In 1980 the Materials and Fabrication Committee of the American Society of Engineers, Pressure Vessel and Piping Division, conducted a symposium entitled, Critical Issues in Materials and Mechanical Engineering (1). The purpose of this symposium was to identify those engineering issues which affect the future of ASME and the public at large. One of the critical issues defined and unanimously endorsed by this symposium was the reliability of nondestructive evaluation (NDE). In his statement of the issue, Mordfin pointed out that ... reliable NDE, performed during fabrication and in service, can enhance safety, increase durability, improve performance, and reduce life cycle costs ... He further added that these benefits cannot be achieved without reliable NDE tools, and that reliability itself is a very complex issue that embraces many facets of technology and human skills. Examples of some of the technological facets include the research and development leading to more reliable NDE instrumentation and interpretive signal processing algorithms, the utilization of these advances in the design of NDE systems with predictable and quantifiable performance reliability, and the strong interfacing of NDE with design, materials processing, manufacturing, and maintenance functions that must yet be developed. Human factors that improve reliability are more difficult to define, but certainly include the level of education and training of personnel as well as a number of intangibles that constitute the motivational environment. Burley noted that an important overlying motivational element is management attitude. Reliability in NDE requires an expressed management philosophy that NDE is essential to improved quality and service life of components fabricated from a variety of materials
