Tue, 11 August, 2020
Terry Tan, who has almost 15 years’ of experience in the aerospace industry, works for the Boeing Company. Born and raised in Malaysia, Terry moved to the United States to further his studies. He graduated as a Master of Mechanical Engineering and started his career with Boeing when he was still in the US.
A major part of the Boeing 787 is built in Malaysia with the involvement of several suppliers. Being a Malaysian national, he was the perfect candidate to oversee the supplier operations in Malaysia and that was why Terry was sent back to his home country to work on a new project.
During the past few years, he attended several internal training courses while working for Boeing in the US and gained various certificates in engineering design, but even though he had been working with different NDT techniques, he never attended any formal training to get certified on NDT.
Ever since Terry moved back to Malaysia for his new assignment, his role involved a lot of NDT inspection, so he decided to attend training at TWI Malaysia so that he could learn about the NDT techniques in more depth.
He also mentions that, due to the travel restrictions imposed as the result of Covid-19 pandemic, his company cannot fly the internal experts from the overseas offices into Malaysia. That is why it was decided that a local candidate should be selected and trained on NDT techniques who could, in turn, train the rest of the local team as well as oversee the related operations.
Terry has enjoyed his training at TWI Malaysia so far and mentions that this course, which is an introduction to NDT, has opened his eyes about the wide use of NDT techniques in the industry. He is thrilled by inspection methods such as X-ray and ultrasonic testing and finds it very interesting how the parts can be inspected without damaging the component.
He adds that, although he was familiar with NDT, attending the course at TWI has given him a broader perspective about the use of NDT, which is not only limited to the aerospace industry but is also highly utilised in the construction and oil and gas industries. He now knows that NDT inspection plays a vital role in ensuring the security and safety of a welded joint.
“I picked up a lot of knowledge, I really appreciate TWI for doing a good job putting this course together. Even it is an appreciation course, it has really opened my eyes,” Terry said.
He adds that he has been impressed by how knowledgeable the lecturer has been. The lecturer managed to answer all of Terry’s questions patiently and guide him through the course. He also found the training room’s set up, equipment and access to the realistic samples to practice on a wonderful addition to the course content.
Learn more about NDT training courses in South East Asia here.