The term “visual inspection” usually refers to a visual examination of a component using the manipulations of our naked eyes and bare hands. This process is often used to find and remove flaws from components by using tools like engine borescope, such as ball valves so that they can be stress relieved and returned either to the workplace after being positioned for replacing equipment or for potential rework if determined to be unrepairable.
Visual inspection can inspect virtually all types of equipment, including pressure vessels, storage tanks, pipework, and piping. NDT-KITS Inspectors are commonly used to inspect equipment visually. The expectations from visual inspection have changed greatly since it was originally developed more than five decades ago.
Beyond the obvious activities such as observing and ensuring that items are safe, visual inspection has often become an important complementary tool to more advanced inspection techniques. Oftentimes, a visual inspection alone can identify problems that would otherwise be missed by techniques using much more advanced equipment.
What’s the Advantage Of Visual Inspection?
- It is a non-destructive test, meaning that it does not alter the part.
- It can be a quick and easy test to conduct and is relatively inexpensive.
- It can be done at all stages of the maintenance process, from pre-production to final inspection, so there are no limitations on where or when it can be done.
- It is highly effective for finding defects such as cracks or corrosion. This is because it can detect them visually before they become too deep or widespread to find by other methods (such as radiographic testing).
- It is highly effective for identifying issues with components such as steel welds or pipes. It allows the inspector to see flaws that might otherwise be invisible when viewed under magnification (such as cracks in the welds).
- It is a non-destructive test, so it does not alter the part, making it very useful for maintenance planning, where changes in condition are often made to the asset before the actual work is done.
- It is a quick and easy test to conduct and can be performed by anyone with a basic understanding of how visual inspection works.
- Some visual inspections can be done by untrained personnel (such as factory workers or mechanics) who may not need formal training or certification to conduct them safely.
What’s the Application Of Visual Inspection?
- Manufacturing plants: Pre and post defects identified in material (STL, CAD data) and quality assurance processes. Micron level scanning to identify potential defects for the Shop Floor inspectors
- Warehouses: Postaging activities, quality management systems with traceability, and stock usage statistics
- Scavenger/gas collectors, For example, Sewers. The infrastructure cleaning process requires a powerful vision system that is difficult or not easily performed manually by team members at a fraction of the cost.
- Crane / Lift towers Offshore oil platforms where visual inspection of structure and integrity is required. Add more excellent value with appropriate software tools to aid assessment. Visual inspection’s payoff on offshore platforms, although simple in general, can be impressive when inspections become concurrent.
The use of monitoring software tools, using airborne sensors visually, improves service operations for oil reservoirs or piping systems. This is where remote operators must control physical impact, reduces wear and tear on equipment, and is much more effective than visual inspection from the land directly, without the link to onshore control systems.
NDT-KITS features many interrelated products: number 2 and 5 fast product lines, several high sophistication ultrasonic flaw detection equipment with the quality of major international brands, and highly sophisticated ultrasonic probes with 3 wafers.
Conclusion
Visual inspections are checking to ensure that an asset works the way it is supposed to, especially in construction and safety. The popular view on visual inspections is that it is not necessary anymore but are still vital. The general guideline will involve seeing if there is any significant wear and tear taking place, checking that the ground under the asset is stable, doing a visual search on the work floor of requirements, including structural contents, site management, etc.
