To propose guidelines for the establishment of a qualification and certification program for Internal Rotary Inspection System operators, to improve the reliability of this ultrasonic technique designed for heat exchangers and boilers tube thickness measurement.

2.Introduction

IRIS has been widely used in USA and Europe, and was introduced in Brazil in 1992.

Presently this technique is already an integral part of routine maintenance program of many companies and others are making it so. It is recognised that effectiveness of the IRIS applications depends upon the capabilities of the personnel who perform and supervise them.

Taking into consideration the IRIS growing service demand, it is necessary to formalise training and certification routines of the new operators and to create re-certification procedures to up date the existing operators, in order to maintain the present reliability of the IRIS technique and continually improve the operators / equipment interface.

3.Qualification and Certification Methodology

The basic references to be used are the Norm Abende NA-001 Rev. 6 / DC-001 - Rev. 7 and the ASNT SNT-TC-1A (1996). It is intended to present guidelines for the qualification and certification of IRIS operators whose specific jobs require appropriate knowledge.

IRIS is an ultrasonic pulse-echo submerged method with the particularity to be operated by two professionals simultaneously, so the procedures should cover both operators.

The written and practical examination procedures will be developed and results of practical examination of test specimens (tubes) of different diameters and materials will be discussed.