African Fusion June 2015

AFRICAN FUSION

June 2015

SAIW: NDT technician development

DT can be defined as

‘an ap-

plied science, which, through

mastered skills and processes,

provides the end-user with accurate

information that entitles them to make

engineering decisions related to compo-

nent availability, productivity, remnant

life predictions and consequent mainte-

nance/refurbishment strategies’

NDT not only provides a very impor-

tant supportive role to engineering but

it supplies the raw data to initiate and

maintain comprehensive engineering

practices. Should NDT not be able to

fulfil this role, then its usefulness in the

production and maintenance chain is

questionable. While NDT equipment,

procedures and the inspection envi-

ronment play a significant role in the

accuracy of results, the quality of NDT

inspection is mostly dependent on hu-

man resources and the competency of

the NDT Technician.

Paths to NDT qualifications

Two paths to NDT technician qualifica-

tion are applicable:

• Personnel Central Certification

Schemes, also referred to as third

party conformity assessment

schemes, mandated through the

international ISO 9712 standard.

• Employer Based Certification

Schemes, also referred to as first or

secondparty conformityassessment

schemes, described in the recom-

mended practice SNT-TC-1A and

implemented via a written practice

(referred to as a quality manual in

ISO 9712)

These have long been regarded as mu-

tually exclusive systems, with the one

option superseding the other depending

on the industry, historical backgroundor

code requirements.

Superficially both of these systems

address the qualification and certifica-

tion of NDT personnel and since the

SAIW NDT manager Harold Jansen (right) ‘pulls up a chair’ to help

outline his vision for a holistic NDT technician development pro-

gramme that incorporates thebest of ISO9712and theemployer-

based SNT-TC-1A NDT personnel certification schemes.

Towards good quality

NDT technicians

apparent outcome appears tobe similar,

companies tend to adopt either the one

or the other, with some aspects of the

‘eliminated’ system being retained.

Careful and systematic analysis

of these two systems however reveals

that each system focus on a different

outcome which is crucial when creating

a quality NDT Technician.

Personnel Central Certification

Schemes

Since NDT is an

‘applied science’

, a

minimum personnel qualification and

skills level are required. The interna-

tional standard that describes the basic

qualification and certification of NDT

personnel is ISO 9712. While ISO 9712

mainly focuses on the Qualification and

Certification of NDT personnel, it does

refer to ISO technical reports, which

relate to training bodies and course

contents specified in ISO TR 25108 and

ISO TR 25107.

Key advantages of this system

include: the international platform it

provides for the harmonisation of ba-

sic knowledge, codes and standards,

specifications and the application of

practical skills. The ISO 9712 system

ensures the basic level of knowledge

and skills is comparable worldwide. In

addition, the independent nature of

personnel assessment, reduces the risk

of biasedoutcomeswhenqualifyingNDT

personnel.

A major disadvantage, compared

to the SNT-TC-1A system, is that indus-

trial experience and company related

training or mentoring is not properly

addressed.

The SAQCC-NDT (Southern African

Qualification and Certification Com-

mittee) scheme is controlled by an in-

dependent ISO17024 SANAS-accredited

Personnel Certification Body or PCB:

SAIWCertification in South Africa, which

is supported by an AuthorisedQualifica-

tion Body or AQB: the SAQCC NDT Exam

Panels.

Approved Training Bodies or ATBs

are companies that have been audited

by the PCB and approved as training

providers for the relevant scheme. ISO

TR 25108 and ISO 25107 form the foun-

dation of this approval process with ad-

ditional requirements stipulated by the

SAQCC regarding resources and training

procedures.

Employer-Based Certification

Schemes

Since NDT also relies on

‘mastered skills

andprocesses’

amentoringenvironment

is required in which technicians can

apply their basic knowledge and skills

learned within an industrial environ-

ment. Training and assessment based

on company specific procedures and

processes, as applied to industrial com-

ponents, are critical towards qualityNDT

results. The employer generates income

by supplying a service to the end-user.

The company takes full responsibility for

the product that is delivered and by au-

thorising a technician to test on their be-

half, indicates compliancewith aQuality

Manual and the Written Practice, based

on an industrial mentoring and assess-

ment programme loosely adopted from

the recommended practice SNT-TC-1A.

Within this scheme, company au-

thorisation and certification ismanaged

by a responsible Level 3 Inspector.

The key advantages are that indus-

trial experience and company related

training and mentoring are embedded

in SNT-TC-1A and mandated by the

written practice. The system ensures

technique specific skills are mastered

based on company-specific quality

management systems (QMSs) for that

company’s industrial components and

environment. It ensures that the level

of knowledge and skills of a technician

is benchmarked within a specific com-