Annual General Meeting, DNV Facility Visit and AI Webinar on Corrosion Inspection.
The UK Midlands branch officially commenced its 2025 activities with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 28th April, attended by ICorr President Dr. Yunnan Gao.
Annual General Meeting
The ICorr Midlands Chair, Dr. Prafull Sharma, introduced the new committee volunteers, who were formally approved to commence their roles. Strategic priorities for the year were set. A key focus is expanding engagement with academia to promote student membership. The committee chair also emphasised collaboration with other professional societies, aligning with ICorr’s broader strategy for mutual growth and knowledge exchange. As part of the new strategy, the branch will also host subject-specific webinars, such as the timely topic of AI application in corrosion and inspection management on 16th April.
Uzma Anjum (DNV) will oversee the branch’s online events
and webinars.
Other committee roles include:
• Ali Oskuie (Worley): Committee Secretary
•Louis Ramdall (Premtech): Coordinator for in-person events
•Ben Knight (Premtech): Social media and digital communications
The committee will also benefit from the continued support of Bill Whittaker, former Midlands Chair, whose experience will help guide strategic decisions.
DNV Facility Visit
Screenshot
Coinciding with the 2025 AGM, the committee and guests participated in a technical visit to DNV’s Loughborough facility. Attendees from both academia and industry took part in the event, gaining valuable insights into DNV’s operations in the field of failure and root cause analysis. The Midlands branch extends its appreciation to DNV for hosting both the visit and the AGM.
Attendees participated in a guided tour of the facility, where they observed firsthand the sophisticated techniques and methodologies used in root cause and failure investigations.
The lab showcased a variety of real-world case studies, including failures in gas pipelines and components from the energy sector. These samples illustrated the complexity of determining failure causes, which often involve a blend of technical, managerial, and communication-related factors.
The visit also included a series of technical presentations, highlighting DNV’s multidisciplinary approach to integrity management across the renewable, hydrocarbon, and electricity sectors. The sessions offered deeper insights into how engineering expertise, forensic analysis, and risk assessment converge to support industry resilience and safety.
The ICorr Midlands committee extends its sincere appreciation to DNV, especially Uzma Anjum and Kathryn Thomas, for their generous hospitality and for making the event a rich learning experience for all. Events like this reinforce the importance of cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing in the evolving field of corrosion and asset integrity.
Webinar on AI Application in Corrosion Management
The branch hosted a well-attended webinar titled “AI-Powered Digital Corrosion Inspection and Coating Survey”, presented by Kashif Salim (Abyss Solutions). This session explored Abyss Solutions’ advanced system, which integrates high-precision data collection tools—such as 3D scanning—with AI algorithms to assess and prioritise corrosion risks, particularly in offshore piping systems. The topic resonated with online attendees, generating many audience questions and highlighting the growing importance of digital tools in asset integrity management.
This was the second webinar on the application of the AI in corrosion management. The Midlands branch plans to continue offering webinars on high-interest topics and will soon release its annual webinar calendar.
Further Contacts
www.linkedin.com/posts/icorr-midlands_corrosion-materialsscience-engineering-activity-7312949751820267520-FSzp/ and see the ICorr Events Calendar at: www.icorr.org/events/
Interested members can also subscribe to the branch’s YouTube channel to access recordings of past webinars at:
www.youtube.com/@ICORRMidlands
All event slide packs are available in the Midlands Branch web page at: Midlands Branch – Institute of Corrosion under Local Technical Programme.
For all other inquiries and membership / sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Branch Chair
Dr. Prafull Sharma at: midlandschair@icorr.org
