J U L Y 2 0 2 0 • M A T E R I A L S E V A L U A T I O N 811 DGZfP Forms Joint Working Group for Industry 4.0 The DGZfP (German Society for Nondestructive Testing), headquartered in Berlin, Germany, organizes sponsorships in science and research and facilitates communication between these groups. Its subcommittee “Interfaces, Documentation, Data Safety, Storage, and Filing” is part of the new Committee ZfP (NDT) 4.0, and its members recently met at VisiConsult, a manufacturer of X-ray systems headquartered in Stockelsdorf, Germany, for two days. The central topic of the meeting was developing a standardized method for exchanging data using OPC Unified Architecture. Members of the subcom- mittee agreed to work actively to form a joint working group of the OPC Foundation, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the VDMA (German Association of Machine Manufacturers), headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. This joint working group will act on behalf of DGZfP and will work on an OPC companion specification for the area of nondestructive testing. This specification is meant to further enhance the Industry 4.0 concept. Other topics like DICONDE and alternatives were discussed as well. Spectronics Makes UV Sanitation Products to Fight COVID-19 Spectronics Corp., headquartered in Westbury, New York, has strengthened its manufacturing of UV-C germicidal products. Due to the spread of COVID-19, citizens are taking extra precautions to disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Spectronics Corp. has been a manufac- turer of UV sanitization, fluorescent inspec- tion, and other UV applications for over 64 years. The company has recently released UV-C (shortwave ultraviolet light) and UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradia- tion) products. Due to the recent lack of masks, hospitals are looking for ways to disinfect and reuse masks for health care workers. Spectronics offers two models of UVGI sanitizing cabinets—one model sanitizes up to three N95 masks and the other sanitizes up to six N95 masks. As well as the cabinets, Spectronics has products that utilize UV-C light to eliminate 90% to up to 99% of microorganisms on the surfaces of products used daily, such as mobile devices. State officials also contacted Spectronics owner Jon Cooper regarding the need for hand sanitizer. This interest gave him the opportunity to retrofit a section of the plant to switch from the production of fluorescent dyes to hand sanitizer. The spray-bottle hand sanitizer will be the next product to be released by Spectronics in its sanitization line. w INDUSTRY news A DGZfP subcommittee recently met at VisiConsult to discuss OPC United Architecture. Write Us Seeking NDT Heroes Are you an NDT company or individual who has shifted your focus to helping out in the current global pandemic? If so, we’d like to know! Please contact the editor, Jill Ross, at jross@asnt.org. Call for Papers 7th US–Japan NDT Symposium Wailola Beach Marriot Resort, Waikoloa, HI ASNT and JSNDI are soliciting abstracts for the 7th US–Japan NDT Joint Symposium to be held in Waikoloa, Hawaii, on 5–9 July 2021. Categories include aerospace, aging infrastructure, applications of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, automated NDE, biomechanics, certification criteria, composites, condition monitoring, future direction and possibilities in NDE, guided wave ultrasonics, health monitoring, laser ultrasound, materials characterization, measure- ment analysis, NDE advancements toward technology transfer, NDE advances in radiology, NDE develop- ments for transportation systems, NDE in manufacturing processes, NDE modeling and signal processing, NDE of infrastructure, neutron radiog- raphy, nonlinear ultrasonic, oil and gas, performance-based NDT, proba- bility of detection, prognostic tools for NDE, safety and reliability, and synergies within ND. Deadline: 30 October 2020 Submit: asnt.org/events International Conference on NDE 4.0 Munich, Germany Abstracts are currently being solicited for the first International Conference on NDE 4.0 to take place 26–28 April 2022. This conference is devoted to promoting a broad exchange on all subjects regarding NDE 4.0. The conference provides a unique opportunity for users, scien- tists, equipment suppliers, and others. Presentations considering the use of Industry 4.0 emerging tech- nologies for NDE/NDT the use of NDE data for the Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 and human considerations for NDE 4.0 environ- ments will be most welcome. Submit: conference.nde40.com