In our article series “Testia Experts”, we present short interviews with our employees – the experts that really make Testia what it is. In this issue we speak with Benoît and Guéric, who share some insights about their day-to-day work as NDT technicians (non-destructive testing).
You can also watch this interview on YouTube.
Can you tell us about your career background?
Benoît: I have been working at Testia for over 3 years now. I started as a trainee during my DUT (two-year technical university degree in France) in mechanical and production engineering in Toulouse. Then I took an NDT working-student position for Testia in Le Mans.
I now have 3 certifications: radiography, magnetic particle and penetrant testing and also the Part-145 certification for in-service inspection.
Guéric: I’ve been at Testia for 3 years. I joined the team by chance after completing an IUT (two-year technical college degree in France) in physical measurement and an NDT professional license. I really enjoy this field, because it is so vast. For example, we at Testia mainly work in aeronautics, but also in the naval, rail and automotive sectors, among others. So it is this multi-sector aspect that I really like.
Can you describe your job in 3 words?
Benoît: Responsibility, safety and innovation.
Guéric: I’d say rigour, control and aeronautics.
What are the main tasks of your job?
Guéric: I mainly work at the Airbus final assembly line, on A 320 & A 330 aircraft, as well as for our customer ATR. Usually we are called in to conduct inspection tasks. This involves, for example, looking for cracks in the material and on the aircraft in general.
Benoît: My main mission is really to guarantee flight safety by checking the integrity of a part without destroying it. And these kinds of inspections are needed throughout the life of an aircraft, from manufacturing to teardown.
I’m part of the expert team in Toulouse, so we have a workshop with parts from different customers in France and around the world that we receive for NDT. We also carry out jobs directly on customers’ sites in France or even abroad.
What qualities are essential for this job?
Guéric: It’s rigour, autonomy and desire.
Benoît: The most important one is rigour to comply with the applicable documentation. Then, curiosity, because there’s always something new to learn, especially in the world of NDT. And finally, social skills and adaptability especially for on-site client assignments.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Guéric: The autonomy, being able to carry out your inspections and being aware of what you’re doing.
Benoît: Every day is different: I can work on helicopter parts with magnetic particle testing, then the next day doing radiography work on a satellite and the week after on an aircraft in maintenance in Mauritius. We learn a lot every day and that’s really great. To me, that’s the most interesting part.
Are there any interesting anecdotes from your work that you can share with us?
Guéric: It was during my first trip to Nantes for a radiography project on a hydrogen tank. It was a project that had just started. We went there with the people who were developing the tank.They were so passionate and it was exciting to think that they were working on a project that was ten years in the future. For the radiographic setup, you have to mark out a perimeter around the building. It was midnight, we went through the whole building to ensure that no one was still there. It was like being in a horror movie, but it was a lot of fun.
Benoît: One of my most memorable radiography projects was on a satellite. When we arrived on site, we went through security. We had to work in a clean room, so we had to wear gowns, over-shoes and anti-static wristbands. We’re really well equipped. We passed through portals, the floor was very sticky, like scotch tape, to avoid dust and other contaminants. We arrived at a small module that was part of the satellite we had to inspect, about 50 cm in diameter.
We took some X-ray shots, everything was going well, and then we had to pick up some equipment. But we didn’t go through the front door, from where we arrived, we took another path. And there were lots of satellites under construction. It was really huge, like a section of the A320. Next to all the satellites, there was a huge balloon, which I found strange. I was told that it was a zero G balloon with the function to reproduce the same weightlessness as in space. This was useful when they needed to open up an arm or any other part of the satellite and make sure that it would not break under its own weight.
What is your advice for people who are just starting their NDT career?
Guéric: Be attentive! It’s such a broad field and there’s so much information and experience to take from all the people around us.
Benoît: To me, the best advice is to give it a go, try and learn as much as you can from different people. Absorb everything you can, which will always come in handy one day or another.
Watch the video interview on YouTube
Thanks for taking the time for this interview!
Are you interested in also becoming a Testia expert? Visit our career page to find out about our current job offers!