Good day everybody.

So what happens when we issue a report stating “no relevant indications found” and the client phones up to complain that you (because you signed the report) missed a crack.

We all make mistakes, but what is the correct process to follow?

From experience I managed to compile a list:

1. Speak to your Level III first. He will be the one in court tasked to defend your actions. Call him first and explain your side. He needs detail.
2. Do not lie.
3. If you want, your Level III will contact the client on your behalf and get the process going.
4. We do not deny that a mistake was made. We admit fault, apologise and submit a written statement clarifying the situation.
5. We then have to take some sort of action that prevents or significantly reduces the possibility of this happening again. This is where a Non-Conformance Report (NCR) comes in.

It allows for an investigation to identify shortcomings and comes up with a preventative action.

The following will be investigated:

NDT procedure, equipment, consumables, technician qualification & certification, work environment – access & lighting, external factors and application of the item.

6. The client may:
   1. Refuse to pay the invoice or demand a refund if it’s been paid already.
   2. Demand that we perform the inspection again at no charge. Using different personnel. We volunteer to do this anyway.
   3. Ask a third party to perform the inspection on our behalf and we pay that invoice. I don’t like this option.

We hand the client a copy of the completed NCR to show that we are committed to not let this happen again.

A NCR should not be seen as a personal attack or insult. The NCR identifies shortcomings in the existing system and tells us how to fix it. It may require additional training, procedure revision or just a nice slap on the ear…

In my career I have received many NCR’s and the approach is always the same:

Identify the problem, fix the system so that it won’t happen again.

We spoke about this earlier, a detailed report, with pictures and full descriptions will go a long way in reducing the severity of this type of complaint.

Keep up the good work guys.

Hennie.