Speaker
Description
Standardization is a fundamental prerequisite for the successful transfer of new Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technologies, particularly active thermography, into concrete industrial applications. While research drives innovation, standardization creates the necessary technical, legal, and economic basis to make these procedures objective, reproducible, and independent of the specific user. Without uniform standards, the in-dustry faces a lack of trust, comparability, and compatibility, which significantly hinders the broad acceptance and dissemination of new processes. Recognized standards are therefore crucial for meeting safety and quality requirements—especially in regulated sectors like aviation and medical technology—while simultaneously reducing invest-ment risks for companies and accelerating approval and certification processes.
This contribution provides a comprehensive look at the current status and future de-velopments of thermography standardization at both European and international lev-els. We offer insights into the effective work of the responsible European committee, CEN/TC 138/WG 11 “Thermographic testing.” Current efforts include the revision of the basic standard for active thermography, EN 17119, to ensure it remains fit for the fu-ture, as well as projects focusing on inductively excited thermography and testing with pulsed optical energy sources. On the international stage, under ISO/TC 135/SC 8, similar efforts are underway to update the nomenclature of infrared thermography (ISO 10878) and to develop the first globally harmonized application standard for active thermography with laser excitation, based on EN 17501.
However, the transition from research to application often reveals gaps that impede implementation. Users of modern testing technologies increasingly demand recog-nized reference test specimens, reference procedures, and the metrological assurance of test equipment. Addressing these needs is vital for establishing trust in daily indus-trial operations. Looking ahead, the roadmap for standardization must evolve to reflect industrial realities. Once fundamental standards defining the testing methods are es-tablished, future work must extend beyond specific applications, such as weld testing, to address the integration of automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) compatibility into the testing workflow.
Finally, this presentation emphasizes that standardization is not the task of a closed circle but relies on consensus and the active participation of experts from industry, ac-ademia, and service providers. We invite the community to engage in this collaborative process. By translating expertise into universally applicable rules, standardization acts as the essential bridge that transforms innovative technologies into verifiable, econom-ically viable, and widely adopted industrial processes.
