CAT I Ultrasound Analysis (UCAT-I)

CAT I Ultrasound Analysis (UCAT-I)

The CAT I Ultrasound Analysis Certification Training is an opportunity to work with and learn from some of the world’s most experienced ultrasound trainers and inspectors.

The  course is an essential mix of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Working from the Level 1 course guide, students are exposed to basic sound theory and how it is applied to the inspection disciplines demanded by an effective ultrasound program.

In accordance with ISO 18436-8 standard there is a mixture of classroom training and practical exercises with an optional 2-hour Certification exam.

Are you ready to get started in ultrasound analysis and condition monitoring?  You will enjoy this ultrasound analysis training course!

You will come away with a solid understanding of why we monitor the condition of rotating machinery (and other critical assets), the importance of improved reliability, and how the ultrasound can be successfully measured and analysed to provide an early warning of a wide range of fault conditions.  You won’t come away as an expert; that’s what our more advanced courses are for.  But you will know enough to make a valuable contribution to an existing program; be in a position to start a new program; determine if you should implement a program at your site; or better understand the program that exists in your plant.

Aim

You will come away from the course with a solid understanding of:

1. Understanding the principles of ultrasound as applied to predictive maintenance.
2. Gaining knowledge on generic ultrasound equipment such as airborne and structure-borne sensors and their functions
3. Explore data acquisition and storage options
4. Analysing and trending data, using time signal analysis and setting up statistical decibel alarms
5. In depth study of ultrasound applications; leak detection, bearing lubrication and monitoring, steam trap and valve inspection, electrical systems analysis, hydraulic inspections and more.
6. Assess equipment to determine severity priorities.
7. Recommendations on implementing an ultrasound analysis program at your facility

Conditions and Requirements

Candidates must provide evidence of a minimum of 6 months’ practical work experience in the field of ultrasound analysis condition monitoring and diagnostics.

Candidates must also provide evidence of passing a hearing test conducted by a licensed professional, which attest that the individual is capable of hearing, a standard pure tone audiometry with results of an average of 25 dB hearing level or lower

Candidates must complete the training course, experience and hearing test requirements, and passed the certification exam with a score of 70% or more to be certified for CAT I Ultrasound Analysis Condition Monitoring and Diagnostics by MIBoC *

* Certification Exam is provided by Mobius Institute Board of Certification (MIBoC) which is ISO/IEC 17024 accredited in accordance with ISO 18436-8

Remarks

• The course and exam will be delivered in English.
• Maximum attendees for this event, 8.
• In-house training is also possible for a class size of minimum 6 attendees.
• Registration of candidates requires processing by Mobius, so you are requested to confirm your booking.

Who should attend?

If you have been performing ultrasound analysis for less than one year, or if you have been collecting ultrasound readings and leaving the analysis to another person, then this course is for you.  The CAT I Ultrasound Analysis course is also designed for reliability engineers, PdM program managers, and other maintenance staff who would like to understand condition monitoring with a focus on vibration analysis, and take the ISO or ASNT exam.

What is unique about this course?

RMS makes it unique. We use 3D animations, Flash simulations, and numerous software simulators that completely demystify vibration analysis.  While ultrasound analysis training courses have traditionally been very theoretical, difficult to understand, (and boring), you will be captivated by the Mobius Training methods, and you will enjoy our practical approach.  You will take away skills that you can immediately apply to your job, and you will truly understand what you are doing.  When senior ultrasound analysts attend our classes they often say “if only I could have learned this way when I got started” – well, now you can!

Additional benefits unique to RMS / Mobius Institute courses

Classroom activities

• Sitting and watching an instructor can be boring…  When the instructor is using modern slides, 3D animations, and incredible simulators, there is no way that you will be bored, however there is nothing like hands-on participation.

Hands-on participation accelerates learning and enjoyment (depends on venue)

• In the Mobius Institute courses you can use the simulators, and you can collect readings and study real vibration patterns.  There is no doubt that the simulators make it easier to understand the topics we cover – but when you can use them yourself, the learning is further accelerated.

Workbooks provide feedback – do you really understand?

• We also provide quiz questions that help you check if you really did understand the topics, and that you will be able to make the right decisions in the field (and in the exam).  Every morning we have a lively discussion as we go through the questions.

Take away more than just knowledge

• We don’t just deliver an excellent course.  We provide you with resources that you can use before, during and after the course.

Get started before the course even starts

• Before you even start the course you can visit our Learning Zone Web site to take the self-paced lessons (and read through the manual).  These lessons will help prepare you for the course – you will learn so much more if you go into the course with this knowledge.

Excellent materials that you will treasure forever

• During the course you receive a bearing analysis chart, an ultrasound reference guide, (a very handy booklet); a mouse pad that is covered with classic spectra representing common fault conditions; access to quiz styled questions and answers, and our Ultrasound Analysis CAT I manual.  This new manual is easy to read, is filled with illustrations, follows the course slides exactly, contains an excellent “Equipment Knowledge” appendix, and can be used as a reference in the future.

Don’t stop learning just because the course ends

• For six months after the course (or longer for a small fee), you can continue to access the self-paced material on the Web site.  If you forget something that you were taught, or you just want a refresher, then just jump on to the site and go through the fully narrated lessons.

Maintenance practices

• Reactive, preventive, condition-based, proactive
• How to decide between them

Condition monitoring

• Why it works
• Vibration, infrared, oil analysis, wear particle analysis, and electric motor testing
• Detecting faults, root causes, and quality control
• Acceptance testing

Principles of sound

• What is sound, sound waves, and sine waves
• Frequency, pitch, period, wavelength
• Acoustic impedance, reflection, and transmission with different media (materials)
• The inverse distance rule

The application of ultrasound

• Friction, turbulence, impacting, arcing, tracking, corona

Ultrasound measurement

• Heterodyning
• The decibel dB scale
• Metrics: RMS, Peak, crest factor, and Kurtosis
• Listening versus measuring
• Severity determination

Collecting test data

• Safety precautions
• Sensor types: contact vs non-contact, magnets, horns, parabolic dishes
• Collecting good data
• Sensitivity validation
• Repeatability
• Sensor positioning
• Shielding and competing ultrasound sources
• Waveforms and spectra

Data storage and management

• Setting up a good database
• ISO 14224 as a guide

Leak detection

• Steam systems
• Compressed air systems and gas
• Pressurized systems and systems under vacuum
• Leak detection
• Tightness testing

Electrical testing

• Safety precautions
• Corona, arcing, tracking
• Partial discharge

Lubrication

• Concerns with traditional methods
• On-condition lubrication
• Avoiding over-greasing or under-greasing

Testing different assets types

• Valves, steam traps, bearings (low speed and high speed), compressors, pumps, hydraulic systems
• A detailed explanation of all the above equipment and their failure modes

Report generation

• Providing actionable information

Case studies

• Many case studies are presented throughout the course

Student eligibility for certification

CAT-I: you’ll need 6 months or more experience in Ultrasound. When completing the experience section on the online registration form please confirm you have sufficient experience. Note that when completing the official exam registration form you will be required to provide a witness who can verify your declared experience.

CAT-II: you’ll need 18 months or more experience in Ultrasound. When completing the experience section on the registration form please confirm you have sufficient experience. Note that when completing the official exam registration form you will be required to provide suitable evidence.

Hearing Test

As per the requirements of ISO 18436-8, candidates should be given hearing examinations to ensure natural or corrected hearing acuity exists in at least one ear. A record of the results should be retained and presented to MIBoC upon request. The individual should be capable of hearing a standard pure tone in an audiometry exam with results of an average of 25 dB hearing level or lower. This examination should be administered upon initial certification and upon re-certification, be administered by a licensed professional, and a record of the test made available to MIBoC upon request.

Candidates who do not provide a record of passing the hearing test will receive conditional certification under which it becomes the responsibility of their employer to assess the candidate’s hearing acuity and their suitability to perform ultrasound data collection and/or analysis. This condition of certification will be noted on the candidate’s certificate as well as MIBoC’s website list of certified analysts.

Sitting the examination

Public Course: Mobius Institute or BINDT
Online Course: Mobius Online Examination

We offer certification that follows ISO 18536-2 and ASNT standards for Mobius, as well as BINDT. It is our policy not to favour one certification institute over the other – use the links above to make your own assessment. The BINDT certification exam price includes postage and packaging of the exam papers, and postage of your printed certificate. Important: If you opt for the BINDT certification you must also complete their Admission Form. This editable form will be sent to students after course registration.

Here you’ll find the BINDT VA syllabus. The MOBIUS certification exam price includes postage and packaging of the exam papers, and postage of your printed certificate. The Mobius exam registration is completed by each student once they are logged into their Mobius online portal. This login also gives access to the online pre-study portal.

What can I study online?

We are pleased to offer the following online training courses and learning solutions that include community-based digital support and personal instructor mentoring. You can learn at your own pace, with assistance from an instructor, and optionally take the exam at the end of the course.

• Vibration Analysis: CAT-I, CAT-II, CAT-III and CAT-IV
• Asset Reliability Practitioner (ARP): Advocate, Engineer and Leader
• Ultrasound Analysis: CAT-I, CAT-II (Coming soon)
• iLearnReliability CM
• iLearnReliability Professional
• iLearnReliability Enterprise

Distance learning benefits

If the high cost of travel and accommodation, and the time away from your family and work has stopped you from receiving the training that you need, then you should consider our distance learning courses.

At a time that is convenient to you, and at a pace that works best for you, you can take our lessons and learn in a very similar way to attendees of our classroom courses. Depending upon the course, you can either view fully narrated slides, or you can watch a video of the class in action.

Narrated slides

Using the popular iLearn products, we offer distance learning courses where you can view the lessons at your own page, in your own time, and get assistance from an instructor when any questions arise. Of course, you can just buy the products and learn at your own pace without assistance, but you are sure to benefit from interaction with the instructor. In certain courses, you can also interact with other students.

Video lessons

These are not noisy, unprofessional videos taken from actual classrooms, each video was carefully created and edited so that you receive the full benefit. As you can see in this sample, you see the instructor talking and you see the slides (and simulators) being used in high resolution. All you need is a good Internet connection and a good monitor (1024×768 or better) and you will be ready to start learning. You can pause and rewind the video so that you can see and hear the instructor cover the topic again.

In addition to the lessons, hands-on videos are presented where a variety of vibration analyzers are used to perform a range of tests. The tests include demonstrations of averaging (linear, rms, and peak hold), bump tests, run up and coast down tests, simple ODS tests, bearing fault detection tests, phase analysis, live spectrum analysis, time waveform analysis, and more.

You can also perform activities defined by the instructor, and take quizzes that will be reviewed by the instructor.

This is a great way to learn. The convenience of learning from home, and the reduced costs associated with travel, meals and accommodation make this a very attractive option – especially while the world’s economy is still recovering.

Updated (02/11/2021)

1. The registration form must be completed and returned to confirm a place on the course. A valid email address must be supplied for each candidate.
2. Bookings are taken on a first come, first served basis, and must be received prior to attending the course.
3. If you are an existing customer then a valid purchase order must accompany the registration form. Please add the po number to the registration form and send the PO to wendy@rms-reliability.com.
4. If you are a new customer then payment will need to be made on receipt of the invoice. For credit card payments, add your card details to the registration form, or if you prefer, call the accounts department on +44 (0)1206 791917. Please note that in accordance with UK law, there are no processing fees for using personal credit or debit cards. If you are paying with a commercial credit or debit card the processing fee is currently 2.5%.
5. Any cancellations would need to be received at least four weeks before the start of the course, (so we have enough time to offer the place to someone else) otherwise a cancellation fee of half the course costs would be payable. Cancellations need to be confirmed in writing or by email.
6. Notification of a change of candidate or change of course would need to be received at least two weeks before the start of the course. An admin fee of £ 100.00 per candidate will be charged. Any changes need to be notified to us in writing or by email.
7. If a candidate does not attend the course and we have not been notified in advance or we are given less than 1 weeks’ notice, then the full course fee would be payable.

Languages

We would assume that as the course and exam are delivered in English, your level of spoken and written English is sufficient for you to be able to attend the course and take the exam. If English is not your first language we can apply for extra time in advance of the course. Please notify us as soon as possible if there is any other reason why you need extra time in the exam (eg. Dyslexia), so we can see if we can arrange extra time for you in the exam. The exam body will need to be contacted to arrange this.

Pricing & VAT

Prices listed are exclusive of UK VAT, currently at 20%. This applies to all training courses conducted in the UK. Please contact the Training team on +44 (0)1206 791917 if you have any queries.

Training Coordinator

Wendy Whittle
wendy@rms-reliability.com

General enquiries

Training Team
info@rms-training.com

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Complete the enquiry form to
receive a customised quotation

Currently only Mobius Institute examinations can be taken online. Full details can be found here.

The CAT I course price can be seen in blue at the top of the page. Depending on the options chosen the final price is then calculated. More information about the other Ultrasound levels: CAT II, CAT III can be found on the Ultrasound Analysis Courses page.

It is our policy not to make recommendations. We recommend reviewing each exam body in turn. Both Mobius and BINDT conform to ISO 18436-8 standard.