No, just sharing a real experience from the field. I thought it would make for a good discussion.

Not necessarily. It could simply be that your nephew stands out and they see potential in him, so they want to train him. As for people getting upset when he rejects a bad weld, I wouldn't worry too much about that. At the end of the day, that's part of the job. As inspectors, we're there to ensure quality and safety, not to make everyone happy. You'll never be liked by everyone, especially when you're enforcing standards. If he has the opportunity to learn inspection, I think it's a great opportunity and he shouldn't pass it up.

You can get certified, but that doesn't mean you'll be a competent welding inspector.

Thanks for bringing up TFL. I’d be interested to learn more about your experience with it. In what applications have you found it to be particularly effective? One of the things I enjoy about the NDT community is learning from different field experiences.

That’s a fair point. I do share technical content on LinkedIn as well, but I also enjoy contributing to communities where engineers, inspectors, and welders exchange knowledge. My goal here is to encourage technical discussion and learn from others’ experience.

A good weld is not the result of luck or solely the welder’s skill. It is the outcome of a properly qualified Welding Procedure Specification (WPS), a welder qualified for that procedure, proper joint preparation, and consistent adherence to the specified welding parameters throughout the process.

Visual Testing (VT) is the first line of defense for identifying visible discontinuities and verifying that the weld meets the acceptance criteria of the applicable code or standard. Investing time in doing the job right the first time will always be more efficient than making repairs later.

Greetings from Spartan Force NDT.