Non-destructive testing — qualification and certification of NDT personnel

Three levels, and what each may do

Level 1 performs examinations under instruction and records results. It does not choose the technique and does not evaluate against acceptance criteria on its own authority.

Level 2 sets up and performs examinations, interprets and evaluates against the applicable standards, and reports.

Level 3 takes technical responsibility: writes and approves procedures, interprets codes, selects methods, and is responsible for the technical basis of what the organisation does.

The distinction is not seniority. It is authority, and a report signed at a level that did not have the authority to conclude what it concludes is a finding waiting to happen.

Per method, per sector

Certification is granted for a specific method — PT, MT, UT, RT, ET and the rest — and within an industrial sector. Somebody certified for ultrasonic testing in one sector is not thereby certified for it in another. This is routinely simplified in practice and it is one of the first things an assessment looks at.

Keeping it

Certification is issued by an independent certification body meeting ISO/IEC 17024 — distinct from the employer, who only authorises the certified person to operate. It is valid for up to five years and renewable, with recertification at the end on evidence of continuous activity (no lapse over twelve consecutive months in the method). A near-vision-acuity check is required at least annually, and colour or grey-scale differentiation at certification and at defined intervals thereafter. The annual vision check is the requirement most often let slip, because it feels administrative rather than technical.

What has to be recordable

• Certificate per person, per method, per level, per sector, with issuer and expiry
• The annual vision record
• The evidence of continuing activity the recertification route relies on
• Which examinations each person actually performed, which is what turns the record above into evidence

The last point is the one that closes the loop. A certificate on file proves somebody was qualified. Only the examination records prove they were qualified for that examination, on that day.