General description:

Visual observation is the most widely used and effective means of non-destructive evaluation. Observation is normally carried out visually in the form of inspections or through daily use and exposure. These constant visual assessments of a structure are vital to preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance constantly repairs a structure prolonging its life and possibly preventing the build up of problems requiring large, expensive repairs in the future.

Another form of observation as non-destructive evaluation is the use of soundings. The way sound travels through a material can offer some insight into internal conditions. Soundings are used to find locations of grouted and ungrouted cells in concrete masonry walls as well as to locate delaminations in concrete bridges. Sounding requires a keen sense of hearing to differentiate between grouted and ungrouted cells in the CMU and sound and questionable concrete; to a well trained ear, though, sounding can be very accurate.

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