4th European-American Workshop on Reliability of NDE

In order to meet increasing demands for safety & reliability in our daily life and the infrastructure around us, the development of appropriate risk management and life prediction tools is essential. Quantified Non-Destructive Evaluation techniques are key enablers, providing substantive information about the integrity of materials, components, and systems. The design & life management functions of an organization achieve confidence in reported NDE process reliability through robust validation procedures. The process of developing these procedures, understanding and communicating their effect has been the focus of this working group. 

This working group, in operation since the late 1990s has reflected on achievements and key lessons learned in preparation for the 2009 session. One of the lessons learned has been that the examination of NDE process reliability using our core model often must undergo substantial further optimization within a particular industrial application field. For example, nuclear power and aerospace are dealing with much higher demands, or at least different demands, than conventional industries like water tube production. Additionally, the determination of the system reliability in relation to system parameters should be considered as an optimization process rather than a final finding. This means that our optimized deliverables should take the form of guidelines and mentoring, vs. specification.

Our modular reliability model achievement helps to understand the sources and effects of different influencing factors. One of the highest influences arises from Human Factor, which deserves in its turn a systematic scientific psychological treatment. A deeper insight into the psychological influences of the human factor will relieve the choice of an adapted testing procedure, which then also can lead to improved working condition of the individuals involved.

This year’s gathering of experts in NDE reliability come from both Academia & Industry, and hail from 3 continents for a truly global exchange. This year’s workshop takes place in Berlin on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. This setting will offer an attractive cultural programme around the workshop. It might be at the same time an omen of the maturated understanding between scientific and industrial aspects, safety and economy and the performance demonstration and parameter approaches.

The design of the conference program is very much supporting this goal. It provides a wealth of sessions of rich technical content. Oral paper presentations will be devoted to industrial demands as topical focus and scientific progress in evaluation techniques including advanced modelling, human factor issues as well as the presentation of already implemented integrated solutions at the end users sites. Special sessions are devoted to the experience in application of statistical tools, for inspection planning and evaluation in the oil industry, and also to a new topic, our “youngest child”: The reliability of Structural Health Monitoring. The first evening will be devoted to the poster presentations with more illustrations of application examples. The topics of the main sessions will be further explored in structured break-out-sessions. Each of these will provide opportunity for open discussion on presented topics which fully supports our work-shop concept. To assign to each break-out-session a topical profile we ask you to send your proposals and questions to the indicated leaders.

And to provide essential down time from all the sure to be lively discussions, a social evening in a pub of typical local style will provide not only cool beer, but interesting local food.

The workshop is hosted by BAM (Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing) which is proud to have since 2006 a unified department for NDE, providing an outstanding assembly of modern methods and tools for non destructive testing together with long term development & application experience. Visits to the different labs is possible after the conference.

Further highlights of the workshop are the pre-workshop tutorials offered by Mate Gaal and Lloyd Schaefer. For newcomers, basics for POD-applications can be learned. For more seasoned practitioners the latest advances in statistical design and modelling assisted POD are presented where Lloyd Schaefer’s long term experience in NDE applications in industry will make even the advanced tools feasible for practitioners. Also for the tutorials you are asked to send your choices to the organizers.

We cordially invite NDE practitioners as well as scientists not only from Europe and America and especially the young colleagues new in the field to join us to the 4th European-American Workshop on Reliability of NDE in June 2009 in Berlin!