Timing
by Bernard McGrath, Inspection Validation Centre

My dad didn’t have a car, so we travelled around on public transport. As a result, my dad’s mantra, which has stood me in good stead in other areas of life, was “Contingency!”. Contingency in money so that you always had enough to cover the fare (and phone home – do you remember phone boxes that took money? – if needed). Contingency in time so that you always arrived at the stop or station five minutes before the timetabled departure, just in case the train or bus arrived early!
 
Passing this lesson on to my son is a little difficult. His experience tells him otherwise. He turns up at the station, without knowing when the train is, and steps on it just before it leaves. Arriving at a connecting station he steps off one train and then steps onto the next one which pulls in behind it. The other day I thought the Gods had finally deserted him and started to support me. A late bus meant he missed the train he had told me he was getting. He got a later one but somehow caught up time and still arrived as originally intended!
 
I give up. He seems to have an innate sense of timing – as far as public transport is concerned anyway. Not everyone’s timing is so lucky. Last week, a young lad on the TV described how he had joined a large construction firm as an apprentice, only to be told four days later that the company had gone into administration and he was unemployed. That’s unlucky. Or it is at the moment? The thing about timing is that we only know whether the timing was right or wrong with hindsight. You may be able to think of instances when the wrong timing has upset plans but, if the plans had gone as intended, a bad outcome would have resulted – the person who missed the plane that later crashed. The timing of the young lad starting and finishing work meant he appeared on the regional news. Maybe he will be offered a new job as a result. What about the person who may have started two months ago?

Last month I wrote about my view of NDT and commented on the apparent lack of status of registered engineers. So when I picked up my copy of NDT News and saw on the front page the headline ‘Professional engineers still in demand’, I thought my timing had been particularly bad. Or maybe the editor’s had been particularly good! According to the article, professional engineers are likely to have held on to their jobs during the recession. They have also seen a rise in total earnings since 2007. So being a professional engineer is obviously a benefit and my timing was rubbish.

Of course, surveys can be used to highlight anything and summaries of surveys even more so! Being a bit of a geek and not being ready to admit to poor timing, I went to the website (http://tinyurl.com/3ywjuyk in case you missed it) and skimmed through the full survey results. As would be expected, the sample canvassed was dominated by the big three institutions and BINDT didn’t even get a mention, unless they were included in the 3% ‘other’. And I was vindicated to a certain extent: only 5% of registered engineers did so because their employers required it; 34% believed it had increased their employment opportunities; 24% said it has meant they were more valued by their employer and colleagues; 23% responded that their confidence in their professional standing has enabled them to challenge or promote significant initiatives; 38% felt that it hasn’t had any impact.
 
But this is my summary of the survey, intended to support my comments. Don’t just take my view, go and have a look for yourself and join the debate. Yes, you only need two for a debate! Maybe, just maybe, with the possibility of nuclear new build on the horizon, with the need for renewables, with the increasing need for life extension to keep existing plant operating, with the development of new sensors, smart structures and structural health monitoring (see ‘What the Hec?!’ – how is that for timing!), maybe the time is just right to push and promote the professional NDT engineer.

Please note that the views expressed in this column are the author’s own personal ramblings for the purpose of encouraging discussion within the NDT Newspaper. They do not represent the views of the IVC, Serco Assurance or the HSE who funded the PANI projects.

Letters can be mailed to The Editor, NDT News, Newton Building, St George’s Avenue, Northampton NN2 6JB. Fax: 01604 89 3861; Email: ndtnews@bindt.org or email Bernard McGrath direct at Bernard.McGrath@sercoassurance.com