating scientific and technologicalprogress?”

Nearly 100 participants joined the online SHM@COFREND Day inDecember 2020

The programme, divided into three sessions, began bypresenting the discussions and thoughts of the three working
groups (Aeronautics, Civil Engineering and Energy, and Industrial
Equipment, including pressure vessels). This work will now moveon to the formalisation and prospective phase, through the draftingof a white paper on the subject.
Each session welcomed a guest speaker. This first session was
concluded with a presentation by Vincent Percepied, an expert
in the management of engineering structures. He shared his
feedback on the practices implemented today by local authorities
and his vision for the future, including the challenges associatedwith a changing culture and the notion of connected engineering
structures. The second guest speaker, Aurélien Rautureau, SHM
Specialist at Airbus Operations in Toulouse, who, in particular,
is responsible for the qualification of SHM technologies foraircraft, presented a project involving the development of an
SHM system that is currently underway at Airbus. The third guest
presentation was made by Jean-Louis Dabert, a technical adviser
on road infrastructures at APRR, who talked about practices andexpectations in the monitoring of motorway infrastructure.
Through the technical programme, other case studies andpresentations on SHM were given by several speakers coveringvarious topics around SHM, such as the monitoring of the structural
behaviour of the Villa Méditerranée, monitoring and inspection offorced pipes, practical cases involving data restitution, examplesof systems used for corrosion monitoring on reinforced concrete
structures, the design and deployment of wireless sensors andinstrumentation and in-situ sensors to monitor the structural healthof rails.
The next national SHM@COFREND event is scheduled forthe autumn of 2021, with the hope that conditions will allow fora meeting in person. For further information, please contact themembers of the steering committee, Bastien Chapuis (CEA List),
Vincent Le Cam (Gustave-Eiffel University) or Pierre Calmon(CEA List and President of the COFREND Scientific Centre), bysending your requests via email to: shm@cofrend.com

9EUROPE

The Annual British Conference on Non-Destructive Testing(NDT) is a prestigious event where experts in NDT and related
technologies meet to share experiences, ideas and the verylatest developments that will help shape the future of NDT.
There will be three parallel technical sessions covering a broad
range of NDT technologies and applications, including:• Rail and axle testing • Aerospace • Power generation • NDT of food
• NDT in forensic science • Automated and robotic NDT• Theoretical modelling • Inspection qualification • Composites• Electromagnetics • Adhesives and bonding • Thermography• Ultrasonics • Radiography • Digital radiography • Novel techniques• Digital signal processing and imaging • Monitoring• Research • Time-of-flight diffraction • Nuclear• Technology transfer in NDT • Medical and related NDT• Phased arrays • The needs of NDT end-users.

Abstracts (of no more than 200 words) must be submitted online
at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ndt2021 or via the link on
www.bindt.org by 7 May 2021*.
Full written papers that are submitted may be refereed with a view
to publication in Insight.
Conference proceedings will be published in the form of extended
abstracts (maximum 12 pages of A4 text) and one copy will be
provided for each delegate.
*Abstracts submitted after this date may still be accepted (subject to availability)

10

Call for Papers#NDT2021

21

59th Annual Conference
7-9 September 2021

The International Centre, Telford, UK

The 2021 Materials Testing Exhibition (#MT2021) will
run alongside the NDT conference, with over
70 companies expected to exhibit.
For further information, contact: Conferences and Events
Department, BINDT, Midsummer House, Riverside Way,
Bedford Road, Northampton NN1 5NX, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1604 438300; Fax: +44 (0)1604 438301;
Email: conf@bindt.org; Web: www.bindt.org

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

EUROPEICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021

11

CALENDAR OF NDT EVENTS
Month

Date

Venue

Event

Contact

May
2021

20-22

Online10th International Conference on Tribology(BALKANTRIB ’20)

balkantrib@mas.bg.ac.rs
http://balkantrib.mas.bg.ac.rs

14-18

Online17th International Conference on
Condition Monitoring and AssetManagement(CM 2021)

30-2
July

Online10th International Conference on
Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent
Infrastructure (SHMII-10)

7-21

Online74th IIW Annual Assembly andInternational Conference

conf@bindt.org
www.bindt.org

June
2021

July
2021

5-8

September
2021

October
2021

12

Manama8th Middle East NDT Conference andKingdom of Bahrain Exhibition

acunha@fe.up.pt
https://web.fe.up.pt/~shmii10

iiw@iiwelding.net
https://iiw2021.com

conference.officer@bse.bh
www.mendt.co

7-9

Telford
UK

59th Annual British Conference on NDTand Materials Testing Exhibition

conf@bindt.org
www.bindt.org

7-9

Online15th International Conference on Advances
in Experimental Mechanics

info@bssm.org
www.bssm.org/events/
conference-2021

4-6

Florence
Italy

3rd International Workshop: ‘Analysing Art:
New Technologies – New Applications’maev@uwindsor.ca
www.uwindsor.ca/idir

4-8PragueCzech Republic

2nd European NDT & CM Days 2021

endtcm21@guarant.cz
www.endtcm21.com /www.guarant.com

12-15

Beijing
China

3rd World Congress on Condition
Monitoring (WCCM 2021)

wccm2021@csei.org.cn
www.wccm2021.com

ICNDT Journal Vol 9 No 8 May 2021