NDT Certification

NDT Certification of all levels of Non Destructive Testing personnel is the responsibility of their employer or other agency to meet certain qualifications, which are established by the industry. Certification shall be based on demonstration of satisfactory qualification as described in the employer’s written practice. Certification is a process of providing written testimony that an individual is qualified to do certain work.

At the option of the employer, an out side agency may be engaged to provide NDT Level III services. In such instances, the responsibility of certification of the employees shall be retained by the employer.

The qualifications of an individual are based on education, level of training, work experience, and the ability to pass a near vision acuity and color contrast differentiation test. NDT certification is very important for NDT personnel working in field, are often making critical judgments that can have safety and/or significant financial consequences. NDT personnel must have a great deal of confidence in the results of their work. Since many of the NDT methods do not produce a record of the inspection results, certification presents objective evidence of the knowledge and skill level of the individual performing an inspection.

Personnel certification records shall be maintained on file by the employer for the duration specified in the employer’s written practice.

Candidate for certification in NDT Method should have sufficient following to ensure qualification in those NDT methods in which they are being considered for certification.

·         Education

·         Training

·         Experience

·         Examination

·         Vision Test

Documentation of prior certification may be used by an employer as evidence of qualification for comparable levels of certification.

NDT Methods

Certification can be obtained in number of NDT methods, which are listed in the table below.

NDT Certification Levels

Level I: Qualified to properly perform specific calibrations, specific NDT, specific evaluations for accept or reject determinations according to written instruction and to record results. A NDT Level I personnel should receive necessary instruction and supervision from a certified NDT Level II or III individual.

Level II: Qualified to set up and calibrate equipment and interpret and evaluate results with respect to applicable codes, standards and specifications. Should be thoroughly familiar with scope and limitations of methods for which qualified and should exercise assigned responsibility for on-the-job training and guidance of trainees and NDT Level I personnel. He should be able to organize and report the results.

Level III: Qualified to develop, qualify and approve procedures, establish and approve techniques, interpreting codes, standards, specification and procedure and designate the particular NDT Methods, techniques and procedure to be used. Should have sufficient practical background in applicable materials, fabrication and product technology to establish techniques and acceptance criteria when one are otherwise available. A NDT Level III Personnel Should be capable of training and examining Level I and II personnel.

Certification Bodies

There are a number of organizations that have produced documents that recommended or specify the minimum qualifications for certification. The following is a partial list of certification bodies for the certification of NDT personnel.

•          ASNT                : American Society for Non Destructive Testing

•          AINDT               : Australian Institute for  Non Destructive Testing

•          AWS                 : American Welding Society

•          BINDT               : British Institute of NDT

•          CSNDT             : Canadian Society for NDT

•          ISNT                 : Indian  Society for Non Destructive Testing

•          ISRANDT          : Israel National Society for NDT

•          JSNDI               : Japanese Society for Non Destructive Inspection

•          KSNT                : Korean Society for Non-Destructive Testing

•          NDTA               : New Zealand NDT Association

•          Danish Society For NDT

•          NDE Institute of Canada

•          Dutch Quality Surveillance and Non-Destructive Testing Society

The following are partial lists of documents pertaining to the certification of NDT personnel used in the US.

• SNT-TC-1A, The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Recommended Practice, Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing.

• ATA-105 Aviation Transport Association, Guidelines for Training and Qualifying Personnel in Nondestructive Testing Methods.

• AIA-NAS-410, Aerospace Industries Association, National Aerospace Standard, NAS Certification and Qualification of Nondestructive Test Personnel.

• ISO 9712, International Organization for Standards, Nondestructive testing Qualification and certification of personnel.

Examinations

• Level I and II General Examination – A general examination is a written test which covers the general principals of particular NDT Method

• Specific Examination – A specific examination test relates to specifications, code, procedure, equipment and technique which are used by employer and requires a specific level of expertise from their NDT personnel.

• Practical Examination- a practical examination tests the ability to operate the necessary equipment, calibration, evaluation, interpretation of result and accept or reject of the part under inspection.