Justin Cranston Reveals How Online Training Suited Him

Mechanical QA/QC Inspector, Justin Cranston’s work involves visiting manufacturing and fabrication facilities across the UK and overseas to carry out vendor inspection for the nuclear industry.

Justin’s responsibilities include visual inspection, welding surveillance, witnessing non-destructive evaluations and document review, including compiling and approving lifetime records, then finally releasing equipment to the client’s site for assembly and commissioning.

Already qualified with CSWIP Welding Inspector, PCN Level 2 in Radiography, Ultrasonics, DPI and MPI, Justin took our CSWIP Senior Welding Inspector Online course, which he paid for himself as a self-sponsored student.

Justin explained that he opted for this course due to, “The flexibility of being able to continue working while completing the course at my own pace,” along with, “not having to travel and stay away from home for the duration of the course.”

He took advantage of the flexibility offered by online learning, explaining, “The course was well set out and easy to follow in bite-sized chunks, being able to repeat the modules until I was fully versed in the subject was a big bonus.”

While Justin didn’t contact his TWI lecturer during the course, he found the online learning option easier than being in the classroom, since he was able to learn at his own pace, despite joking, “obviously I had the added distraction of the children and the dog to contend with!”

Despite the distractions at home, Justin says he would opt for online learning again should it be available for his chosen course.

As for the CSWIP Senior Welding Inspector online course itself, Justin revealed, “It gave me the tools required to pass the exam and backed up the knowledge that I already had to aid me in my daily duties.”

While he got on well with the online course, Justin did attend a TWI training centre for some classroom-based refresher training ahead of his examination. He explained, “The refresher was extremely helpful and I found the way Steve conducted the lecture invaluable, giving us bullet points throughout the day that re-enforced what I had learned on the course and also boosting confidence in areas where I was a little weaker.”

Of course, there were safety measures in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Justin said that he “felt safe at all times.”

Justin was so pleased with the online training that he has already recommended it to his colleagues, saying, “For contractors such as myself it’s great not to have to take time off work and stay in hotels away from home. The online course meant that I could continue working and complete the course at home.”

As for his qualification, Justin said, “I felt it was a natural progression to go from NDE operator into inspection, and the CSWIP qualifications certainly helped me in this regard. I am enjoying my current work, which sees me travelling to various suppliers working on a variety of different projects manufacturing and fabricating bespoke equipment for the nuclear sector.”

However, Justin is not finished with his training yet, as he now plans to take on QC Coordinator and Lead Auditor training to progress his career further.