River Parish Community College
Gonzales, LA, USA
The non-destructive testing program at River Parishes Community College
provides the training and prepares graduates for a career in non-destructive
testing.
Non-destructive testing is the ability to examine a product that is still useable at
the end of the exam. Destructive testing measures the maximum amount of
force the product can endure before the product fails.
An example of an industry that uses non-destructive testing in use is the
petrochemical industry. If a pipe fails at a chemical plant, the resulting explosion
could kill many people and destroy the plant. Non-destructive testing allows
technicians to replace the pipe before it fails.
Non-destructive testing can detect everything from corrosion, defects in a
casting at a foundry, cracked wheels on an amusement park ride, a defective
weld on the space shuttle or even the placement of rebar in a concrete pillar.
River Parishes Community College prepares students for a career in non-
destructive testing through its accelerated non-destructive testing program. The
program condenses the equivalent of 2.75 semesters, or 11 months, of
classroom and practical training into a 6 month program.
The comprehensive training regimen includes everything from reading
blueprintsand understanding weld symbols and isometric drawings to visual
testing, liquid penetrant testing, magnetic particle testing, radiography, film
interpretation, radiation safety and ultrasonic testing (similar to a sonogram).
Graduates of the program can expect be a well-rounded, complete trainee with a
starting salary of between 16 and 18 dollars an hour in industries such as the
petrochemical, aeronautical and construction industries.
Classes start on January 18, 2014.
For more information on the non-destructive testing program at River Parishes
Community College, call 225-675-5397.