Pushing Boundaries in NDT An Interview with AWS International Agent, Advanced Technology Group

Pushing

Boundaries in NDT

An Interview with AWS International Agent, Advanced

Technology Group

By Dr Payel Dutta Chowdhury, Marketing and

Communications Content Specialist (Asia, Africa & Oceania) for the American

Welding Society

AWS International Agent, Advanced Technology Group

(ATG), headquartered at Prague, Czech Republic, is a privately-owned company

that specialize in NDT products and services. Established in 1992 by Zbynek

Zavadil, ATG has grown leaps and bounds in the last three decades to become one

of the largest NDT-oriented companies worldwide with its presence in Europe, Asia,

Africa, and America. In the last year ATG also actively entered the regions of

Oceania. ATG comprises ATG Ltd. in Prague, LA Composite in Prague, ATG Slovakia

in Trencin and with numerous partners all over the world. With over 30 years’

history in the field of testing, it has achieved success especially by providing

a complete solution for Non-Destructive Testing for its customers, i.e. by

providing both equipment and services, in all standard NDT methods and other

related special processes. In an exclusive interview with Payel Dutta Chowdhury, the

Founder and General Director of ATG, Zbynek Zavadil, and the Deputy Director of

ATG, Dr Tomáš Zavadil, shared their insights on the strengths and future of ATG

and their perspectives on enhancing the collaboration with American Welding

Society.

How do your products address the recent trends in

NDT?

Recent trends in NDT showcase growing affinity with

automation. In line with this current shift, ATG is also well-prepared with

automation, machine learning, and deep learning techniques. Being adapted to

recent trends in NDT helps us minimize problems related to human factors,

primarily in quality assurance. We have set up an R&D unit at ATG that

focuses on dealing with specific applications for full automation or robotization

or even ADR (automated defect recognition) as most markets find this important.

Adapting to recent technology does not create any challenge for job

displacement for humans; rather, it assists humans in working more efficiently,

resulting in enhanced customer service.

ATG Headquarters in Prague (production workshop and training and examination facility)

What are the most prominent strengths of ATG?

Right from the beginning of ATG, we have always

focused on a good vision and creating strong brand value. Maintaining a loyal

customer base, creating an innovative and strong product and service portfolio,

steadily building and sustaining skilled employees, focusing on efficient

operations, and creating a positive company culture have been our primary

objectives, all contributing to sustainable growth and success.

UNIMAG Aerotester NG (ATG Magnetic-Particle Testing bench for aerospace industry)

Can you highlight details of the custom-made niche

equipment that you produce for your clients?

ATG has one of the best facilities for developing NDT

products. ATG also delivers its own FPI (Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection)

lines for high quality testing of surface defects, especially for the aerospace

industry (acc. to ASTM E1417) and high capacity, fully automated lines for the automotive

industry. We design and manufacture a complete range of MPI (Magnetic Particle

Inspection) systems and equipment for all industrial sectors and in all

requested magnetization combinations: AC, HWDC, FWDC. We also develop and

manufacture a range of customized automated UT systems (lines, manipulators)

for rotational or longitudinal products (including specialized parts for

railways, automotive and aerospace industry). ATG Group integrates UT systems

with other NDT methods, e.g. MPI (for bearing rings inspection), or Eddy

Current (bar/tube inspection). We design and produce our own scanning

manipulators (mechanics + motion control) as well as data acquisition and post

processing software for all industrial applications.

You mentioned that ATG has its own research division.

Can you highlight any important activity of that unit?

Yes, ATG has its own R&D division. The R&D

team is engaged in several important research and development initiatives. One

of the principal activities of the team is developing ADR (Automatic Defect

Recognition) systems for automatic illumination, capture, and indication

(defect) detection and classification for methods VT, MT and PT. These ADR

systems are delivered on a customer’s request also with manipulation including

bin picking.

LPM 2600 (ATG Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection Line for testing of gas turbines)

Usually, we find academic institutions and industries

working in silos. But I understand that ATG has a strong academic connection.

How are you bridging the gap between academia and industry?

The prevailing problem that can be seen because of the academia-industry gap is the lack of an efficient workforce, particularly the new joiners. Due to over- emphasis on textbook specific knowledge, graduates lack skills that are required in the real-life job scenarios. It is important to train individuals even before they step into the professional world. To bridge this gap between academia and industry, ATG has stepped into the education process to train individuals and make them job ready. We have established connections with several top universities in Czech Republic and designed tailor-made courses on NDT for their students. For example, we support in running a fully accredited Non- destructive testing course at Czech Technological University in Prague. We also support summer internships or even internships for longer duration, and mentoring students for their bachelor’s and master’s degree thesis topics. Some of the universities and institutions that we work closely with in Czech Republic are Czech Technological University (CTU) in Prague, Brno University of Technology (BUT), Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO), and Technical University of Liberec. We also collaborate with academic institutions internationally. We conduct one-day seminars on specific topics and offer internships to students. We are open to receiving students from India and other South Asian countries. At present we have tie-ups with institutions in Germany, France, Spain, Slovakia, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Film Radiography course in ATG Prague

Do you conduct in-house training at ATG?pdc: Do you conduct in-house training at ATG?

Yes, we do. ATG Group has several training centers

that are focused on personnel qualification in NDT as one of the major sources

of company revenue. These centers are supported through local partner

organizations in Europe, Africa and Asia. We have our own in-house trainers who

train individuals on NDT processes. There is a strong requirement for training

and the primary goal is to prepare an efficient workforce for NDT.

What are your plans for enhancing the existing

collaboration between AWS and ATG?

We are looking forward to working more closely with

AWS. AWS representatives are visiting us more frequently now. We plan to visit

our existing clients and some prospective ones as well together. We are already

deliberating on region-specific marketing and enhancing AWS’ presence in the European

market. Educating prospective customers about various AWS products and

solutions is the need of the hour and we feel our joint efforts and conducive

policies from AWS would make the difference.

UT Phased Array course in ATG Prague

What is your vision for the future of ATG?

To be the best at whatever we do and to serve our

customers flawlessly.

ATG Group Product Portfolio

1. Production of Equipment – Custom-made solutions, Standardized

equipment, Consumables, and Supplemental

processes

2. Qualification and Certification – Training and

examination, ISO 9712, SNT-TC-1A, EN4179 /

NAS410 standard, and Structured collection

of experience

3. Testing and Inspection – Testing acc. EASA Part 145

(approved by Federal Aviation Authority

of USA), On-site inspections, Special Process

House, and Cleaning and cleanliness verification

4. Consultancy – NDT Level 3 services, Design of the

QMS, Support for NADCAP / EASA / TPG / ASME

audits, and Proficiency Testing

Products and Services Provided by ATG

1. Responsible

person (services of NDT Level 3)

2. Consultancy

(services of NDT Level 3)

3. Personnel

qualification and certification (EN4179/NAS410, ISO9712, SNT-TC-1A, UIC 960,

ANDE-1 (in preparation),

AWS QC-1, IAB-041/EWF-450)

4. Providing

NDT personnel (services of NDT Level 2)

5. NDT hardware

and consumables (production and distribution)

6. NDT process

QMS (Written Practice, Written Procedures, Instructions)

7. Support in approval

processes (customer, NADCAP, EASA, TPG, ASME audits)

8.

Inter-laboratory proficiency testing (accredited acc. to ISO 17043)

ATG Industry Coverage Structure

Aerospace – 55%

Transportation – 20%

Power – 15%

Others – 10%

AWS International Agents

American Welding Society provides support to welding

professionals throughout the world. Since 1919, AWS standards, services, and

programs have supported welding professionals in the United States. Over the

years, this influence has spanned the globe, and today AWS supports thousands

of welding professionals worldwide. To assist international members, AWS

contracts with organizations in countries throughout the globe to facilitate

certification exams.

AWS has International Agents in the following

countries:

Argentina Australia Bangladesh Bolivia Brazil

Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Czech Republic

Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt Germany India

Indonesia Iraq Italy Japan Jordan

Kazakhstan Kuwait Malaysia Mexico Netherlands

New Zealand Nizeria Panama Peru Philippines

Qatar Saudi

Arabia Slovak Republic South Africa South Korea

Taiwan Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Turkey UAE

Vietnam

To know more about AWS International Agents, International

Program Applications, and International Agents Exam Schedule, please check https://www.aws.org/certification-and-education/professional-certification/international-agents/#agents