Buffalo Inspection Services

Buffalo Inspection Services Becomes the First NDT Company in North America to Host PCN Certification on Gekko PAUT Technology

in

With the assistance of Lavendar Training in the UK, Buffalo Inspection Services is pleased to announce the successful training of a number of our Ultrasonic Testing Level II technicians in the first Personal Certification in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN) course ever conducted using Gekko and Mantis technology supplied by M2M-NDT.

The course which was offered at Buffalo’s new facility in Edmonton, Alberta Canada is the first of its kind with M2M’s new PAUT Gekko and Mantis technology, is now being utilized by clients in a host of applications including flange face corrosion, vessel and tank inspections and heavy wall inspection requirements.

Larry Kaumeyer, Buffalo’s CEO had this to say regarding this new first for Buffalo; “We fundamentally believe that quality excellence and technology go hand in hand with our technicians’ ability to produce value for our clients’ day in and day out”. This training will position Buffalo as the only Non-Union NDT Company in Western Canada with qualified PCN technicians utilizing the best UT and PAUT technology in the world. “We are proud of this new offering for clients across Western Canada and we truly believe will be a faster, better, cheaper solution for our clients and their integrity needs.  We thank both M2M and the BINDT (British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing) for their support in building this world class curriculum to ensure that Buffalo have the best qualified technicians and training for our clients.”

For more information on the Gekko technology and to request a demonstration of its capabilities by one of our PCN qualified technicians please visit www.buffaloinspection.com

Red Deer

Buffalo Expands Operations with Addition of Red Deer Office & Inspection Crews

in ,

Here We Grow Again!

We are pleased to announce the addition of Dustin Strabel to Buffalo Inspection Services as our corporate representative for Red Deer and area. Dustin brings many years of NDT experience to Buffalo and will be responsible for building our presence and adding additional resources to support the area. For all of your NDT needs please contact Dustin.

Buffalo Inspection Services is looking for additions to our corporate and contractor teams across Western Canada.

Laptop

Buffalo Has First Paper Presented at CINDE Conference

in , , ,

Executive Summary

This paper documents the development of an alternative ultrasonic testing (UT) technique for examination of structural welds as per CSA W59.

The purpose of developing a new technique is to bring CSA W59 into the 21st century, allowing for modern techniques, equipment, and to provide a pathway for future development not permitted by the current 1960’s-era practices. The existing techniques were part of the 1969 edition of AWS D1.0. They were not developed from scientific principles or empirical evidence, yet have remained the “line in the sand” for structural UT in North America for nearly 50 years. Since then, exponential changes have taken place in technology and in the general UT world, yet Canadian and U.S codes have failed to keep pace. This has resulted in awkward techniques that many technicians misunderstand and circumvent. Ultimately, these outdated techniques fail to serve the purposes of repeatable and accurate inspections they propose to facilitate.

The existing fixed attenuation, or “FA” technique is shown to be based on assumptions of sound attenuation and inspection angles which do not hold up under scientific scrutiny. There is a philosophy of “one probe to rule them all” and angle-specific procedure tables which were installed to achieve consistent inspection results. However, the practices involved in limiting one’s options does not produce the consistencies intended. A new technique is presented which is similar to those used elsewhere in the UT industry. This is written as a true alternative to the existing technique, offering adapted acceptance criteria that retain the existing quality levels. Mathematical models and experimental data are presented which were used to generate the new criteria. Equivalence is also demonstrated through modeling. Variation in results is also significantly reduced.

The proposed alternative technique is under public review for inclusion in CSA W59-2018. The techniques developed in 1969 have served industry well for a very long time, but change is inevitable. To progress in a world of rapidly advancing technologies, it is important to adopt less regressive, more forward-thinking practices that can adapt and suit the needs of today.

Download the entire paper by clicking the image below:

Sa-W59 Ultrasound Inspection