Minutes of theInternational Committee on Nondestructive Testing (ICNDT)
Meeting held on the 8th, 9th and 12th December 1996
along with the14th World Conference on Nondestructive Testing (14th WCNDT)
December 8 – 13, New Delhi, INDIAThe 23rd Meeting of the International Committee on Nondestructive Testing (ICNDT) was
held on the 8th, 9th and 12th December 1996.
The following minutes have been recorded as per the circulated agenda for the Meeting. The
agenda for the Meeting is enclosed in Annexure –I.
The list of those who were present for these Meetings is given in Annexure – II.

8th December 1996, 1600 hours, Mumtaz Mahal, Hotel Taj Palace
1. Dr.Baldev Raj, President, International Committee on Nondestructive Testing (ICNDT),
invited every member to India and to the Meeting. He reported on the events that shaped the14th World Conference on Nondestructive Testing (14th WCNDT), right from the time ofbidding for the conference by India. A short summary of his Report is as follows:
He recollected that a team of members from the Indian Society for Nondestructive Testing bid
for India, to host the 14th WCNDT in Amsterdam in 1989. He mentioned that preparations forthe 14th WCNDT started in the right earnest from that time itself and that the firstannouncement of the Conference was distributed during the 13th WCNDT in Brazil in 1992.
Agfa was the first company to cosponsor the event he added. Subsequently the special flyer for
the International NDT Technical Exhibition and Trade Fair – 1996 (INTEXT NDT ’96) was
released in 1992 / 1993 and the second announcement in 1994. A very active and sustained
communication was maintained with all the NDT societies around the world as with the NDT
professionals in every country. The support received from individual societies, NDT
professionals and NDT publications is well appreciated and acknowledged, he added. Dr.
Baldev Raj took this opportunity to thank all the NDT societies and the ICNDT members fromaround the world for this marvellous support.
2. Mr. K.Viswanathan, General Secretary, ICNDT, explained in detail the statistics of theConference. A summary of his Report is given below:
He mentioned that more than 5000 first announcements, 8000 second announcements and3000 flyers of the INTEXT NDT `96 have been dispatched in the last four years to promote
the Conference, apart from about 25,000 posters (of two themes) sent around the world. In
addition a number of Updates were prepared and sent to all the NDT professionals, along witha series of 14th WCNDT Newsletters. Major journals around the world were requested to
publish information on the 14th WCNDT in their pages, which a majority of journals did,

adding to the publicity level. Apart from these print media, a dedicated World Wide Web (W W
W) she was operated from Japan, thanks to Dr. Morio Onoe of Ricoh, Japan, which
disseminated information about the Conference, the Pre-Conference Tutorials and the
INTEXT NDT `96 on the information superhighway.
Mr.K.Viswanathan added that a record number of papers were received for presentation in the
14th WCNDT, 736 to be precise. These were faxed to various reviewers worldwide and theirreview reports on a scale of 100 were collected and analysed for determining whether a paper
should be selected and what the mode of presentation should be, as poster or oral presentation.
All the papers, including a number of them which were submitted after the deadline, were sent
to Messrs. Oxford-IBH who took upon them the job of bringing out the Proceedings of theConference.
The Pre-Conference Tutorials, a new venture in the history of World Conferences on NDT
received good support, primarily from the budding NDT practitioners. Top notch NDT
professionals from around the world with proven pedagogic experience were requested tohandle the Tutorials, while the Tutorial notes which they had prepared were made ready for
distribution among the participants.
Industry Experts Meet was another new idea that increased the professional value of theConference for those who attended. Mr. K.Viswanathan mentioned that the cost of theConference is about Rs. 2.7 crores (about U.S. $700,000) and concluded that approximately 30– 40 man years of professional hard work has gone into the successful realization of theConference. He took this opportunity to welcome all the ICNDT Members and their colleagues
to the 14th WCNDT and the INTEXT NDT`96.
3. Dr. Morio Onoe presented the NDT activities of the International Standards Organization(ISO) and compared its standards to that of the CEN. He stressed the need for faster
implementation of the processes of standardization. A brief summary of his presentation is
given below:
Many standards have been developed to ensure the consistent, reliable and effective use of NDT. Recent rapid
growth of global trade and international activities calls for truly international standards, rather than numerous
national and regional standards. ISO/TC135 is devoted to this aim as a part of International Organization ofStandards (ISO). ISO/TC135’s new strategic policy emphasizes: setting priorities, compliance with ISO 9000
series Quality Management System and 14000 series Environment Management System, implementation ofVienna agreement and utilization of modern communication.
The rapid progress of communication network technology, especially the Internet, offers many opportunities in thefield of international standardization to improve mutual understanding, encourage discussion in early stage andspeed up every step of standardization with a substantial saving in cost, time and manpower. Specifically a trial
use of the World Wide Web (WWW) and other services in the Internet are proposed. This is not to replace thepresent processes based on conventional mail and facsimile, which will remain as an official channel forcommunication.
Two WWW home pages of ISO/TC 135 have been set up. The first web is open for public to disseminate
information related to TC 135 activities. Its URL is http://www.ricoh. co.p/net-messena/NDTWW/
INTERN / ISO135.html. The another web, which is linked from the public web, in exclusive to members ofTC 135 and hidden to general public. Its access is controlled by an ID pair of user name and password to avoid
premature disclosure of drafts and encourage free discussion among members.
Prof. Dr.Gerd Dobmann, German delegate in Commission V of the IIW and Chairman of the
sub-commission VE “Weld Inspection Topics based on Electrical, Magnetic and Optical
Methods,” presented the activities of the International Institute of Welding (IIW) andmentioned its objectives as the development of welding and the exchange of scientific andtechnical information. He also detailed the activities of Commission V of the IIW. A briefsummary of this presentation is given below:
IIW was founded in 1948 by the welding institutes or societies in 13 countries, who felt the need to create it tomake rapid scientific and technical progress possible. Experts from around the world are working in more than
20 Commissions or other units on a permanent basis to stimulate and coordinate research and to disseminate
information of welding processes, their application in terms of material, design and inspection and other associatedsubject such as health and safety education training and qualification, terminology and documentation.
The working units of the IIW have supplied the technical basis of the great majority of welding standards issued
by ISO over the past 30 years. Since 1989 the IIW has been authorized by ISO to prepare final texts ofinternational welding standards as an international standard organization.
The concern of Commission V is quality control and quality assurance of welded products. The Chairman is Dr.
Thomas A.Siewert, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. The
technical scope in Commission V is Radiography and Radioscopy of welds and reliability of methods; ultrasonicsbased inspection methods; Electrical, magnetic and optical methods; Quality management in welding technology
including monitoring, on-line inspection and fitness for purpose principles; a special working group is set up foroffshore inspection.
The Objectives of IIW are: To organize the exchange of scientific and technical information and provide for thetransfer of knowledge related to these techniques. To prepare recommendations, state-of-the-art reports andguidelines related to the technical field. To promote by all appropriate means the organization of national welding
institutes or associations in countries where these do not exist. To organize Annual Assemblies, International
Conferences and Regional Congresses. To define guidelines for the education, training, qualification andcertification of personnel involved in welding and rules for their application. To prepare and to assist in theformulation of international standards in collaboration of the International Organization for Standardization(ISO). To promote and encourage the development of sustainable environment within welding activities.
Dr.Pierre Priester of the CEN highlighted the new approach of the CEN. While mentioningthat it is headquartered in Brussels, he compared the CEN’s initiative in this area with that of
TC 138. Dr.Priester also mentioned about the eight working groups of the CEN. A briefsummary of this presentation is given below:
One of the basic principles, in the frame [work] of European Union, is that standardization is used as reference
for the free circulation of goods.
CEN/TC138, created in 1988, is in charge to claborate standards on certification and qualification of NDT
personnel and general standards on the NDT methods (general principles of the method, characterization andverification of the equipment, terminology). Its programme includes 77 work items and 11 standards are alreadypublished. Furthermore, CEN/TC 138 collaborates with ISO/TC135 in order to have indentical standards,
when it is possible, in the frame [work] of the Vienna agreement.
NDT general application standards from CEN/TC138 can be considered as basic documents for a quality
approach because these standards give the requirements and all necessary information for the application of an
NDT method.
Dr. Kishan Lal mentioned the activities of the UNIDO in the area of Nondestructive Testingand its intention to setup a Centre on the lines of the International Centre for Theoretical
Physics (ICTP) in Italy. This Centre would be known as the International Centre for Materials
Evaluation Technology (ICMET). He highlighted the scope, objectives and mission of the
proposed ICMET. A brief summary of his presentation is given below:
The International Centre for Materials Evaluation Technology (ICMET) has been established at the premisesof Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), Taejon, Republic of Korea. The Institute is acollaborative activity of UNIDO and the Republic of Korea. This Centre aspires to be a key-institution for
promoting international collaboration between developing and developed countries for materials evaluation
technology, thereby assessing the formulation of national / regional /international standards and codes of practice.
It will help in awareness building, cooperative R & D, advisory services, training, developing and establishingdatabases, promotion of international cooperation and liaison with bodies such as International Standards
Organization (ISO), Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS), national /regional standard bodies and other centres of excellence. It is proposed to establish common standards, guidelines
and codes of practice for testing, evaluation and characterization of new advanced materials. ICMET will
prepare technical reports and pre-standards documents for ISO to be published as ISO Technology Trends
Assessment. This will be used by relevant ISO subcommittee as the basis for preparation of International
Standards.
The contact points for the Centre are:
Mr.Vladimir Kojarnovitch, Programme Coordinator, Investment and Technology Promotion Division,
UNIDO, Vienna International Centre, P.O.Box300, A-1400, Vienna, Austria; Fax(0043-1)211316809/6805; Tel: (0043-1)21131-3720/4822; email at Internet: vkojarnovitch@unido.org. Dr.Gun-Woong
Bahng, Programme Coordinator, Materials Evaluation Centre, Korea Research Institute of Standards andScience, P.O.Box 3, Taedok Science Town, Taguan 305-606, Republic of Korea; fax: (0082-42) 868 5027 ;Tel.: (0082-42)868 5320; email at Internet: gwbahng@krissol.kriss.re.kr.
None were present to talk about the NDT activities of the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
Solution
The ICNDT resolves that it will correspond to enable sending one member to all theseinternational organizations and inviting one from these to the ICNDT as a representative. This
exchange, it feels will help sustain long term cooperation among each of these organizations
with the ICNDT, reduce duplication and strengthen the activities.

Resolution Unanimously Passed
Action:Dr. Baldev Raj

4. All the resolutions (vide point number 4 in the ICNDT Meeting agenda – Meeting held on 26th
October 1994, Nice, France) were referred to the Policy and General Purposes Committee fordiscussion and will be finally ratified in the ICNDT Meeting on 12th December 1996.
Dr.Guo Chengbin of China brought forth a resolution regarding the nomenclature to befollowed by the ICNDT in referring to the Beijing and Taipei NDT Societies. The proposal
from Dr. Guo Chengbin, dated 26th November 1996, is as follows:

Old Version as mentioned in the Terms of Reference of the ICNDT“In ICNDT, China’s representation will be a special case. There will be one China, but two voting delegates:
one from China-Beijing and one from China-Taipei”

New Version to replace the old one, in the Terms of Reference of the ICNDT“ICNDT realizes that there is only one Chine in the world, however, China’s representation in ICNDT is a
special case. China may have two voting delegates: one from China, representing the Chinese Society for
Nondestructive Testing; and the other from Chinese Taipei, representing the Nondestructive Testing Society ofChinese Taipei.”
Dr.Baldev Raj, President, ICNDT, suggested that Dr. Guo Chengbin and Dr. David S.Chu
from Taipei may discuss among themselves and put forth a mutually acceptable resolution to
the Members of the ICNDT, on 12th December 1996, for their approval and adoption. Dr. Guo
Chengbin and Dr. David S. Chu agreed to this suggestion.

9th December 1996, 1600 hours, Mumtaz Mahal, Hotel Taj Palace
5. Regarding membership of new states, Dr.Douglas Marshall mentioned that the Committee thatwas formed to recommend the new entrants will put forth its proposals in consultation with the
Policy and General Purposes Committee (P&GPC). He also mentioned that in this Committee,
Dr.Wu of Taiwan would be a member instead of Dr.Rossi of Brazil.
The membership of Slovenia, Croatia, Belarus, Czech and Bangladesh, are to be decided.
Regarding the Pan-American Committee for Nondestructive Testing, Dr. Baldev Raj opinedthat instead of proliferating the number of such groups, they should be encouraged to become
members of the ICNDT. Dr.Douglas Marshall mentioned that the Pan American Group needs
recognition. Dr.Mike Turnbow of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing mentionedthat the Pan American Group is organizing a pan American Conference on NDT and is boundto get recognition anyway. A consensus emerged that in any case, the members of the Pan
American Group who are not members of the ICNDT are to be requested to become membersof the ICNDT in the first place.

6. Dr.Morio Onoe described the progress made in the use of the Internet by the ICNDT. While
highlighting the advantage of the Internet and the WWW, he presented examples of the Web
pages created by him for the 14th WCNDT. Dr.Nardoni promised to make the best use of theInternet and the WWW for the promotion of the 15th WCNDT. A summary of the presentation
and recommendations of Dr.Morio Onoe is given below:
The rapid progress of electronic communication technology, specifically the Internet, has provided muchopportunities to support and enhance activities of the ICNDT, especially during the period between the World
Conferences on NDT. Benefits of electronic communication are: fast and always updated dissemination of
information, saving in material,time a labour by eliminating printing and mailing, reusable electronic documents
for easy editing and version control, etc. The Internet further provides global coverage with speed and economy,
multimedia capabilities, search engines and agents, interactivity, etc. ICNDT-Net was first proposed at Nice
meeting of the ICNDT in 1994 to explore these opportunities. With the approval and the encouragement of Dr.
Baldev Raj, the then ICNDT President,Dr.Morio Onoe has run a WWW home page for ICNDT
http://www.ricoh.co.jp/net-messena/NDTWW/INTERN/ICNDT.html which has enjoyed accesses fromall over the world for more than two years now. It consists of two parts. The first part in open for public andcontains all the information on the 14th WCNDT, from the very first announcement to the complete program
details. Another part is exclusive to ICNDT members and its access is controlled by password. It contains,among other things, minutes of Nice Meeting and agenda of the present Delhi Meeting. Beside the WWW, there
are such features of the Internet to be explored as E-mail network, FTP, bulletin board, etc. Dr.Morio Onoe
proposed the following:[a] ICNDT has recognized the usefulness of the Internet and will further explore its full
benefits,[b] Network Working Group will be set up to plan and conduct future experiments and [c]Participating member societies will nominate people having E-mail access.
7. Regarding changes to the Terms of Referenced of the ICNDT, Dr. Farley, while cautioning
hasty changes to the Terms of Reference, welcomed suggestions from the members on thisissue and promised to table them in the P&GPC Meeting. The P&GPC, after carefulconsideration would recommend changes, if any, to the full house of the ICNDT.
8. It was decided that the new Chairman of the Policy and General Purposes Committee(P&GPC) would be decided as per the rules mentioned in the Terms of Reference. Dr. Farleymentioned that the President of the ICNDT, in consultation with the two honorary members
will decide the new Chairman of the P&GPC.
9. Dr. G.Nardoni described the arrangements that have been made for the 15th world Conferenceon Nondestructive Testing (15th WCNDT) to be held in Rome. He mentioned the dates of theConference and the broad outline of the technical sessions’ structure of the 15th WCNDT. The
15th World Conference will be held in the Palace of Congresses (EUR) Room, Rome, 15-21,
October, 2000.
10. Dr. Nardoni and Dr. Baldev Raj explained their views on the future directions to be taken by
the ICNDT. Dr.Nardoni emphasized the need for harmonization in the ICNDT.

Action:Dr. Baldev Raj and Dr. G. Nardoni

11. Dr. Douglas Marshall, Dr.E.Romero and Dr.Chengbin Guo, of Canada, Spain and China
respectively, presented their cases for holding the 16th World Conference on Nondestructive
Testing (16th WCNDT) in the year 2004. The final decision on this issue would be taken on 12th
December 1996, either by consensus or by voting as required.
12. Regarding honouring longstanding members in the ICNDT, Dr.Nardoni proposed the name of
Dr. Baldev Raj as one to be honoured. Dr.Farley mentioned the rules in the Terms ofReference for such procedure. In accordance with the terms of reference, he mentioned, the
ICNDT may honour “a meritorious retired or long-acting member on the occasion of ameeting of the committee.” It was decided by the Members that a small subcommittee
consisting of Prof.Paul de Meester and Dr.G.Nardoni may recommend the names of probablepersons who could be honoured, in the next ICNDT Meeting, to be held on 12th December
1996.