Paint inspector certification — Triumph, opportunity, or failure?

‘As a matter of public policy, the wording of any specification should enable conformity to its requirements to be verified equally by first party (supplier), second party (purchaser), or an independent third party’. (British Standard 0–1 ss 5.5.3) ENV 12837 falls short of this requirement. An alternative model of assessing personal attributes and abilities exists which has so far not received sufficient attention in improving the quality assurance of the paint inspection industry. Inspectors, specifiers, paint manufactures, test houses, and corrosion engineers are urged to examine ENV 12837 — Paints and Varnishes — Qualification of Inspectors for Corrosion Protection of Steel Structures by Protective Paint Systems, and try to use it in their work. Any defects in its philosophy and wording need ironing out as soon as possible, and certainly before the pre-Standard is reviewed for acceptance as a full European Standard in two or three years time, with all the implications that possesses for its mandatory introduction as a British Standard.