Meet the Team

Arron Jackaman is at the forefront of bringing cutting-edge inspection and testing capabilities to the maritime industry.  As Director of Non-Destructive Testing Services at The Lab at Brookes Bell, Arron is spearheading the use of advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) methods to provide unparalleled insights into the condition of vessels to predict maintenance requirements and prolong vessel lifecycles. 

With a background in electrical engineering followed by over a decade working in inspection engineering in the offshore oil and gas sector, Arron’s transition into maritime consulting was driven by his fascination with materials engineering and NDT. 

"I discovered materials engineering and NDT because we were working on similar projects to the inspection engineers and I saw how interesting their work was," Arron recalls.  "I kind of fell into the weld inspection and materials engineering side and then I went and pursued a career in NDT.  I completed a host of qualifications, got a lot of experience and then started working overseas and offshore."

As an experienced inspection engineer, Arron has achieved several Personal Certifications in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN), certified by the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) and The Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the advanced NDT methods of Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing, Time of Flight Diffraction and Eddy Current Testing.  He has also worked with a variety of manufactured products such as castings, forgings, and welded and tubular fabrications.

Arron has been at Brookes Bell since 2016 and leads a specialist team providing technical support across marine casualty investigations, failure analysis, and structural surveys.  A core focus is using advanced NDT technologies like ultrasound, electromagnetic technology and computed tomography to identify imperfections in components, categorise defects and map corrosion patterns without damaging the asset.

"Historically, the shipping industry relied on quite rudimentary NDT techniques that don't always provide the full picture," Arron explains.  "We're bringing over advanced methods from the oil and gas and offshore renewables industries that can detect problems much earlier and more accurately, saving owners significant costs from unplanned failures and repairs in drydocks.”

Pioneering new technologies

One of the team's flagship offerings is their proprietary corrosion mapping technology (CMAP), which combines cutting-edge sensing arrays with custom visualisation software to create a 'digital twin' model of the asset's structure.  Pioneered by Arron and his dedicated NDT team, CMAP allows virtual mapping of corrosion and wear, enabling precise predictions of remaining lifecycle and optimised repair planning.

The CMAP technology has been a game-changer, deployed across the Royal Navy's fleet of Type 23 Frigates after gaining Classification Society approval from Lloyds Register.  "It's a major milestone that we were the first company certified to use methods like pulsed eddy current array for maritime inspections," says Arron.  "It gives our clients a real competitive advantage in terms of asset management.  We are now looking at working with the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to create standardised Class Rule amendments, known as a Unified Requirement (IACS UR) that will see the technology gain widespread accreditation and enable it to be utilised to its full capability.”

These breakthroughs led to Brookes Bell being recognised at the 2023 Mersey Maritime Industry Awards, receiving the Technology and Innovation Award thanks to the CMAP service, and is a testament to the world-class standards of the technology itself. 

Arron also provides critical support for marine casualty investigations, serving as expert witness in matters of litigation through arbitration and court hearings.   He recently gave evidence in a Supreme Court case in Singapore, “That was the pinnacle of my career so far and a great achievement to be serving as an expert witness in my field.” With the team's advanced NDT capabilities allowing them to capture and visualise harmful defects in a way that brings evidence vividly to life, the use of their supporting evidence has become a useful tool in complex marine and offshore cases.

"Our methods produce 3D data reconstructions that can show a component's internal structure to determine whether or not there is harmful incipient damage, or imperfections that may lead to catastrophic failure" says Arron.  "It gives arbitrators and courts a tangible, unambiguous representation of the evidence in front of them."

To find out more about The Lab’s services and capabilities in Non-Destructive Testing, please click here.