NDTScan provides advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) solutions tailored for handheld and portable inspection. Our services ensure accurate, compliant, and efficient diagnostics across all sectors, from aerospace to infrastructure. With cutting-edge equipment and over a decade of experience, we deliver certified inspections that minimise downtime and maximise safety. Trust NDTScan for reliable, data-driven reporting that enhances your decision-making and operational excellence.
NDTScan delivers agile handheld and portable inspection solutions across the UK, empowering site teams to access confined spaces, elevated structures, and challenging environments without compromise. Our battery-powered, high-precision NDT tools reveal hidden flaws, material degradation, and asset vulnerabilities quickly and non-invasively.
Our portable inspections transform access challenges. We uncover cracking, corrosion, delamination, voiding, and weld defects across a wide range of construction, industrial, and infrastructure assets — all without dismantling or damaging surfaces.
We don’t just test — we empower engineers, owners, and maintainers to verify asset integrity, prioritise repairs, and extend service life with certainty.
Precision Inspections in Confined and Critical Areas
Operational environments often restrict space, access, and equipment mobility. Our handheld and portable NDT systems are designed to operate anywhere — from scaffolding to narrow ductwork — ensuring full inspection coverage even in the most inaccessible areas.
NDTScan leads in flexible NDT deployment. Our services comply with ISO 9712, ASNT CP-105, and UKCA standards, ensuring repeatable, high-quality inspection results and regulatory compliance.
How We Deliver Portable Inspections
Every inspection environment poses unique access and safety challenges. We deploy a modular approach, matching the right toolset to your specific material type, defect risk, and operational conditions.
Our certified technicians operate across live construction sites, manufacturing plants, marine terminals, and infrastructure projects with minimal disruption to client operations.
Our portable inspection techniques include:
- Handheld Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): Locates subsurface defects, utilities, and reinforcement in concrete and masonry.
- Portable Ultrasonic Testing (UT): Detects internal flaws in metals, welds, and composites with high precision.
- Eddy Current Testing (ECT): Identifies surface cracks, corrosion, and coating defects in metallic assets.
- Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI): Reveals surface and near-surface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials.
- Thermographic Analysis: Detects hidden defects through temperature differential imaging.
Why Clients Rely on NDTScan’s Handheld Services
We serve contractors, facility managers, engineers, and asset owners across construction, manufacturing, utilities, and energy sectors. Our handheld inspections provide high-detail insights without costly access equipment or operational shutdowns.
Fast mobilisation, certified equipment, and expert technicians mean NDTScan delivers immediate, actionable integrity assessments wherever and whenever you need them.
Maximising Inspection Reach with Handheld and Portable Inspection Solutions
In many operational scenarios, accessibility is the limiting factor for effective asset condition assessment. NDTScan overcomes this barrier through advanced handheld and portable inspection techniques, ensuring no component is beyond reach. Whether inspecting pipework within congested plant rooms, welds on height-restricted structures, or embedded elements within concrete, our portable systems deliver clarity without compromise.
These compact technologies provide the same level of diagnostic performance as fixed or heavy equipment, allowing inspections to take place without the delays, logistics, or costs of scaffolding, platforms, or intrusive deconstruction. Our handheld and portable inspection tools are carefully selected for their precision, adaptability, and compliance with UK and international standards.
Supporting Live-Site and Zero-Downtime Inspection Requirements
Many infrastructure and industrial assets operate in environments where shutdowns are costly or unsafe. Handheld and portable inspection solutions offer an effective alternative, allowing condition assessments to proceed without disrupting workflows or compromising safety. From manufacturing lines and energy distribution systems to confined tunnels and ventilation shafts, we deliver full diagnostic capabilities in live environments.
The compact form factor of our tools enables technicians to navigate confined zones, perform detailed scans, and collect data with minimal physical footprint. This is particularly valuable in legacy sites where space is limited or structural modifications are impractical.
By deploying handheld and portable inspection methods, NDTScan helps clients maintain asset visibility even in the most restrictive environments — enabling continuous condition monitoring and proactive maintenance planning.
Real-Time Feedback and On-Site Decision-Making
Speed of information is critical in many inspection scenarios. Our handheld and portable inspection systems are capable of providing instant visual feedback, allowing engineers and technicians to assess defect severity, determine inspection scope, and prioritise repair strategies on the spot.
This real-time data supports informed decision-making, reducing delays and improving coordination between inspection teams and asset managers. In particular, portable ultrasonic and eddy current devices offer live readings, waveform visualisations, and onboard data logging that facilitate quick verification of weld integrity, corrosion depth, or structural anomalies.
These capabilities are essential during time-sensitive operations such as commissioning, shutdown support, or emergency investigations, where rapid understanding of material condition can prevent delays or further deterioration.
Versatility Across Materials and Structures
The effectiveness of handheld and portable inspection technologies lies in their ability to assess a wide variety of materials and structures. From carbon steel and aluminium to composite panels and reinforced concrete, NDTScan applies the right method for each substrate and defect risk profile.
Handheld ground-penetrating radar is used to map rebar layout, detect internal voiding, and identify embedded objects in floor slabs, beams, and bridge decks. Eddy current testing provides highly sensitive detection of surface-breaking cracks in non-ferrous metals — a critical capability in aerospace, marine, and rail applications.
For magnetic materials, our portable magnetic particle inspection tools highlight discontinuities with visual clarity, even in weathered or painted surfaces. Thermographic cameras offer contactless identification of delamination, moisture ingress, and electrical anomalies across building envelopes, switchgear, and equipment enclosures.
This wide coverage ensures that NDTScan’s handheld and portable inspection services are applicable across all sectors, asset types, and project scales.
Enhancing Structural Assessments During Construction and Retrofit
In construction environments, early-stage verification of build quality is essential. Portable inspection tools are ideal for rapid testing of welds, embedded elements, and fixings prior to handover or concealment. We work alongside site teams to validate critical construction elements without causing programme delays.
During retrofit and refurbishment projects, handheld and portable inspection becomes even more vital. Access may be limited, drawings may be outdated, and structural interfaces may be concealed. Our systems provide clarity on reinforcement positions, existing defect locations, and connection integrity — supporting safe design modification and service reinstatement.
By embedding inspection data directly into contractor workflows, NDTScan enables efficient resolution of issues and helps safeguard the structural integrity of works during and after execution.
Supporting Compliance, Insurance, and Technical Documentation
In regulated industries, inspection findings must be traceable, verifiable, and compatible with audit requirements. NDTScan delivers detailed reporting based on structured handheld and portable inspection data, including high-resolution imagery, location tagging, and quantitative measurement of defect characteristics.
These outputs meet the expectations of insurers, quality managers, and compliance auditors, supporting documentation for warranty claims, certification, and asset revaluation. For older assets with limited historical data, our portable inspections often serve as the baseline for future condition monitoring and maintenance planning.
We ensure every handheld and portable inspection is supported by qualified technicians, calibrated equipment, and full adherence to procedural codes, including ISO 9712 and ASNT CP-105. This guarantees that data collected is accurate, repeatable, and aligned with industry best practices.
Empowering Predictive Maintenance with Targeted Condition Data
Portable inspection methods not only support immediate defect detection but also contribute to predictive maintenance programmes. By tracking localised corrosion, fatigue indicators, and material thinning over time, we help clients forecast future failure risks and plan interventions before faults become critical.
When used in conjunction with digital asset management systems, our handheld inspection results integrate into wider datasets, offering a granular layer of insight to support maintenance forecasting, investment planning, and risk assessment.
For asset managers looking to build a reliable picture of structural and material integrity without invasive inspection, handheld and portable inspection offers a scalable and repeatable solution that bridges the gap between accessibility and technical accuracy.