Few people really fully understand flawed specimens and there are currently no specifications for their manufacture or evaluation so they may be totally unsuitable. Flawed specimens could be intentionally or unintentionally designed to be very easy, fair or extremely difficult. Imagine how inconsistent it would be if all the qualification centres around the world were conducting hands on practical qualifications using flawed specimens with variable degrees of difficulty. Well this can and is happening. Can the NDT industry afford to let this happen in this day and age of International Standards?

The intention of this publication is to provide an overview of flawed specimens, what are they, why are they so important, how are they made, and what do they cost. It also provides a consideration for, and what can be achieved by, the production of an internationally recognised manufacturing and evaluation specification for flawed specimens.