The American Society for Nondestructive Testing has established SNT-TC-1A, “Recommended Practice for Personnel Qualification and Certification”. This practice, as well as NAS 410, ANSI/ASNT CP-189, ATA 105, and others, is used by industries through the world as a guideline for qualifying and certifying NDT personnel. As stated in these documents, “the effectiveness of NDT applications depends upon the capabilities of the personnel who are responsible for, and perform, NDT”. Personnel must be proficient in the nondestructive tests for which they are responsible.
Your clients will often look at your qualification program to determine if you have taken appropriate steps to insure that your NDT staff is proficient. NDT-CGI can establish or audit your program to insure that your NDT personnel are competent and that your program meets your client’s requirements. We can also provide and administer written and practical qualification examinations.
Personnel being qualified for an NDT method must take the following exams.
- 40 question General exam addressing the basic principles of the method.
- 20 or 30 question Specific exam addressing the equipment, operating procedures, specifications and codes and NDT techniques the candidate will encounter in their work.
- A Practical exam demonstrating the candidate’s ability to operate the NDT equipment, locate the defects and complete a report.
The candidate must score at least 70% on each section and have a composite score of 80% or better to be qualified for certification. Typically, if the candidate scores at least a 70% on the general, they will pass. The specific is open book so the candidate should score 100%. For the practical, our philosophy is “if the candidate knows what he or she is doing, they pass with 100%, if they don’t, they fail”. So, if a candidate fails the practical portion, we need to retrain and retest. NDT-CGI has a very high pass rate because we TEACH!