Staff and officers of the Quality Control Council of Canada stand in front of their new training centre for NDT workers in Edmonton, Alberta.
Curriculum designed to give NDT workers a competitive edge
THE QUALITY CONTROL Council of Canada held an open house June 3 for its new training centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The QCCC represents employees in the Nondestructive Testing and Allied Workers industries (NDT), where workers test samples without damaging the material or device by using such equipment as X-rays, ultrasonics, radiography, and magnetic flux.
Darrell Fleming, a QCCC business rep, said Boilermaker Local 146 (Edmonton), along with UA Locals 488 and 496, are the biggest supporters of the new training centre. “The QCCC felt a need to take over NDT training to improve quality, based on the high failure rates to achieve federal certification by candidates who had passed community college courses,” said Fleming. “We started training in 2003 in British Columbia, but the idea of having our own facility began in 2008.”
QCCC National Director Lance Yearley said the new facility was built “to ensure our members and contractors maintain the competitive advantage of having the highest-trained and most-skilled workers in the industry.”
International Vice President for Eastern Canada Edward Power said, “This training centre is another fine example of the working partnership between the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the United Association in preparing and supplying qualified people to successfully work in the NDT field.”
NDT workers play a critical function in the construction and manufacturing industries. In 1973, the Boilermakers and UA formed the QCCC to represent NDT workers. Today, they represent 3,000 technicians who use sophisticated equipment and techniques to evaluate areas that are either difficult or impossible to examine using the naked eye.
Boilermaker International Vice President for Western Canada Joseph Maloney serves as president for the QCCC. He said, “The Quality Control Council is committed to preparing and supplying the best-trained technicians in Canada to our signatory contractors.”
The new facility has been accredited by the Canadian Government Standards Board (CGSB). Offered courses include advanced ultrasonics (including phased array), magnetic particle and liquid penetrant inspection, as well as heat treatment and stress relieving. For course information, visit www.qcccanada.com or call 1-780-488-3455.
