About

Materials Research Institute is the company formed by myself, Ed Ginzel, to provide consulting and information services to the NDT community. The company was formed in 1995 but a long history of NDT involvement preceded that.

After graduating from the University of Waterloo in 1974, the academic side of things was set aside and hands-on NDT was learned. Certification to CGSB Level 2 requirements was quickly achieved in the five standard NDT methods. After about fifteen years of hands-on work, primarily in the CANDU nuclear programme on Ontario Hydro projects, opportunity arose to again return to academics. TransCanada Pipeline had begun a programme of automated UT on pipeline girth welds and requested a review of the process. This expanded the scope of our activities.

Now we provide training and consulting to the NDT industry and carry out research in visualisation of ultrasound. Consulting is provided to assist clients developing NDT Procedures and techniques as well as to evaluate existing techniques and inspection systems. I have been a member of the CGSB Committee on NDT Personnel Certification since 1985.

Presently Level 3 certification to ISO 9712 is held in LPI, MPI, ECT and UT in Canada and Japan. As well I hold ASNT Level 3 certification by exam in these methods.

For over a decade I have been a member of ASTM on the E07-06 subcommittee on Ultrasonic Testing where I am responsible for six of the ultrasonic Standards in Vol. 03.03.

Particular interest in Automated UT on pipeline girth welds has led to providing numerous courses, in Canada, China and the UK where I have assisted in setting up the CSWIP certification programme for AUT. In 2005 Olympus NDT published my Handbook on AUT “Automated Ultrasonic Testing for Girth Welds”.