Experience and knowledge—two essential components that make or break organizations—decide how manufacturers employ and maximize the benefits of NDT techniques in their quality control and management workflows. A keen eye to spot defects during the production and fabrication can help industry leaders optimize not just their machinery but also their workforce –a quality that is nurtured by businesses such as ETMS within its clientele to help manufacturers achieve superior production efficiency through state-of-the-art non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection, training and consulting services.

Quality control is the cynosure for manufacturers irrespective of industries to ensure that components are manufactured to the correct standards and specifications. Any deviation from the stipulation can compromise the integrity of systems and increase the likelihood of failure. On this pretext, manufacturers employ many (NDT) techniques to inspect a component in a safe, reliable, and cost-effective manner without causing damage to the equipment or shutting down plant operations. However, due to a lack of experience and knowledge, manufacturers often fail to employ the most appropriate NDT techniques that fit their bill. Besides, several manufacturers also fail to fortify their existing quality programs due to inadequate practices. To address this issue, ETMS offers NDT inspection and training across various methods, including ultrasonic, visual, magnetic particle, and penetration testing based on the manufacturer’s requirement. The company leverages its vast experience in delivering customized consulting and training programs to help its clients improve the production efficiency of their manufacturing processes. “We provide best-in-class welding program development, quality program development, materials science consulting, failure analysis, and safety training services to improve our clients’ production efficiency,” states David A. Diaz, Operations Director at ETMS.

Established in 1991 as an NDT inspection group in the welding and generation industry, the company rose ranks in the manufacturing value chain, assisting clients through the highest standard of inspection, training, and consulting services. Today, the company offers best-in-class Welding Program Development, Quality Program Development, Materials Science consulting, Failure Analysis, and Safety Training services to its clients to improve their production efficiency with a greater understanding of the process.

ETMS’ welder training and certification programs satisfy various international, national, state, and municipal standards and codes, ISO, ASME, API, AWS, or MIL Standards. ETMS’ renowned training programs are used worldwide and consistently meet and exceed its clients’ expectations. Besides, ETMS also offers a turnkey Prequalified Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) package that features all of the applicable AWS code requirements and production standards for more than 50 joint configurations utilizing many welding processes, including Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) and Flux-cored Arc Welding (FCAW).

Fabricators seeking to increase efficiency and project yield can purchase the three-volume Prequalified WPS package by individual process or a complete package of all three processes. For fabricators seeking a Prequalified WPS for Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) process, ETMS offers a customized fourth volume, which requires additional information from the fabricator before development.

As more of the inspection errors are attributed to the lack of formal training, ETMS regularly trains clients’ personnel on various subjects. The classes are specifically tailored to meet the clients’ needs, and personnel is trained and qualified, directly on-site. With ETMS training, clients’ personnel can effortlessly understand inspection criteria from an inspector’s point of view, correctly identify discontinuities, and detect errors in rejection, ultimately reducing the number of parts that are discarded as waste. Clients have an effective production and quality staff who are better engaged, have greater technical understanding, and produce output exceeding expectations. With ETMS’ consulting and training programs, clients can dramatically increase their overall manufacturing efficiency by drastically reducing rejected work and rework, which ultimately saves time and additional dollars.

We provide best-in-class welding program development, quality program development, materials science consulting, failure analysis, and safety training services to improve our clients’ production efficiency

A notable aspect of ETMS’ training is that instead of clients coming to them, the ETMS’ team regularly goes to the clients’ premises to offer training and consulting, enabling them to continue their manufacturing operations without any hindrances. Also, amid the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company quickly aligned itself to the ‘new normal’ by delivering its training services using Zoom, showcasing its adaptability to change in the face of adversities.

An Unrivalled Team of Experienced Professionals

Keeping the mantra, ‘a company is only as good as its employees,’ ETMS employs some of the best talents from a diverse pool of applicants that go above and beyond to exceed clients’ expectations. Additionally, each of the company’s instructors is certified with ASNT, AWS SCWI, CWI, CWE, AWS RI & API with years of field experience in various welding processes and NDT disciplines with expert knowledge of codes and standards. This quality standard allows ETMS to deliver a superior training experience that renders a greater understanding and commitment to quality for the clients’ employees. “With such a diverse and proficient pool of talent, we can seamlessly exceed our clients’ expectations,” explains Diaz. Notably, the company’s Founder, David A. Diaz, is a current AWS certified radiography interpreter chair.

David himself sits on multiple committees with the AWS, and they both are adjunct professors for the American Aerospace Technical Academy (AATA) teaching NDT.

Delivering Superior Client Experience

ETMS does not undertake a one-size-fits-all approach and begins with assessing clients’ manufacturing operations. This enables the company to understand deficiencies or needs in the production and inspection operations of the clients’ manufacturing process. Once the company identifies areas of need or areas that require skill improvement, ETMS addresses those requirements quickly by educating and providing a well-rounded, base foundation for the personnel involved in the production and inspection of clients’ manufacturing operations to increase efficiency. “We believe in the self-sufficiency of our clients, and we devise methods to improve their production efficiency without burdening them to add additional staff,” informs Diaz. After the development of the program, the ETMS team also verifies the accurate implementation of the project by triggering an audit for the program.

Alongside training and consulting, ETMS also delivers best-in-class CWI inspection, NDT inspection, and penetration testing to help its clients improve their production efficiency. The company has worked with many global leaders from diverse industries, including aerospace, nuclear, power generation, rail, pipeline, refinery, underwater, pressure vessel, structural, and bridge in five continents.

A testament to ETMS’ superior services is the success story of a Europe-based manufacturing company facing difficulties manufacturing a specialized component for a huge semiconductor company. The rejection rate for the manufactured component was almost 50 percent. Intending to improve production efficiency, the manufacturing client consulted ETMS. The ETMS team examined the production area, worked with the clients’ inspection staff, and subsequently helped the client develop procedures to manufacture the required component according to the requirements of the semiconductor company. As a result, the manufacturers were able to reduce their rejection rate from 50 percent of their manufactured components to less than five percent within two months.

In the future, the company plans to use more digital technology tools to add more panache to its training and consulting services. Also, to expand its horizon and assist manufacturers in different industries to improve their production efficiency, ETMS aims to employ more proficient inspectors and instructors from different industry verticals in the coming months.