Published with kind permission of BINT from OnTheJob articles written by Bernard McGarth

Learning from History

I am writing this article as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first landing on the moon by Apollo 11 on 20th July 1969. I remember the excitement it generated. Although we did not own a television at the time, we went to a neighbour’s house, next door but one, to watch the event. Or at least watch the replay. As a young child, it was easy to be inspired by the achievement. Home-made dens became lunar modules, with imaginary technology, obviously. And the thought of eating all meals direct from packages was amazing. There was no scare about processed food in those days!

In June, we remembered a different event: the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Whilst it shared some of the same characteristics of planning, organisation and application of technology, it differed significantly in that a lot more individuals were affected and there were many more individual stories to provide an insight into their contributions and emotions. A common theme was a sense of duty to colleagues and to the country. The Apollo moon landings are remembered through individual astronauts, such as Armstrong and Aldrin. Yet they too were only successful through a collective effort, which started with the challenge issued by President Kennedy.

History did not inspire me at school. I dropped it in favour of geography and the sciences. Ironically, when I look at my own history, I see that I was always reading articles and books and watching programmes about history, something which I continue to do. The study of history requires the identification of sources of information, the assessment of their reliability, and then inferring what happened and why. It develops skills of problem solving, which are transferable to any number of disciplines.

A major benefit of studying history is that we can learn lessons from what has gone before: we can avoid making the same mistakes that others have made; we can apply techniques and processes that have been shown to be successful. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “history repeats itself” and we constantly fail to learn the lessons. In recent sporting events, lack of fitness has been identified as contributing to lack of success. Why? In business, companies fail because they make the same mistakes as ones that have failed before. In the Sunday Times of 23rd June, Luke Johnson wrote a column entitled, “Want to get ahead today? Start by learning the lessons of yesterday”. He refers the reader to the play, Lehman Trilogy, and a book, The Enlightened Capitalists, by James O’Toole. Military history, even recent history, throws up many examples of where the lessons of previous events have not been taken into account. However, whilst we can identify what worked and what didn’t from a study of the past, it doesn’t always follow that repeating what was successful will deliver success in the present. Circumstances and environments change and these need to be considered before deciding on any course of action. Again, military history provides the clue with the derivation of the saying that Generals always fight the last war. 

So how does the NDT profession fare? NDT has a rich and interesting history. From the early developments of the various methods and techniques, the formation of the professional institute and the rationalisation of certification, to the more recent development and adoption of advanced technology. Have we learnt the lessons this history provides? I would suggest that we probably haven’t taken sufficient advantage of these lessons. As I wrote in my last article, I think we could improve in knowledge management, so we can be aware of what has been done before. I have also written, and presented, about the benefits that can accrue from addressing reliability, as illustrated by historic failures and identified by historic research. Yet this is not widely adopted. I believe that we have yet to fully reconcile NDT practical application with the theoretical knowledge that underpins it: something that is a consequence of the history of NDT.

It is not all doom and gloom as there are a number of initiatives which do incorporate lessons from history. The development of the NDT apprenticeship schemes and the new work-based MSc will go a long way to addressing the latter schism. Back in January 2018, I related how Casper Wassink confirmed, in his thesis, that the time span to produce a new NDT product, starting from an idea, is on average 30 years. Now we have a new initiative, the NDT Technology Taskforce, to improve the transfer of new NDT technology into industry and hopefully, to reduce this gestation period. See July’s NDT News, page 3, for more details. Alternatively, for information or to express an interest, please e-mail iain.baillie@rolls-royce.com. Here you have the perfect opportunity to learn the lessons of history and take action, informed by them, in the context of current and future circumstances.

There’s always room for mediocrity

To win is unusual. Well, if you think about it, only one individual or one group of individuals can win any competition. Unless there are only two competitors, losers will outnumber winners and often by a considerable margin. Yet we are obsessed by the need to be the best and also by doing, having and supporting the best. I remember the disappointment of watching my team losing at the end of last season (although being older and more experienced, the feeling is muted compared to what I endured in childhood) but time and life move on: the new season has started and with it new feelings of anticipation and excitement. So what was all the fuss about?

I am sure there are teams of historians, sociologists and psychologists who could wax lyrical about why we, as individuals and as a society, are driven by winning. Although interested in the causes, I am more concerned with the consequences: the concomitant fear of failure and the disparagement of anything not considered a winning attribute. And the result? An obsession with those considered the elite.

One consistent area of contention with regard to the development of skills and elite skills is education. Views on this topic are annually aired at this time of year, when exam results are published and decisions about courses to undertake are made. Again, I will avoid becoming embroiled in such a controversial topic. However, I came across a humorous and thought provoking TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution/transcript), which highlights the need for education systems to consider everyone as individuals with different skills and talents that develop at different rates. I particularly enjoyed the statement that “a three-year-old is not half a six-year-old”. However, the key truth is everyone has a talent and everyone develops differently and by different means. The corollary of an obsession with elitism is the diminution of anything deemed average. If winning is unusual, then being average, by definition, is normal. Without people who are content to be good at being normal or average, society and business couldn’t function.

Herein lies an irony. Whilst people may be considered average by a particular metric or group of metrics, everybody has a unique set of talents and inherent skills. By combining these talents and skills in a particular way or context, individuals and teams can become winners. Scott Adams, the originator of the Dilbert cartoons, puts his success down to the combination of more than one of his mediocre skills: art, business, writing. This was reinforced when I attended a talk by an artist (philipgray.com). He combines his artistic talents with his interest in exploration. More recently this resulted in him painting underwater. At first thought this sounds a ridiculous proposition, but when it is derived from combining two of his passions and it results in something that carries more value because it is unique, both in its final form and in how it was produced, it makes sense.

Non-destructive testing as a profession, probably relies on a greater diversity of talents than other engineering disciplines, because of the requirement to bridge new developments in techniques and equipment and their practical application in a variety of environments. This was brought home clearly to me during the PANI 3 project. Operators who scored high on the original thinking measure did not do well on the ultrasonic task. For reliable application of an inspection, it is necessary to have the attributes that support the consistent adherence to the procedure for an extended period of time. Attributes that are not necessarily given due appreciation.

The diverse talents required for NDT and the varied rate of developing them, is reflected in the range of apprenticeship schemes: Operator; NDT Engineering Technician; NDT Engineer; MSc Advanced Industrial Practice in Non-Destructive Testing, Condition Monitoring and Structural Health Monitoring. Then, of course, there are those who have combined the application of NDT with other talents, including diving for subsea work and climbing for rope access.

It is important that we acknowledge the valuable contribution of everyone involved in the NDT profession and help them to realise their own individual talents.

It’s unclear whether combining NDT with watching sport on TV will lead to success, but I’m working on it.

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Time out

Those of you who read NDT News every month will be aware that, although I am not a poet, (well not yet anyway – after my attempt in March nobody has urged me to pack it in!) I have made a few references to poets and poems in recent years. This is the result of family members whose love of poetry meant they would recite verses at any opportunity. Under such a barrage it was inevitable that some stanzas would stick, without any conscious effort to memorise them, and would reappear at regular intervals. One such poem, which I have referred to briefly before, is Leisure by W. H. Davies. It begins by asking:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

and it ends with:

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Yesterday, waiting for the barista to make the frostino, I perused the local community notices on the shop noticeboard. One advertised “guided mindfulness walks”, detailing the various benefits as: social interaction, exercise, fresh air, forest bathing (no water involved), time away from everyday demands. All of these provide both physical and mental health benefits. Luckily, I am able to get out into nature, generally on a weekly basis. This morning it did include forest bathing with water! The rain was that mizzle, a cross between mist and drizzle, that gets everywhere and is a comforting ambience to all brought up in North West England. While the main objective is exercise and raising the heart rate, I do take the time to stand and stare as required. In addition, my mind freewheels with no particular objective. I reap many benefits from this.

The week before last, I was lucky enough to attend the BINDT annual conference and exhibition, albeit for only one day. On the way home, W. H. Davies’ poem came into my mind. I find that the benefits of any conference, exhibition or seminar are many, but underlying them all is the ability to raise your head from day-to-day work and broaden your horizons. This leads to connections, which can subsequently feed into your work activities and generate improvements. Needless to say, the day passed very quickly. The first challenge was identifying the most relevant presentations to attend to catch up on latest developments. A PowerPoint slide displaying a detailed equation from early stage research on image analysis may not be the panacea that you have been searching for, but sitting and staring can trigger an unrelated idea. I, of course, have to scribble it down so as to remember it when I get back to my desk.

The NDT community is relatively small when compared to the larger engineering professions. Despite changes and retirements there is catching up to be done with colleagues old and new, including those just starting out. Each conversation provides an exchange of information to consider and absorb. Although in these situations it is preferable to stand and listen rather than stare!!

Finally, there is the exhibition of NDT equipment and services. This provides the opportunity to see the latest developments in the application of technology for all existing NDT methods, as well as some new ones. Having companies displaying side by side allows comparison of the different approaches adopted. Even if you do not have an immediate need for new equipment in your particular work, an awareness of current developments, changes and improvements provides a knowledge base and a head start should the need arise. It will also stimulate lightbulb moments when a problem is encountered.

I would suggest that all personnel engaged in NDT could benefit, both professionally and personally, from attendance at a conference and exhibition because social interaction and time away from day to day pressures will reinvigorate motivation for the discipline. What forest bathing can do for general mental and physical health, NDT bathing can do for career mental and workplace health.