Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation
The field of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) and Evaluation encompasses a family of scientific techniques and practices that reveal the internal and external characteristics of materials without impairing their future usefulness.
If you’re interested in using your hands as well as your mind in a dynamic and growing industry, this program may be for you — providing hands-on training for a well-paying career that helps make the world a safer place.
Why is NDT Important?
Whether you’re driving a car or boarding a plane, the strength or structural integrity of the parts holding everything together is imperative for the safety of all involved. In much the same way as a dentist checks your teeth for fractures using x-rays and other tests, NDT Technicians check parts and materials for defects to ensure that the parts are safe and structurally sound, without destroying them.
NDT Technicians inspect, test, and evaluate materials, components, or assemblies for flaws or differences in characteristics that may lead to failures. They play a critical role in ensuring our transportation, bridges, buildings, and infrastructure are sound and help to prevent accidents—potentially saving lives.
According to the National Science Foundation, NDT “plays a big role in keeping our world safe and is used to test many of the things that you come in contact with everyday. Nondestructive testing means parts and materials are tested or inspected without causing damage to them. NDT methods are used to make sure that important parts on airplanes, trains, and automobiles are free of defects that could lead to an accident. NDT is also used in many other industries to make sure that parts do not have defects that would lead to unhappy customers.”
