Overall conclusion of the meeting summary of the declaration of Dr. Nichols and interventions from the panel and the floor, relative to PISC results

After some comments on PISC I and PISC II results (Programme for the Inspection of Steel Components), it is shown how PISC III introduced new detailed conclusions about pressure vessel and other components inspection. Observations made at the meeting and during the discussion can be summarized as follows: safest inspection is always produced by procedures working at high sensitivity (generally just above noise level); diverse multiple techniques show complementarity but few are effective and a priori physical reasoning is important to select the best techniques. The use of validated software is important for data acquisition and on line display of results. Other points considered are concerned with mechanized vs manual inspection stability, difficulties with austenitic steel welds, defect sizing and location uncertainty, possible improvement of inspection results and recommendations, human effectiveness, etc.