Falsified QC Reports on Nuclear Subs

[qcrobert]

Newport News
ROUGE TECHNICIAN
June 2009

NDT Inspector fakes report on nuclear submarine welds.

Thousands of welds on US Navy nuclear submarines may need to be retested after an NDT Inspector was caught last month, signing off joints that he had not inspected.

A fellow inspector reported that the technician has been initialling welds as OK, without actually bothering to carry out any of the required MPI and DPI tests.

When questioned by his supervisor the inspector admitted to falsifying three weld inspections during his current shift.

The nuclear submarine New Mexico, one of the vessels supposedly inspected by the rouge technician. (Northrop Grumman)

The rouge inspector, who was subsequently fired by his employer Northrop Grumman had been working at the Newport News naval shipyard in Virginia. The shipyards welding database revealed that the inspector had worked at the yard for almost 4 years in which time he had either MPI or DPI tested more than 10,000 structural welding joints on at least eight submarines and an aircraft carrier.

Of the welds tested around 1,000 were either critical to the integrity of the submarines hull or involved other critical parts. The aircraft carrier and one nuclear submarine are already in service, whilst the the other six submarines are in various stages of construction. It is likely that much of the inspectors work, particularly on critical welds, will have to reinspected, although many of the welds are now unlikely to be accessible. Around 100 NDT inspectors work in the NDT department at the Newport News shipyard.

And here's the rest of the story.....

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/newport-news-exinspector-gets-3-years-lying-about-welds

 

[TVP]

ugh...

 

[stanweld]

There are crooks everywhere. In a recent audit of some RT reports on commercial aircraft parts, it was discovered that the RT reports that accepted the radiographs made before the radiographs were processed. Reviews of some of the film revealed crack defects.

On one large petrochemical project that I know of, RT cheating was discovered and approximately 40,000 pipe welds had to be re-examined.

The Purchaser must insure RT quality and freedom from "cheating" through auditing, reviewing completed RT reports and film or digital images, and observing the personnel actually performing the work. I've audited film quality a number of times and rejected as much as 50% of the film - requirinhg re-examination of all involved items.

 

[Duwe6]

In other words, it is actually incumbent on the Purchaser to audit the in-process and final work of a NDT provider. Just like you check on actual progress before paying a contractor for work "completed".

If you don't care enough to go look, it is hard for them to care enough to consistantly and continually perform everything "just right". And once somebody starts cutting corners, nobody knows just how many corners will eventually be cut, and how many inscections will end up omitted.

BTW -- I've participated in the RT film quality rejection of 80% of the shots. And it was too late to reshoot -- unit was running, and film was a year old. No access.

 

[Guest102023]

I've seen the same thing more than once on refinery piping surveys with PMI. Basically kids who were hired for the summer were caught making up the numbers. A weld on such equipment based on false information could blow up in somebody's face. Literally.

All part of the dumbing down that is the standard M.O for chain inspection companies (and some smaller ones too).

 

[Jalipa]

What a rogue -- maybe he was a red?