CANADA’S NATIONAL NDT MAGAZINE

JOURNAL
2011 Special Reprint Issue
VOL. 32 NO's. 1-6

ing & Ce
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NDT

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FEATURING: Articles about NDT Personnel Qualification, Training and Certification by:
- John Baron, Candu Owners Group (COG)
- Steve Biondi, American Society for Manufacturing Engineers, (ASME)
- Evan Choi, Candu Owners Group (COG)
- Larry Cote, Canadian Institute for NDE (CINDE)
- Doug Marshall, CINDE Director & CNSC-CSA project team member
- David Ronson, Canadian Aerospace Maintenance Council (CAMC, now the CCAA)
- John Thompson, British Institute for NDE (BINDE)
- P.K. Yuen, NRCan NDT Certification Agency
- John Zirnhelt, Ponteca

This compilation of reprints is available as a free download to CINDE Members from the Members area at
www.cinde.ca
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 INDEX
Page
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2

Canada and the ISO Draft Proposal (Vol. 9 No.5) ......................................................... 6

John Zirnhelt, Ponteca

The Case for Inspection Qualification (Vol.32 No.1) .................................................... 9

John Baron Program Manager, CANDU Inspection Qualification Bureau, CANDU
Owners Group (COG)

Standard Compliance – NDE Performance Demonstration/Inspection in the

CANDU Industry (Vol.32 No.2) ....................................................................................... 13
Evan Choi, P.Eng., Project Manager-CANDU Owners Group (COG), Canada

NDT Personnel Qualifications – An ISO Perspective (Vol.32 No.3) ........................... 19

J.H. Zirnhelt, Ponteca

ICNDT Working Group 1 meets in Valencia, Spain to work on Harmonization of

NDT Certification (Vol.32 No.5) ....................................................................................... 24
J.H. Zirnhelt, Ponteca

CAMC/NDT, an Aerospace Sector for CAN/CGSB 48.9712-95 (Vol.32 No.4) .............. 25

David Ronson Chairman1 of Canadian Maintenance Council NDI Trade Advisory Committee

Report on ASME NDE (ANDE) Personnel Certification Program (Vol.32 No.6) ......... 29
Steve Biondi, American Society for Manufacturing Engineering (ASME)

Report on CNSC / CSA Standard Development Project for Certified Exposure

Device Operators (Vol.32 No.6) ..................................................................................... 30
Douglas J. Marshall, CINDE Director and CNSC-CSA project team member

Trends in NDT Certification and Training in Canada (Vol.32 No.2) ........................... 32

L. Cote, Canadian Institute for NDE (CINDE); P.K. Yuen, Natural Resources Canada, NDT
Certifying Agency; J. Zirnhelt, Ponteca Inc.

Fractures and Fixes in the Qualification and Certification of NDT Personnel

(Vol.32 No.2) ..................................................................................................................... 37
John R. Thompson, Director, International Affairs, British Institute of NDT
 Page 2

Larry Cote
President / CEO, Canadian Institute for NDE (CINDE)
January 2012

The theme of the CINDE Journal in 2011 was ―NDT Training & Certification – Canada and
the World”. These reprints from the 2011 issues acknowledge the history of NDT Training
and Certification, describe some current developments, and hopefully will stimulate
constructive discussion about the future of NDT Training and Certification in Canada.

This topic of discussion goes back over 50 years and continues to this day, in large part
because of the continuous work by standard development organizations to define the
knowledge, skills and competencies for NDT inspection personnel.

And this comes at an important time. An aging NDT workforce will be retiring in
increasing numbers over the next 5 – 10 years at the same time as new technology
expands our knowledge and application of NDT. All this is happening against an
economic backdrop of mergers and acquisitions, emerging economies, worldwide
uncertainty in the financial markets, and increasing global competition. Many new
challenges lie ahead for the people and companies engaged in the business of NDT as
they prepare themselves for the future.

Back in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, Canada was busy learning how to use newly emergent
non-destructive testing technologies. Back then, the inspection, measurement and
quality assurance techniques we might take for granted today were driving research and
shaping the inspection and testing industry. The pioneers of the emerging NDT industry
realized that to have a skilled work force, they needed specialized qualification, training
and certification to keep pace with the rate of technical and business development. Their
efforts include:
1959 - “Some Candid Thoughts about Standards” was presented by James Cameron
at an SNT meeting in Hamilton, Ontario.
1961 - Canada introduced a centralized certification scheme. A series of CGSB GP
training and certification standards for NDT personnel was eventually developed.
1966 - ASNT introduced the Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A for a 2nd party
NDT personnel certification system. It was initially adopted because of requirements
imposed at the time by the American Society for Mechanical Engineering (ASME) for
NDT personnel doing boiler & pressure vessel inspection.
1967 - “Certification of Radiographic Personnel in Canada” was presented by Bill
Havercroft at the 5th World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing (WCNDT) which
was hosted in Montreal by the Canadian Council for Non-destructive Technology Inc.
(CCNDTI) The CCNDTI was originally formed to organize the 5th WCNDT, and was the
 Page 3

precursor to the Canadian Society for Non-Destructive Testing (CSNDT) that was
created soon after.
1970 - The International Standards Organization (ISO) created Technical Committee
(TC) 135 for Nondestructive Testing with the British Standards Institute as the first
Secretariat.
1974 - The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in the United States became
the secretariat for TC135.
1975 - ISO Technical Committee 135 for Nondestructive Testing held a second
plenary meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and approved the creation of
Sub Committee 7 for Personnel Qualifications.
1975 - The original ASNT Recommended Practice SNT-TC-IA, published in October
1966 was revised to take into account problems with interpretation of the document,
and effort made to clarify areas where it was necessary. Key paragraphs were
dedicated to certification, recertification and termination of certification. [1]
1976 - The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing or BINDT, a professional body
for technical professionals involved in non-destructive testing and condition
monitoring in the United Kingdom, was created by merging the Society of Non-
Destructive Examination (SONDE) and the NDT Society of Great Britain (NDTS)
(which were both founded in 1954).

During the same time period Canada continued to develop a national NDT qualification,
training and certification program:
1970’s - NDT training in Canada was provided by local chapters of the Canadian
Society for NDT (CSNDT) in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton,
Oakville, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax (this list may be
incomplete, apologies to any area that was missed).
1970’s - NDT personnel certification testing was conducted across Canada by the
Mines Branch (Ottawa, ON), the Defense Research Establishment Pacific (Esquimalt,
BC), the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (Edmonton, AB), the British
Columbia Institute of Technology (Burnaby, BC) and the Canadian Forces Base
(Edmonton, AB).
1976 - The CSNDT Foundation Inc. received Letters Patent granting its incorporation
under Federal Charter. As stated in its Charter, the objectives of the Corporation are
as follows:
1. To improve the quality of education in NDT.
2. Through research, to aid in the development of new techniques in NDT.
3. To assist Canadian industry through judicious use of NDT.
4. To assist the Department of Energy, Mines and Natural Resources in
conducting the written and practical examinations for certification of NDT
personnel in accordance with the standards of the Canadian General
Standards Board.
5. To receive gifts and donations to further the above objectives.
6. To invest and deal with the moneys of the Corporation, not immediately
required, in such manner as may from time to time be determined.[2]
1977 - The CSNDT Foundation began delivery of NDT training courses and written
and practical certification examinations at new facilities located on the Fennell
Campus of Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. (The CSNDT Foundation
subsequently became the NDE Institute of Canada in 1986.)
1978 - Changes were proposed to Canada’s NDT certification standards to address
―the difficulty encountered by some industries in relating the requirements of the
CGSB certification program to similar certification programs imposed on them by
 Page 4

other agencies with which they are doing business.‖ The major changes in the
proposed revisions were:
1. Establishment of three (3) levels to which an individual may be qualified, similar
to the levels used in the U.S.A. and other countries.
2. Provision for examination of an individual within his specific application of
NDT, by the employer.
3. Greater emphasis on the advantages of increased education, instruction and
training in NDT.
4. Provision for only two categories in the radiographic standard, i.e., General and
Aircraft.[3]
1979 – The CGSB, after ―much work, discussion and controversy‖, produced 48-GP-
4M, the first certification standard incorporating the new Three Level certification
system. The Examining Authority ―Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMR)‖
implemented 48-GP-4M in their Written Tests conducted in June of 1979.[4]

It’s easy to see that after getting off to a quick start in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, the interest
in NDT accelerated throughout the 70’s with more technique development and parallel
interest in qualification, training and certification. It needed to, because new safety and
quality requirements, combined with continuous technology advances, were constantly
redefining the needs of the NDT community and its customers.

Throughout the 1980’s the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) 48/2 Committee
continued to develop the GP-48 series of NDT training and certification standards. A
third-party personnel certification program based on the GP standards was set up and
delivered by the Canadian federal government through the Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources. (today known as the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) NDT
Certification Agency) The 1980’s were a time of dialogue and debate about the
certification system, as demonstrated by Letters to the Editor that appeared in the
CSNDT Journal. [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]

Development of the ISO 9712 Standard for ―Non-destructive testing - Qualification

and certification of personnel‖ began in the 1980’s and after a considerable amount of
work at the international and national level, became available in 1992. Canada
adopted ISO 9712 in 1995 as CAN/CGSB 48.9712-1995 / ISO 9712:1992 -
Nondestructive Testing; Qualification and Certification of Personnel. This single
standard replaced the CGSB GP series of standards in use at the time: 48-GP-4M, 48-
GP-7M, 48-GP-8M, 48-GP-9M, and 48-GP-13M. When the ISO 9712 standard was
revised in 1999 and 2005, Canada again adopted the ISO 9712 standard. At the time of
writing, the NRCan NDT Certification Agency states that CAN/CGSB 48.9712-2006 /
ISO 9712:2005 is an identical adoption of ISO 9712, with some implementation
rules.[16]
As of January 2012, the ISO 9712 standard and its normative reference, ISO 17024, were
both at stage 50 for final ballot of their respective Final Draft International Standard
(FDIS). If approved as drafted, ISO 9712 will be harmonized with the EN473 NDT
certification standard and therefore the administration and delivery of the NDT personnel
certification administered by the NRCan CA may have to change.

The work on NDT qualification, training and certification around the world has never
stopped. Many countries and organizations devote extensive resources to this subject,
and undoubtedly will continue to do so well into the future. Canadians have always
played an important role in NDT standards development, and will continue to participate
in the appropriate national and international committees. By so doing, the Canadian
 Page 5

program for NDT qualification, training and certification should continue to evolve and
meet the needs of this very important occupation.

We always enjoy hearing from our readers and members about ―NDT Training and
Certification - Canada and the World”, or any other topic of interest. Please send your
thoughts or ideas to CINDE at info@cinde.ca or submit articles online at
http://www.cinde.ca/journal/submit.shtml

References
1. Berry, F.C, "ASNT Recommended Practice for Nondestructive Testing Personnel
Qualification and Certification (SNT-TC-IA) and Its Use," Nondestructive Testing
Standards—A Review, ASTM STP 624, Harold Berger, E., American Society for
Testing and Materials, 1977, pp. 53-62.
2. CSNDT News bulletin, March 1976
3. CSNDT News bulletin, February 1978
4. CSNDT Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 1979, p. 23 & 26
5. Gerrior, D.L. ―Open Letter to the NDE Community Concerning the Future of
Canadian Personnel Certification‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 24, 66,
December 1984.
6. Baron, J.A., ―Members Respond to Certification Controversy – Letter to the Editor‖,
CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 4, p. 30, January 1985.
7. Barton, L.G. ―Members Respond to Certification Controversy – Letter to the Editor‖,
CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 4, p. 30, January 1985.
8. Zirnhelt, J.H., ―Members Respond to Certification Controversy – CWB Manager
Answers Charges in ―Open Letter‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 28, 66, January
1985.
9. Caron, V., ―Members Respond to Certification Controversy – EMR’s Response to
―Open Letter‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 4, p. 32, January 1985.
10. Behal, V., ―Committee Chairman puts Certification Controversy in Perspective‖,
CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 28, 30, March 1985.
11. Gill, E., ―Letter to the Editor‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 5, p. 30, 32 March 1985.
12. Harding, N.G., ―Special Report on Ottawa Meetings‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 6, no. 6,
p. 9, May 1985.
13. Baron, J., ―Update on the Initiative to Privatize Certification‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 9,
no. 1, pp. 16, 28, January/February 1988.
14. Szucs, J.R., ―As I See It‖, CSNDT Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 9, March / April 1989.
15. CANMET News Release, CSNDT Journal, vol. 10, no. 5, p. 11, September / October
1989.
16. Murphy, R.V., ―NRCan Implementation of ISO 9712:2005, Setting the Latitude in
Training / Experience, June 21, 2005 http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms-smm/ndt-end/eli-
adm/cgsb-ongc-eng.htm

Canada and the ISO Draft Proposal
The American Society for
Nondestructive Testing (ASNT)
journal, Materials Evaluation, is
widely circulated and technical
respected in Canada, and I thus
have no hesitate in referring the
reader of these comments to the
1
November 1987 issue. On page
1217, there is a letter to the editor
from ASNT Past President George
Wheeler, and beginning on page
1294, an interview with th e same
gentleman, in both cases referring to
ASNT’s Personnel Certification
Standard and its predecessors, and
making some broad comparisons to
the document which has been
developed by the International
Organization for Standardization
(ISO) Technical Committee 135
“Non-Destructive Testing”
Subcommittee 7 “Personnel
Qualification”: ISO Draft Proposal
9712 General Standard for the
Qualification and Certification of
Nondestructive Testing Personnel.
Mr. Wheeler and ASNT can be justly
proud of the wide acceptance of
ASNT Recommended Practice No.
SNT-TC-1A, acceptance which is
perhaps more due to its being
referenced exclusively in the ASME
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
than for its own intrinsic qualities.
On the other hand, Canadian NDT
practitioners need to be reminded
that we, too, can stand tall in this
field of operator qualification and
certification.
For instance, Mr. Wheeler, in his
letter to the editor, outlines the
development of SNT-TC-1A,
reporting that it was originally
conceived and drafted by an ASNT
task force appointed in 1962 by
Archie Black, then chairman of the
ASNT Technical Council. He then
goes on to say that TC-1A is the
basis for most certification practices
around the world including the ISO
proposal and the International
Committee for Nondestructive
Testing proposal.
Where were we in Canada during all
these developments? By 1962,
when Archie Black appointed that
task force, we were already certifying
radiographers to CGSB 48-GP-4.
Our certifying authority, Bill
Havercroft, was recruited to the
ASNT task force specifically to feed
in our experience in writing and
Page 1
Page 6
By John H. Zirnhelt, P.Eng.
implementing a qualification and
certification standard, and Canadian
leadership in this field was
recognized by none other than the
late Dr. R.C. McMaster at the Fifth
International Conference on NDT
2
held in Montreal in 1967. There is
no doubt that the parallel
development of personnel
qualification schemes in the US,
Japan and Britain in the early sixties
were influenced to some extent by
our experience in this country.
On the world scene, the International
Committee for NDT, meeting in
Montreal in 1967, recognized the
need for international harmonization
but took no positive action until the
World Conference on NDT in
Melbourne in 1979, at which time it
established a working group that
produced detailed training guidelines
for some specific methods which
were presented to its next meeting in
Moscow in 1982. The task group
was then charged with developing a
set of recommendations to be
submitted for approval to the Las
Vegas meeting of the ICNDT in
November 1985.
The 1967 meeting of the ICNDT also
produced a resolution that ISO
establish a technical committee for
NDT. This committee (TC135) was
initially formed in 1970, with the UK
holding the secretariat. In 1974, the
secretariat of TC135 was reassigned
to the USA, and several years later
given up to the USSR. One of the
subcommittees developed to deal
with the work of TC135 was
Subcommittee 7: Personnel
Qualification. The SC was initiated
by the USA and they agreed to
provide the secretariat for it. By
1980, however, the USA had
announced they no longer had any
interest in providing the Secretariat
for SC7.
Herb Chapman of the Canadian
Welding Bureau, as our delegate to
the plenary meeting of the ISO
TC135 in Moscow in December
1980, responded positively to a
proposal that Canada take over
responsibility for the secretariat of
SC7. Herb brought this proposal
home for discussion with his
colleagues on the Canadian Advisory
Committee for TC135 and the
Standards Council of Canada before
formalizing acceptance. Although
There was widespread agreement
that we should take it on, there was
also wide discussion about how the
workload associated with an active
secretariat could be handled. To
everyone’s satisfaction, the
Certifying Agency, part of the
Federal Government of Energy,
Mines and Resources, agreed to
provide the secretariat services
under the direction of Vic Caron.
The Standards Council of Canada
was then able to advise the Russian
secretariat of TC135 that we would
be pleased to formally accept the
secretariat of SC7.
Although SC7 had been formed in
1975, no meeting had ever been
called, so the September 1983
plenary meeting of TC135 in Ottawa
was also the occasion for the first
meeting of SC7. The seven or eight
countries attending the Ottawa
meeting agreed upon several
conditions which would be the basis
for their pursuit of their single task:
the development of an international
standard for the qualification and
certification of NDT personnel.
These basic principles were that the
work being done by ICNDT in the
development of course curricula
would not be duplicated by the SC,
that the standard would provide for
certification by NDT method in three
levels, and that certification would be
done by an independent central body
at all three levels.
The ICNDT’s working group
scheduled its next meeting in
Florence, Italy, in September 1984,
and considered two external
documents -- a draft for an
international standard prepare by
Herb Chapman, Bill Mercer, and
Norm Harding acting on behalf and
with the approval of the Canadian
Advisory Committee for SC7, and an
ASNT proposal to share its SNT-TC-
1A with the international community.
The Canadian document, which
became known as “The Canadian
Position Paper”, was hand carried
and presented to the Florence
meeting by Norm Harding, alternate
delegate to ICNDT where it met with
strong interest and support. It should
be clear that this document was a
draft based on those portions of the
CGSB 48-GP series which were
applicable to all methods and was
proposed only as a starting point for
discussion.
CSNDT Journal Sept/Oct 1988

It is interesting to note that it was in
early 1984 that the UN Regional
NDT Project for Latin America and
the Caribbean first came into contact
with the CSNDT Foundation building
a relationship that eventually led to a
CINDE-supported project. The
Regional Project also had a strong
interest in qualification and
certification, and had its own working
group developing a regional
standard. To assess international
progress, the Regional Project sent
an observer to the meeting in
Florence and concluded that
interested was high and that the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), executing agency for the
Project, should evaluate its own
position on the subject.
IAEA convened a meeting of
international consultants to assist in
making its evaluation, and it is of
further interest here in Canada
hosted the meeting in Vancouver in
January 1985. This group,
consisting of NDT experts from
Canada, Australia, Brazil, France,
Italy, Jamaica, and the U.S.,
recommended that IAEA follow
closely the developments with the
ISO system and participate in and
support the activities of SC7. This
recommendation was later accepted
for NDT activities in the United
Nations system in all regions of the
world.
The second meeting of
Subcommittee 7, held in Paris in
February 1985, was a working
meeting. Two documents were
discussed at some length. Vic Caron
had prepared an analysis comparing
national certification schemes
providing members with a document
which allowed them to focus their
attention on areas of major
difference. The second document
was the “Canadian Position Paper”.
The meeting concluded with an
agreement that a working group
chaired by Paul Laloy of France, and
including Norm Harding representing
Canada, Kiyoshi Otani from Japan,
and Ken Beswick from IAEA (which
by now was a participating liaison
member of the subcommittee) would
study the two documents along with
comments made at the Paris
meeting, and prepare a Working
Draft for further study by the SC.
Page 2
Page 7
The working group met in
Philadelphia in October 1985 along
with Vic Caron of the secretariat and
agreed on the content of the Working
Draft. While the document at this
stage still resembled closely the
CGSB standards, since the basic
principles of all national standards
are essentially the same, most
countries could identify with it.
In November 1985, the ICNDT met in
Las Vegas, and approved a
resolution sending their working
documents to ISO for consideration.
This step, of course, was only a
formality because many of the same
individuals were involved in both ISO
and ICNDT and thus the respective
documents were developed in
parallel. Representing Canada at
the ICNDT were CSNDT President
Dieter Hanrath and Norm Harding as
delegates who had the moral support
of many other Canadians who
participated in the 1985 World
Conference.
In Milan, in May 1986, the
subcommittee held its next meeting,
and devoted two days to a clause by
clause study of the Working Draft,
rapidly agreeing on some clauses,
compromising on others, and hotly
debating still others. The resulting
document moved one step further
along the ISO path to an
International Standard when it was
registered in February 1987 in
Geneva as an ISO Draft Proposal
(DP9712). (One of the points agreed
upon in Milan was the replacement
of the Roman numerals denoting the
Levels of competence with their
Arabic counterparts to the reported
relief of secretaries and copywriters
the world over who found I, II, and III
just a bit cumbersome!) There were
twenty countries represented at the
Milan meeting, to which Canada sent
Norm Harding, Bill Mercer and John
Baron as well as the Secretary, Vic
Caron and the chairman.
DP9712 was further scrutinized at
the next meeting of SC7 in
Philadelphia in November 1987. It is
significant that at this stage the
changes being made to the draft are
relatively small and tend to be more
for clarification than in any basic
principle. A good deal of the
Philadelphia meeting was devoted to
trying to find a mechanism to
accommodate the USA’s proposal
for employer certification at levels 1
and 2, but without success.
While the five years since that first
meeting in Ottawa have gone
quickly, the subcommittee has
worked hard, and the substantial
agreement that has been achieved,
in a field as controversial as
personnel qualification and
certification, is notable. The key to
this progress has undoubtedly been
the consistent effort put in by the
secretariat, and in particular, Vic
Caron. ISO rules for the
development of an international
standard are designed to ensure that
every interested party has an
opportunity to review, comment and
vote upon the document at every
stage of its development, and this
means that documents must be
distributed all over the world in
advance of meetings in accordance
with strict timetables - typically three
months. Each time the document is
revised it must be rewritten and
recirculated, all part of the thankless
task of the secretariat.
It is still too early to predict the date
that the document will be published
as an International Standard, but
given the strong interest in every
quarter, it will most assuredly be
soon. Many countries are already
using the document in its latest form
as a basis for their own national
standards, and the international
harmonization that is the ultimate
goal is within reach.
When it is published, Canada will
have contributed strongly to its
philosophy, content and progress.
References
1
ASNT, Materials Evaluation, V. 45,
no. 11, November 1987.
2
McMaster, R.C., Training and
Qualification of NDT Personnel.
Proceedings of the Fifth International
Conference on Nondestructive
Testing, Montreal, 1967, pp. 478-79.
CSNDT Journal Sept/Oct 1988
 Page 8

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 Page 9

The Case for Inspection Qualification

by John Baron
Program Manager, CANDU Inspection Qualification Bureau, CANDU Owners Group (COG),
Editor’s Note: This paper was originally presented at the NDT in Canada 2009 Conference held August 25-27, 2009 in
London, Ontario. An archive of articles published in the CINDE Journal is available in the Members area at https://www.
cinde.ca/members/

Nondestructive examination (NDE) is the primary means of measuring the structural integrity
of industrial pressure boundary components. In many jurisdictions such inspections are
mandatory either through regulatory requirements or, for example, in order to obtain insurance
coverage. The mandatory requirements universally require personnel who conduct the
inspection to be certified – either through a central system such as ISO 9712 or an employer
based system such as that used in the USA and elsewhere.

It was generally accepted that the results of these inspections represented the ‘truth’ however, in
the late 1970s – early 1980 three significant situations clearly challenged the ‘truth’ assumption.
All these situations were in the nuclear power industry – exactly where correct results are of
paramount importance.

This issue was first addressed in the USA under the auspices of ASME Section XI, the nuclear
in-service inspection section of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and subsequently
in Europe under the European Network for Inspection and Qualification (ENIQ). Although
the approaches are quite different both have the common goal of confirming, to the extent
possible, that inspection procedures and personnel are capable of detecting and sizing flaws
of the defined degradation mechanism when applied to specific components.
a
R
Although the nuclear industry is the leader in terms of demanding post base-level certification
demonstration of inspection performance, the lessons learned are clearly applicable to other T
industries where NDE plays a key rôle in assuring the safety of the public, workers and the
environment - as well as protecting economic interests.
i
The paper discusses the merits of the various inspection qualification systems currently in
C
use or in development. l
E
introduction arose that caused this assumption to be challenged. All of
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) processes, when these were in the nuclear industry.
applied to industrial plant, may be viewed as being in the
same category as quality control processes. The most In 1978, under the auspices of the OECD, a round
prevalent application of NDE is to provide information robin exercise was conducted using two nuclear reactor
on the structural integrity of materials, components and pressure vessel segments containing nozzles with defects
systems. The basic rôle is to confirm, or otherwise, that the implanted in the vessel to nozzle welds1. The mandatory
particular component is within the bounds of the design use of ASME Section V ultrasonic procedures was found to
parameters or is fit for service projected out to the next be inadequate for the particular inspections.
inspection cycle.
In 1982, the UK regulatory body initiated the Defect
Should the inspection process return an incorrect result, for Detection Trials2 (DDT) prior to approval of Sizewell B
example a false call (a flaw where one does not exist) or a nuclear plant. This was somewhat similar to the PISC I
missed call (failure to detect a flaw) then potential threat to exercise but without the restriction on inspection method/
economic considerations is likely to ensue. In the extreme technique. These trials confirmed that representative flaws
case, an incorrect NDE result could threaten public, worker could be detected and sized successfully albeit using non-
or environmental safety. traditional techniques.

Traditionally, it was assumed that NDE results were correct. Circa 1982, soon after being given a clean bill of health
However, in the late 1970s – early 1980s, three situations by experienced NDE personnel, the austenitic piping of a

1
PISC 1 (Plate Inspection Steering Committee that evolved into the Program for the Inspection of Reactor Steel Components) S.
Crutzen et al, CEC, EUR 6371EN, Vols 1-6, OECD, CSNI report 48
2 “CEGB Inspection of Plates 1 and 2 in the UKAEA Defect Detection Trials”, K.J Bowker et al, Brit. Journal of NDT, 1983, vol 25, No 5

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.1 t January/February 2011 23

 Page 10
US nuclear plant began to exhibit leakage due to a stress
corrosion cracking mechanism.
The conclusion reached was that it is prudent to ensure,
to the extent possible, that NDE processes, that is the
procedure, equipment and personnel, are capable of
detecting and sizing flaws due to experienced or postulated
degradation mechanisms in the specific components to be
inspected.
This requirement is clearly outside of the realm of the
general qualification/certification process such as that
defined in ISO 9712.
The development of inspection Qualification
Systems
It is clear that a central certification system such as
ISO 9712 cannot test candidates on every conceivable
combination of component and inspection technique. Thus,
ISO 9712 contains a clause that places the responsibility
on the employer of NDE personnel to ensure that individual
inspectors are competent to perform the assigned tasks.
a Under other certification schemes, such as that developed
by the American Society for NDT, even the basic evaluation
R of competence is the employer’s responsibility.
T In either case, confirmation of capability, or competence,
i is in-house and may be considered somewhat a conflict
of interest with respect to generally accepted practices of
C quality control and quality assurance.
l that even a ‘good’ inspector would have difficulty should
In 1989, ASME Section XI, the nuclear in-service
E inspection code, introduced the mandatory Appendix VIII,
“Performance Demonstration for Ultrasonic Examination
Systems”. This code details the required testing of
personnel when using ultrasonic inspection procedures
on nuclear plant components. Although Appendix VIII
does not specifically define who or what organization is
to conduct the performance demonstration testing, it is
strongly implied that this is an independent body.
In the mid-1990s, the European Network for Inspection and
Qualification (ENIQ) developed an inspection qualification
scheme. Although the goal is completely consistent with
that of Appendix VIII, that is, to ensure that the inspection
process return the correct results, the methodology is quite
different. If Appendix VIII may be considered to define what
has to be achieved in detail, ENIQ concentrates more
on the method of independently ensuring NDE process
performance.
ASME Section XI, Appendix VIII is part of the mandatory
nuclear NDT code. In about 2002, ASME Section V, the
“NDT Section”, introduced Article 14 which is an inspection
3
http://safelife.jrc.ec.europa.eu/eniq
24 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.1 t January/February 2011
qualification code aimed at non-nuclear applications. This
appeared in the 2004 Addenda. Article 14 maybe viewed
as a hybrid between ASME XI App. VIII and ENIQ.
aSME Section Xi, appendix Viii
As originally written, this Appendix is aimed at the
inspection personnel performing in-service inspection of
nuclear plant components. It pertains only to ultrasonic
testing of specified nuclear plant components. It defines
applicable degradation mechanisms, (fatigue or stress
corrosion cracking) and the sizes of cracks the inspector
is to be tested on. The code defines pass-failure criteria for
both detection and sizing.
For example, Supplement 2 – “Qualification Requirements
for Wrought Austenitic Piping Welds” provides a table of
the number of flawed and non-flawed grading units to be
used in the personnel qualification process, and defines
the allowable ‘missed’ and ‘false’ call rates. An illustration
of this is that, if ten flawed grading units are used, a
detection rate of at least eight is required. This is coupled
with twenty non-flawed grading units and no more than
three false calls. (The distribution of implanted flaw sizes
is also defined)
There are also requirements on flaw sizing that are based
on root mean square error. (for length sizing, RMS error
not to exceed 0.75 inches, for depth sizing RMS error not
to exceed 0.125 inches).
Early in the implementation of Appendix VIII, it was realized
the procedure be inadequate. Thus EPRI Performance
Demonstration Initiative (PDI), the accepted independent
qualification body in the USA, implemented a process to
pre-qualify inspection procedures.
ASME Section XI, Appendix VIII works well because its
application is limited to a single NDE method, (ultrasonics),
a single application, (in-service inspection of light water
reactor system components constructed according to
ASME code) and limited degradation mechanisms of
concern.
European network for inspection and
Qualification (EniQ)
The approach taken under ENIQ is quite different from
that of ASME Section XI. However, both processes have
the common aim of improving the reliability of inspection
results. ENIQ is neither a code nor a standard but rather a
methodology that may be applied within any industry, any
inspection method, any component and any degradation
mechanism. The methodology is supported by a number of
‘recommended practice’ – or guidelines – documents that
are freely available3.
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 Page 11
The base of the ENIQ methodology is a document which
we in Canada term the Inspection Specification (other
jurisdictions refer to this as the Technical Specification or
Technical Requirements or Input Requirements).
The Inspection Specification is an engineering document
– not an NDE document. It describes the component
or group of components, including the material and
configuration. It notes environmental issues such as
hazardous conditions and access to the component(s),
experienced and postulated degradation mechanisms and
what the inspection must achieve. In general, it provides all
the information an Inspection Service Provider (ISP) needs
to design and operate the inspection system.
The Inspection Specification is the document that gives
the ENIQ methodology its flexibility. In comparison, ASME
Section XI, App. VIII provides a prescriptive definition of
requirement which, by its very nature, must be limited in its
scope and application. However, generating the Inspection
Specification can require significant engineering analysis
effort, often requiring fracture mechanics analysis. Another
issue is the challenge of specifying NDE performance
in quantitive terms that can be used by the ISP and the
Inspection Qualification Body (IQB). For example, it is
tempting to state the inspection must be ‘highly reliable’
but, although this term presents a worthy sentiment, it is
subjective and cannot be used to evaluate the performance
of either the Inspection Procedure or personnel unless all
parties agree how ‘highly reliable’ is to be interpreted.
Once the Inspection Specification is in place it is the rôle
of the ISP to develop the Inspection Procedure that meets
the requirements of the Inspection Specification.
A second document that the ISP must produce is the
Technical Justification (TJ). This document sets out the
evidence that the procedure meets the requirements of the
Inspection Specification.
The Inspection Procedure and its associated TJ are then
put before an individual or team to independently confirm,
or otherwise, that the Inspection Procedure does, in fact,
meet the stated requirements. This is largely based on
the degree to which the evidence in the TJ is considered
convincing. In some cases, the independent review team
may ask for further evidence.
The CANDU Inspection Qualification Bureau (CIQB),
established by seven CANDU nuclear utilities, considers
the independent review to be non-adversarial. Dialogue
and collaboration between the review team and the ISP is
expected and encouraged as the aim is to achieve a robust
Inspection Procedure – not just a pass or fail decision.
Following qualification of the procedure, the Inspection
Qualification Body (IQB) may engage in testing of
www.cinde.ca
inspection personnel using representative physical test
pieces or recorded data. The approach taken by the CIQB
is to review training programs, test pieces and written
test questions but leave the post-training tests to the ISP.
However, the CIQB maintains the right to observe and
audit actual training situations.
aSME Section V, article 14
ASME Section V, Article 14,”NDE System Qualification”
was designed to provide an inspection qualification
process within the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel code
but outside of the nuclear arena. It is more recent that its
ASME Section XI counterpart and also more recent than
ENIQ. However, the approach is more consistent with that
of ENIQ rather than ASME Section XI. For example, there
is a requirement for a TJ.
The issue of the Inspection Specification is circumvented
by stating that it originates elsewhere, typically the
“referencing code section” (see “T-1410 Scope”).
The document defines three level of rigour, with
accompanying levels of Probability of Detection (PoD),
allowable missed call and false call rates and statistical
confidence levels. At the high level of rigour, with high
confidence (>90%) and high PoD (>90%), the number of a
test pieces quickly ramps up to several hundred.
R
As with ENIQ, specifying and justifying the appropriate T
quantitive qualification requirements in engineering terms
is a challenge but outside of Article 14. i
C
other Qualification Schemes
Other qualification schemes exist but these tend to be l
very specific in their application. One example is the EPRI E
Steam Generator Examination Guidelines which, as the
name suggests, is specific to in-service inspection of
nuclear steam generator tubing (heat exchangers).
Recently, there has been a drive to produce an international
standard on inspection qualification under ISO, ISO 11774.
The draft ISO document circumvents the issue of an
engineering approach to defining inspection performance
requirements by placing this requirement on “Industrial
Sector Committees”. (There seems little onus on the
owner of the plant.) Some of the elements under this draft
standard are prescriptive, for example, requalification
period and the number of personnel test pieces while other
elements are open-ended, e.g. the basis, and from where,
the required inspection performance is developed.
However, regardless of the specifics or the inspection
qualification processes, all have the common objective
of ensuring, to the extent possible, that NDE processes
(procedures, equipment and personnel) are capable and
competent of producing the correct results.
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.1 t January/February 2011 25
 Page 12
are inspection Qualification Systems
Justified?
The exercises of the late 70s and early 80s did challenge the
assumption that NDE results could be trusted blindly. We
have moved forward twenty or thirty years and there is no
doubt that NDE instrumentation has become more complex,
new techniques and methods have been developed and
our reliance on NDE results has significantly increased. It
is not unusual for a large industrial plant to have a down-
time cost of more than $1million per day. Thus, even if we
set aside the issue of public, worker and environmental
safety, an unscheduled forced outage due to an incorrect
NDE result is a daunting proposition.
A further reality is that, under a base-level NDE personnel
certification system such as ISO 9712, it is clearly impossible
to cover all techniques and adaptations of the modern
NDE methods and it is certainly impossible to design
all-encompassing practical tests of personnel. Further,
some would argue that the implementation of certification
standards such as ISO 9712 have not kept pace with the
realities of industrial use of current NDE technologies.
a Without Inspection Qualification, this leaves us totally
reliant on the Inspection Service Provider to train and
R qualify inspection personnel not only in the specifically
assigned task but also the nuances of modern day
T electronic instruments, often employing remotely operated
i or automated manipulators. This does not infer that such
training by ISPs is inadequate but it most certainly lacks the
C independence consistent with quality assurance/control
l protocols. In Canada, we accept our national certification
body as an independent and impartial organization to test
E and qualify/certify inspection personnel. If we accept this
process at the general base levels, why should we not
demand it at levels beyond the domain of ISO 9712? Even
the pre-amble to ISO 9710 recognizes that qualification
beyond Levels 1,2 and 3 are the responsibility of the ISP.
For the plant owner, (here I include aircraft, oil and gas
pipelines etc.) independent qualification of inspection
procedures and personnel is simply a sound idea in terms
of due diligence, protecting assets and safety of the public,
workers and the environment.
A further consideration is the use of statistical methods to
determine the risk levels of industrial plant systems and
components. Here, I define risk as the likelihood of failure
multiplied by the consequence of failure. Thus, inspection
processes may be deployed to mitigate risk by providing
information that may be used to reduce the likelihood of
system/component failure. This suggests concentration on
areas where the level of risk is highest (but not completely
abandon lower risk areas). If we are to use NDE in this mode,
g h
26 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.1 t January/February 2011
it is necessary to have knowledge of the effectiveness of
inspection thereby providing the extent to which probability
of failure is reduced. This is typically expressed in terms
of probability of detection (PoD) , false call probability
(FCP) and confidence level (CL). This knowledge must be
derived from objective evaluation of the inspection process
– Inspection Qualification.
independence of inspection Qualification
All of the above considerations are a mirror of quality control
applied to normal engineering processes. Just as quality
control would be overseen by an independent entity, so
should be Inspection Qualification.
Further, almost all industrial NDE practice is governed
by a regulatory authority, an insurance company, or
through contractual agreements. The most effective and
practical manner of satisfying these agencies or customer
performance requirements is by an independent, arm’s
length organization. This is now the norm in all nuclear
jurisdictions and there is growing interest in developing
similar organizations and processes wherever NDE
represents a critical information system.
It is not good enough to declare inspection results as being
correct, they must be shown to be so.
Summary
There are a number of inspection qualification schemes
in existence. Some are general in scope whereas others
are either industry specific, e.g. nuclear industry, or largely
deployed within a single industrial sector. There are
different approaches but all schemes have the objective
of confirming the effectiveness of the inspection process
(equipment, procedure and personnel) that is, to the extent
possible, ensure NDE results are correct.
The most widely used protocols (ASME Section XI, Appendix
VIII and ENIQ) require an independent assessment of
inspection performance. This is the most effective manner
in which third parties such as regulatory and insurance
agencies may be satisfied that the application of NDE
processes will return the correct result. Additionally, it is
of benefit to the NDE customer to have an independent
body attesting to the effectiveness, that is the quality, of
inspection delivery.
The global nuclear industry is at the forefront of independent
inspection qualification but, given the high cost of downtime
of industrial plant and the increasingly complex technology
associated with NDE, it is forecast that this process will
be developed in other industries where NDE is a critical
information system with respect to structural integrity.
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 Page 13

Standard Compliance – NDE Performance

Demonstration/Inspection in the CANDU Industry
by Evan Choi, P.Eng.
Project Manager – CANDU Owners Group (COG), Canada

Editor’s Note: This paper was originally presented at the NDT in Canada 2009 Conference held August 25-27, 2009
in London, Ontario.
An archive of articles published in the CINDE Journal is available in the Members area at https://www.cinde.ca/members/

abstract
CANDU nuclear power plants are operated in 3 provinces in Canada for electric power
f generation. A table in the paper will show the built and operating plants in Ontario, Quebec,
New Brunswick and overseas. The regulator for nuclear power in Canada is the Canadian
E Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The CNSC holds the plant licensees accountable for
a compliance to CSA N285.4 for periodic inspections. The Standard basically specifies the
“what, when, where, how, how much and how frequently” NDE is to be done on pressure
T retaining systems and components in CANDU nuclear power plants. In inspection methods,
u the Standard specifies they must be non-destructive. The NDE methods were grouped into
visual, dimensional, surface, volumetric and integrative. The Standard also specifies that the
R licensees are responsible for the performance demonstration (PD) of the adequacy of the
procedures and the proficiency of the personnel.
E
This paper describes the Standard’s requirement in NDE qualification and presents a joint
project participated by Canadian and overseas CANDU owners. The sub-project for NDE
a included providing evidence and technical justification on the adequacy of the procedures
R and the proficiency of the personnel. The paper describes the qualification methodology
followed by the participants. This will be followed by how the participants produced Inspection
T Specification, tools and procedures, personnel training and qualification programs, test and
qualification samples, independent peer reviews and Technical Justification.
i
C
l introduction of Candu, its Regulator and governing Standard for inspection
CANDU is the Canadian designed pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) used in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick
E and several countries in the world for electric power generation. As of 2010, there are 25 operating CANDU reactor units
in the world. In addition, there are 13 similar design PHWR units operating in India. CANDU users and India’s NPCIL
are members of the CANDU Owners Group (COG). There are 2 units in Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Pickering
A plant that are laid up, and there are 10 other CANDU or PHWR units around the world being refurbished or under
construction.

Table 1 (next page) lists the COG member utilities, the number
of operating units, laid-up units and under construction or
refurbishment units.

The nuclear industry is regulated by individual country’s

regulator. In Canada, the regulator is the Canadian Nuclear
Safety Commission (CNSC).

The Standard that governs periodic inspections of critical

components in CANDU reactors in Canada is the CSA
N285.41. Although the current version of the Standard is
the 2009 version, most plant are in compliance to the 2005
version. In this paper, the terms CSA N285.4-05 and the
Standard will be used interchangeably.

6 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.2 t March/April 2011 www.cinde.ca

 Canada is the CSA N285.41. The current version of the Standard is the 2005 version. In this
paper, the terms CSA N285.4-05 and the Standard
Page 14will be used interchangeably.

Units under
COG Operational Laid-up
Construction/
Members Units Units
Refurbishment
BP(LP)
6 2
Canada
HQ
1
Canada
NBPN
0 1
Canada
OPG
10 2
Canada
NASA
1
Argentina
SNN
1 1
Romania
KHNP
3 1
f
Korea E
TQNPC
China
2 a
NPCIL T
13 5
India u
PAEC
Pakistan
1 R
AECL E
-
Canada
Totals: 38 2 10 a
Table 1 List of CANDU and PHWRs
Table 1 List of CANDU and PHWRs R
periodic inspection for Candu Reactors T
CSA N285.4 specifies the periodic inspection requirements for pressure retaining systems and components such as pipe,
Periodic Inspection for CANDU Reators
nozzle and vessel welds. It also includes mechanical couplings, pump and valve welds and supports. There are also
i
supplementary sections specifically for pressure tubes, feeder pipes and steam generators. Pressure tubes and feeders C
CSA
are uniquely N285.4
CANDU specifies the
components notperiodic inspection
found in PWRs requirements for pressure retaining systems and
and BWRs.
components such as pipe, nozzle and vessel welds. It also includes mechanical couplings, pump l
The CSAand Standard
valve calls
weldsforand
inspection methods
supports. There that are “non-destructive”,
are also hence they
supplementary section include NDE
specifically methods such as
for pressure E
visual & dimensional (direct or using visual aids),
tubes, feeder pipes and steam generators. surface test (PT & MT), volumetric (RT, ET and UT) and integrative
(leak test, acoustic emission and strain gauge).

When stating NDE requirements, the Standard generally specifies the what, when, where, how, how much and how often
for the in-scope components.

Page 2 of 9 E. Choi – NDT PD in CANDU industry

ndE Qualification and performance demonstration
Performance Demonstration (PD) and Inspection Qualification (IQ) will be used interchangeably in this paper. Although
the currently preferred term is IQ, the CAN CSA N285.4 Standard uses both “qualify” and the PD words.

In the CSA N285.4-05 Standard, it specifies that NDE must have “performance demonstration” and it puts this
responsibility to the licensee (clause 3.6). In other words it holds the power utilities, such as Ontario Power Generation
who hold the licenses to operate, responsible for providing evidence that the NDE done on the components are qualified.
The responsibilities of the licensees include, in clause 3.6d, verification of the qualification and proficiency of inspection
personnel; and in clause 3.6e, PD of the adequacy of the procedures & proficiency of the personnel using assigned
equipment, to detect & size flaws. IQ is therefore a dynamic combination of 1) procedure, 2) qualified personnel and 3)
equipment; and the capabilities requiring IQ are detecting and sizing.

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 Page 15

In addition to specifying this IQ requirement, the 2009 version of the Standard specified the requirements for IQ of UT and
ET methods. The specified requirements are similar to those included in the European Network of Inspection Qualification
(ENIQ) methodology. They included Inspection Specification (IS), Inspection Procedure (IP), Document on how the
procedure meets the IS – Technical Justification (TJ), and personnel training and qualification program. For personnel
certification, the Standard specified CAN/CGSB 49.9712/ISO 9712 for NDE methods.

different ways to conduct pd/iQ

In different part of the world and in different jurisdictions, NDE IQ has been conducted with various methodologies
and approaches in the nuclear power industry. The more significant PD programs are the ENIQ2 and Performance
Demonstration Initiative (PDI) administered by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the USA. Table 2 below lists
some key differences between methodologies:

inspection pdi administration

Specification aSME Xi of aSME Xi EniQ iaEa
Components Specified Specified DBS/DBO DBS/DBO
f Flaw types/size Specified Specified DBS/DBO DBS/DBO
E Acceptance Modified to meet
a Criteria Specified technical need DBS/DBO DBS/DBO
T Included in Tech
Effectiveness / Included in Basis for Code
u Reliability Criteria Design Modifications Described in IS Described in IS
R Technical Embedded in PDD and Technical
E Justification Code * Basis Required Required

Practice &
Procedure yes –samples Could use open Could use open
a Development Not addressed provided-(A) procedure trial procedure trial
R Blind – with
Procedure Trials Blind feedback Blind or open Blind or open
T
i Personnel
qualification Blind (C)
Blind – with
feedback (C) Blind Blind
C Independent
l Qualification Body Not addressed Yes Required Required

E To be PDD, Procedure,
Documentation of determined by Essential variables,
Qualification organization Demo Records Dossier - Dossier -
Table 2 comparison of major PD Programs

PDD = Program Description Document (includes compliance comparison, deviations from Code and TJ for deviations)
Open = has knowledge of specific flaw size shape and location
Blind = without knowledge of flaw size, shape, location or quantity
DBS = Defined by Standard
DBO = Developed by Owner
(C) Individuals who qualify the procedure can receive personnel qualification

* Embedded in code – the rationale and evidence of qualification is not on a separate document such as a Technical
Justification but within the code’s text.

In a generic sense, the principle of ENIQ’s process should contain at least the following major milestones. The milestones
listed below constitute those in the ENIQ or IAEA methodologies. However, other PD processes should include a similar
variation of them:

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 Page 16

1. An Inspection Specification (IS) written by experts on a component. The expert should have assessed the fitness-for-
service (FFS) criteria and determine the extent and detail of NDE results required to conduct the proper assessment.
The specified extent and detail should include, but not limited to:
• “what” and “where” to inspect, including surface and volume coverage requirements,
• the types of degradations to look for,
• results repeatability, accuracy, or error tolerance,
• probability of detection,
• reportable and rejectable criteria,
• results recording, reporting requirement and format.

2. Based on the IS, the NDE practitioners develop and write the Inspection Procedure (IP) including specifying the
method and equipment. The IP aims to meet the requirements in the IS and it will be tested and qualified in laboratory
sessions. The IP should also include essential parameters and industrial experience. During procedure development
the NDE practitioners may ask a peer expert to review the procedure. To confirm procedure qualification, the NDE
practitioner may conduct witnessed practical trials. Subsequently, NDE personnel training and qualification will be
conducted.

3. A Technical Justification (TJ) will be written by the NDE practitioners. The TJ will refer to evidence collected from
IP development, training and qualification exercises, field use experiences and destructive examination results (if
available); to declare how well the IP, equipment & personnel combination meets the requirements in the IS. The TJ f
may state exceptions where some of the IS requirements cannot be met, or can only be met partially. E
4. Finally, the complete process is subject to an independent peer review. Usually a panel of experts will be assembled a
to review the IQ process and all of its produced documents. Members of the panel should not have been directly
involved in the process of steps 1-3 above. The panel will issue an assessment report based on its observations and
T
the technical arguments in the TJ. There will be back-and-forth interactions between the author(s) of the TJ and the u
Panel to address comments and questions raised.
R
Some necessary tasks during the pd process E
1. During the development of the IS, the FFS experts may or may not consult the NDE practitioners on the limitations of
NDE. There are pros and cons in this respect. If NDE practitioners were not consulted, the IS may specify requirements
that are not achievable by present or foreseeable NDE capabilities. On the other hand, if NDE practitioners were a
consulted, the quality of FFS analysis may be limited by whatever results current NDE capabilities can provide.
R
2. During the development of the procedure, test samples will be designed and made and specialized calibration blocks
will be made if necessary. After the procedure has been technically qualified, the next task is to train and qualify NDE
T
personnel. To do that, a training package including documents and other materials has to be designed and fabricated. i
A training program will be developed within which pass/fail criteria will be specified.
C
3. NDE personnel will be trained and qualified. The qualification process includes open or blind tests although most tests l
are blind tests. The independent peer review panel may be present during the training and testing. The panel may
even select trainees to run through its own set of testing. E
4. A dossier of all the documents produced during the PD process will be assembled and file. Finally, a formal submission
may be made to the Regulator for its acceptance of the PD evidence and process.

The Candu independent Qualification bureau

COG has established a CANDU Inspection Qualification Bureau (CIQB). The quality assurance program of CIQB was
based on CAN/CSA Z299.2 and cross referenced to 10CFR50 and ENIQ. CNSC has recognized the COG CIQB as a
qualification body. The CIQB has started full operating since 2008.

an example of a pd submission to the CnSC

The example is a project jointly participated by Canadian, Korean (KHNP) and Romanian (SNN) members of COG. The
component is the CANDU reactor’s feeder pipes. Feeders of concern are 2” and 2.5” schedule 80 carbon steel pipes
circulating primary heat transport (PHT) water in and out of the reactor fuel channels. Flaw types are Flow Accelerated
Corrosion (FAC) thinning, and cracking at bends. NDE method used is UT.

Inspection tools are mostly remote controlled or automatic mainly because the inspection is operated in a very high

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 Page 17

radiation dose rate area (right at the reactor faces). Reliability and accuracy of the results are critical because confirmed
rejectable flaws could cause replacement of the feeder – an operation that is expensive and which causes significant
outage extension. There is no isolation in the PHT system. Accuracy of wall thickness measurement and location
repeatability are crucial because thinning trends need to be monitored to predict remaining life.

inspection tools
The IPs and tools were developed under the COG joint project NDE sub-team. The NDE sub-team consists of
representatives from AECL, BPLP, HQ, KHNP, NBPN, OPG and SNN. Photographs of some of the inspection tools are
shown below:

f
E
a
T
u
R The bend crack crawler (BCC) mounted on a mockup The BCC mounted on a real feeder pipe about to to
E is being tested at the factory. start a crack detection inspection.

a
R
T
i
C
l
E

A thickness measurement crawler. This picture shows

drive-wheels, U-joint, an array of UT probes. There is
a sample feeder beside the crawler.

This picture shows the electronic instrumentation

operated through a note-book computer.

10 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.2 t March/April 2011 www.cinde.ca

 Page 18

The Grayloc Area Inspection Tool (GAIT) for inspecting

Another view of the thickness measurement crawler. for wall thickness right adjacent the Grayloc hub weld.
This view shows the encoder and the front-viewing
camera
f
The Cog joint project pd/iQ submission E
Participants of this joint project have chosen the ENIQ PD methodology. They felt that the method is more flexible, a
is not component specific and can be logically applied to the target component. A common CANDU industry IS was
written by a joint FFS team. The FFS team consulted the NDE team on the IS. Procedures and tools were developed T
by industry qualified NDE engineers and technicians. Guided practice test pieces and calibration blocks were designed
and produced.
u
R
Training program and material were developed. Participants and service providers conducted and/or received training of
NDE personnel in Canada and from Korea. Trainees passed qualification test. The training and qualification processes
E
was audited and reviewed by CIQB. Numerous real inspection campaigns were subsequently conducted. Many
destructive examinations were performed to compare to the NDE results. These field experiences and finding were
included or later added to the TJs. a
Two TJs were written – one for thickness measurement and one for crack detection. The TJs were reviewed an
R
independent peer team and by CIQB. Comments were addressed and then the TJs were finalized. Two document T
dossiers were assembled – again, one for thickness measurement and one for crack detection. OPG took the TJs and
made a formal submission to CNSC in 2004. CNSC reviewed it and later contracted an external consultant to further
i
review the submission. CNSC accepted the submission. C
Conclusion l
It is a regulatory and CSA N285.4-05 compliance requirement for NDE to be performance demonstrated. Nuclear power
plant licensees are responsible for meeting this requirement. COG established the CIQB and it has been recognized by
E
the Regulator. COG administered a joint project to successfully complete the IQ requirement for the NDE of one of the
reactor’s most critical component. The ENIQ methodology was proven to be adaptable to a specific development which
was suitable for CANDU feeder inspection.

This experience is very valuable to the CANDU licensees and CIQB in executing present and future IQ projects.
Subsequent to feeders, the CIQB has since qualified the dry spent fuel storage lid weld phased array UT inspection,
Canada’s National Research Universal (NRU) reactor vessel repair and piping UT inspection.

References:
1. CSA Standard N285.4-05 Periodic Inspection of CANDU nuclear power plant components. Published in June 2005
by Canadian Standards Association.

2. European Methodology for Qualification of Non-Destructive Testing - Third Issue - August 2007 ENIQ Report nr. 31
EUR 22906 EN. http://safelife.jrc.ec.europa.eu/eniq/docs/method/ENIQ_31.pdf

g h
www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.2 t March/April 2011 11
 Page 19

NDT Personnel Qualifications –

An ISO Perspective
by J.H. Zirnhelt

Editor’s Note: This paper is reprinted with permission of ASTM. Copyright 1992 by ASTM International (all rights
reserved); www.astm.org

This paper is being reprinted because it is instructive as to how international standards are developed and as a reminder
of the work and planning that resulted in the ISO 9712 Standard that was subsequently adopted by the Canadian General
Standards Board (CGSB) as 48:9712 for use by Canada’s NDT personnel certification agency, Natural Resources
Canada (NRCan). It is worth remembering that almost 20 years have passed since this paper was written, yet some of
the issues, challenges and opportunities identified by the author then, still remain today.

author preface
f In 1990, it looked as if the major standard writing organizations of the world were on the cusp of international agreement on
E the philosophy and procedure for universal NDT qualification and certification. Time would prove otherwise, as European
Norm standard EN473 was issued and adopted by all European countries instead of ISO 9712. The EN473 standard
a was based on an earlier version of ISO 9712 and contained a few differences; some felt more based on emotions than
logic. For 20 years since two parallel but similar NDT certification standards have been used for third party certification:
T EN473 and ISO 9712. In 2009, the respective technical committees agreed to review a list of differences and to agree on
u a version that would become the next ISO 9712 and replace EN473 in Europe.

R At the time of writing (April 2011), the harmonized draft standard is out for ballot, and there appears to be strong consensus
E and support for it amongst the various standards writing and other technical organizations engaged in its review. The
objective of a single international standard, as originally discussed in Montreal in 1967, and subsequently initiated by
Canada in 1983, is now close to being achieved. Its publication in draft form represents a great deal of dedication, good
will and compromise from countries, organizations and individuals around the world.
a
R REfEREnCE: Zirnhelt, J. h., “ndT personnel Qualification – an iSo perspective,” Nondestructive Testing Standards
– Present and Future, ASTM STP 1151, H. Berger and L. Mordfin, Eds., American Society for Testing and Materials,
T Philadelphia, 1992, pp. 195-200.
i
C
l abstract
Subcommittee 7, “Personnel Qualification,” of the International Organization for Standardization
E (ISO) Technical Committee 135, “Nondestructive Testing,” has been working since 1983 on the
development of an international standard for the qualification and certification of nondestructive
testing personnel. The document is based on fundamental principles proposed by the
International Committee for Nondestructive Testing (ICNDT). The draft international standard
(DIS 9712) was circulated for letter ballot in early 1990. General international agreement on
DIS 9712’s key elements of central certification at three levels in individual nondestructive
testing (NDT) methods has been reached. The document has earned the support of developing
countries, who embraced it even in its earliest format as a model for new national standards,
and who, through their regional organizations, contributed significantly to its development.
As we enter 1992, the pressure for a universally acceptable standard which permits mobility
of personnel, boasts broad general international acceptance, and maintains the high level of
competence needed in NDT will lead to agreement on the international level. A comprehensive
ISO standard for the qualification of NDT personnel will facilitate international trade in capital
goods and services.

kEy woRdS: nondestructive tests, qualification, certification, international harmonization, standards

10 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.3 t May/June 2011 www.cinde.ca

 Page 20
introduction
(from the paper as originally published)
The participating (P) members of ISO Technical Committee
TC 135, “Nondestructive Testing,” and the member bodies
of lSO are currently responding to a letter ballot seeking
approval of Draft International Standard (DIS) 9712-2 [1].
This DIS has been developed by TC 135’s Subcommittee
7, “Personnel Qualification,” in meetings beginning in
October 1983 and continuing through December 1988.
DIS 9712-2 represents a fair consensus of the countries
who participated in the process.
DIS 9712-2 is the result of debate, compromise, and
resolution of significant differences of the initial positions
held by individual delegates. This documents present stage
is a tribute to the spirit of cooperation that the subcommittee
has experienced since its inception.
Incentive for a country to participate in the development of
an international standard varies with geography, level of
industrial development, and time.
There has been a strong need for an international standard
for the qualification and certification of nondestructive
testing (NDT) personnel for 25 years and especially in the
last 8 years. The movement toward the present effort is
a result of national and regional economics with general
recognition of global market needs.
The demand
One of the earliest calls for an international system
for the qualification of NDT personnel came at the Fifth
International Conference on NDT, held in 1967 in Montreal,
after delegates heard from speakers who described
existing national certification schemes in Canada, Japan,
the United Kingdom, and the United States [2].
The need to control the human factors which strongly
influence the reliability of any nondestructive test was
recognized at that time and at virtually every NDT
conference since. Over the next two decades, national
certification schemes were developed in most industrialized
countries to meet local political needs, to fit local industrial
environments, and to categorize the outputs of existing
educational and training systems, sometimes with no
reference to parallel developments in other countries.
Some level of international harmonization was considered
generally desirable and actively promoted by several
bodies including the International Committee for NDT and
the European Committee for NDT. It was only in the last
decade, however, that action became a matter of strong
international concern due to a general trend toward market
globalization and the growth of regional interests, most
notably in Europe and in the developing countries [3].
developing the Consensus
The process of developing and approving an international
standard is a consensus process, designed to ensure
that the philosophy and technical content of a proposed
document is thoroughly debated. By its very nature, the
system solicits compromise, concession, and dilution to
www.cinde.ca
satisfy the often conflicting demands of a sufficient number
of members to develop a generally acceptable document.
With any standard, the objective is to produce a document
that is meaningful and useful, allowing flexibility to meet
national situations, yet without compromising basic
principles.
In this respect, the development of DIS 9712-2 has been
along a typical path of review and revision of working drafts,
draft proposals, and draft international standards, with
regular meetings to consider in detail documents added to
the discussions and related comments.
During its business meeting in 1967, the International
Committee for Nondestructive Testing (ICNDT) passed
a recommendation to the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) that a new ISO technical committee
be formed to deal with the subject of nondestructive testing
[4]. When TC 135 was formed in 1970, its secretariat was
assigned to the United Kingdom. In 1974, the United
States accepted responsibility for TC 135, and several
f
years later it was reassigned to the USSR. At the 2nd E
Plenary Meeting of TC135, held in Philadelphia in 1975,
the creation of Subcommittee 7, “Personnel Qualification,” a
was approved and the secretariat accepted by ASNT [5].
Prior to the plenary meeting of ISO TC 135 held in Moscow
T
in 1980, however, the United States announced it had no u
longer any interest in providing the secretariat for SC7, and
the committee accepted a proposal that Canada take over R
this responsibility.
E
The first meeting of SC7 was held in Ottawa in 1983 amid
considerable controversy surrounding the question of
whether an ISO committee had the mandate to deal with a
the qualification of personnel. There was also opposition
from the International Committee for NDT’s Working Group
R
on Training and Certification, which had begun discussions T
of its own on international harmonization. During the two
days of discussion, however, a decision was reached to i
proceed with the development of an international standard
for the qualification and certification of NDT personnel,
C
beginning with the formal step of registering this task as l
the single work item for SC7.
E
Among the basic principles agreed upon at that meeting
was that the subcommittee in its work would take into full
consideration the concurrent and precursor work of ICNDT,
recognizing that ICNDT’s results already represented a
crucial first step toward international agreement. Agreement
was also reached on some basic issues; it was decided
that the qualification system would be by NDT method, in
three levels, and would involve examinations under the
supervision of an independent national body.
The second meeting was held in Paris in February 1985,
at which time two key documents were reviewed. The first
was a summary developed by the secretariat of a dozen
or so national certification schemes, outlining the common
elements and indicating the key differences to be resolved.
The second document was a draft from Canada which was
roughly based on the American Society for Nondestructive
Testing’s SNT-TC-1A, but structured with central
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.3 t May/June 2011 11
 Page 21
certification at all levels. The subcommittee appointed a
four-member Working Group under the chairmanship
of France, with members from Japan, Canada, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to develop a
new draft based on the results of the Paris meeting and the
documents tabled there.
The Working Group worked through the summer, then met
in Philadelphia in October 1985. From this Philadelphia
meeting it produced a further working draft which was
circulated in two versions for consideration at the next
meeting of SC7.
In May 1986, ISO TC135 SC7 held its third meeting in
Milan. The key document under consideration was the
working draft produced by its Working Group. It also
considered recommendations prepared by the International
Committee for NDT at its 1985 Las Vegas meeting [6].
These recommendations and the training guidelines
f developed by the United Nations Regional NDT Project
for Latin America and the Caribbean as an IAEA Technical
E Document [ 7] were accepted as a basis for the training
requirements to be defined in the standard.
a an international “federation” of national NDT societies,
T The document resulting from the SC7 meeting in Milan
(ISO TC135 SC7 Document N35-E) was circulated for letter
u ballot in late 1986 and was subsequently registered by the
ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva as Draft Proposal 9712,
R “Nondestructive Testing Qualification and Certification of
E Personnel,” in February 1987. Negative comments were
received by the subcommittee secretariat as a result of
this ballot from only 4 of the 26 members, suggesting that
substantial international agreement had already been
a reached on the document at that stage.
R After wide circulation of the draft proposal, it was further
T discussed at an SC7 meeting in Philadelphia (November
1987) and reissued as Draft Proposal 9712-2. DP9712-2
i was reviewed at another SC7 meeting in Kingston, Jamaica
C (December 1988), circulated to the subcommittee members
in revised form, and submitted to the ISO secretariat for
l balloting as a draft international standard (DIS).
E DIS 9712 was circulated to member bodies in late 1989.
When voting closed on 7 March 1990, the DIS had been
approved by 14 of the 18 participating or “P” members
of TC135 (78%, or well over the required 66.7%), but 7
negative votes were recorded from 25 ISO member bodies.
These seven negatives represented 28% of the members
voting and exceeded the criterion of 25%. DIS 9712 was
therefore not approved [8].
Many useful comments were received by the secretariat as
a result of the 9712 ballot, some of which will improve the
clarity of the document. For the 9712-2 revision, however,
the most significant comments were those of the United
States (ANSI), which indicated that their incorporation would
change its negative vote to affirmative. On the other hand,
some of the comments supporting negative votes from ISO
members which had not participated in the development
of the document and presumably were seeing it for the
first time, ran counter to the principal compromises which
12 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.3 t May/June 2011
formed the consensus basis of the document.
It was anticipated that the results of the current ballot would
be available by early in the third quarter of 1991, and, if
approved, the International Standard would be published
in late 1991.
The Role of the “a” liaison Members of iSo
ISO procedures stress the desirability of liaison between
technical committees and their subcommittees and
international or broadly based regional organizations
which share an interest in the work of the committees and
indicate that the views of such organizations be taken into
account at an early stage of the work.
The development of DIS 9712-2 has benefitted
from continuing contributions from two international
organizations which have registered as “A” category
liaison members of SC7. Both organizations have been
kept advised of the subcommittee’s progress and both
have sent representatives to SC7 meetings.
The International Committee for Nondestructive Testing,
has provided a forum for widespread discussion on
many occasions, and its Working Group on Training,
Qualification and Certification contributed substantially to
the groundwork of the DIS. The subcommittee therefore
began its task in 1983 with some substantial consensus
already established. The European Committee for Non-
Destructive Testing also had an active Working Group
whose views were contributed through the ICNDT.
The International Atomic Energy Agency became involved
with the work of SC7 in 1985 following the recommendations
of a group of consultants engaged to advise the Agency’s
Regional NDT Projects in Latin America and Asia on the
development of a regional standard. The consultants’
recommendation was that the Agency should monitor and
contribute to the work of ISO TC 135 SC7, rather than expend
resources on repeating work of others [9]. IAEA has been a
regular participant in the work of SC7, has provided tangible
input to the standard in the form of its training guidelines
[ 7], and has provided many opportunities for open and
detailed discussion within the regional NDT projects on the
subject of qualification and certification. These discussions
have led to strong support among the developing countries
for the DIS since an ISO standard is relatively easy for
a country with no existing standard to adopt with little or
no revision. Similarly, pressures for regional harmonization
were forestalled in favor of international harmonization.
Europe 1992
One of the accelerating factors in the development of this
standard has been the European Community’s commitment
to harmonization on a regional level by 1992. In essence,
the participants in the development of European (CEN)
standards have agreed that upon the issue of a CEN
standard, national standards on the same subject will
be withdrawn. Where a CEN standard is referenced in
a European Community directive, its use in activities
regulated by that directive becomes mandatory [10].
www.cinde.ca
 Page 22
The pressure on SC7, then, has been to develop an ISO
standard which could be adopted in essence by CEN.
national implications of an iSo Standard
ISO Standards are the product of an international consensus
system and, as such, are built from the contributions of
individual members, each representing their respective
national positions. These national positions are presumed
to reflect, in turn, a consensus of various industries, sectors,
and political organizations within each country.
There is no guarantee when a country participates in the
development of an international standard that the final
product will be fully acceptable to that country. Similarly,
there is no obligation on any country, no matter how it
votes, to adopt any ISO standard.
An ISO standard is sometimes adopted as a national
standard in full simply by following the local standards
writing and approval procedure and adding a new number
to the ISO number. The ISO standard may be treated as a
source or reference document and incorporated in part or
in whole in a more comprehensive national document. The
national standards writing committee may decide that the
ISO standard is not sufficiently stringent and build a new
standard by adding conditions.
An ISO Standard for Qualification and
Certification of NDT Personnel
The DIS for qualification and certification of NDT personnel
has been supported during its development by several
diverse groups. The developing countries and newly
industrialized countries have supported it because they
see a need for a national standard, ideally one which is
harmonized with a broad range of their trading partners.
Simple adoption or adoption with minor modification has
been the route of many countries including, among others,
the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago,
Jamaica, and Bolivia, which have used the ISO document
as a model despite its draft status. Most of these countries
had no existing national standard. Other countries, such as
Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and Japan, have undertaken
major overhauls of their existing standards to bring them
in line with the ISO draft. In Europe, the ISO document
is being used as the model for the CEN standard. In the
United Kingdom, it has been interesting to watch the ISO
model used as a framework to integrate several different
industry-specific schemes under one national system. In
Canada, the standards writing committee is still dealing
with the changes it must make if its standards are to be
harmonized with ISO. On some issues, the SC7 members
deliberately left flexibility for local conditions. For example,
formal education, while recognized as contributing to the
capability of an NDT operator to perform both on the job
and in a practical examination, was impossible to define
in a general manner that would apply to all countries. The
need for proof of education was left (in clause 6.2 of the
DIS) as something that “may be required to establish the
eligibility of a candidate.” Most national standards replace
this clause with a specific statement generally reducing
experience or training hour requirements as the education
level increases.
www.cinde.ca
Another example of local variation is in the table of
experience requirements for Level 3 (Table 3 in DIS 9712-2).
Many countries have included in their national standards
a clause which makes a first degree in engineering or
science a requirement for Level 3 certification.
Some Contentious issues
From the beginning of discussions, the issue of central
certification at three levels has been a point of contention,
yet the clear majority of members insist on this as a critical
and inviolable condition. There seems to be no serious
concern about whether the national certifying body is an
NDT society (particularly popular with ICNDT members), a
government agency, or the national standards organization.
On the other hand, there was insistence on the fact that
there should only be one certification body in a country
and that this body should somehow be recognized by the
ISO member body. The national certifying body must also
include qualified representation from all sectors within the
country’s NDT community; in other words, its administrative
committee must be a consensus committee.
f
E
It has been recognized that there should be some sort of
accreditation of national certifying bodies; however, the a
mechanism for such accreditation is not obvious. Within
Europe, of course, the national certifying bodies will be
T
accredited to a CEN standard. u
The need for centrally controlled practical tests at Level R
1 has been a point of discussion, with the majority of
the subcommittee members agreeing that it was a
E
requirement.
Recertification with examination after a ten-year period a
is an unpopular condition, particularly in those in those
countries with existing programs.
R
T
operating with an iSo Standard
The major achievement represented by the publication of i
this ISO standard will be the agreement upon a minimum
standard which will allow comparison between the certificate
C
holders in two or more jurisdictions. Specifying authorities, l
purchasers and regulators will be called upon to exercise
judgement on equivalence of certification. Auditing of new E
certification agencies will be required until confidence is
established. Supplementary examinations or conditions
may need to be imposed.
On the other hand, trade between countries will be
facilitated because locally qualified NDT personnel will
be available; purchasers will develop a greater degree of
confidence in the levels of inspection carried out at the point
of production; and inspectors operating in or exporting to
more than one jurisdiction will be relieved of the need for
duplicate certification.
The Challenges ahead
The publication of an international standard for the
qualification and certification of NDT personnel will
be a major pace forward, but it is only the first step to
harmonization of national programs.
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.3 t May/June 2011 13
 Page 23

National certifying bodies will need to set conditions on NDT, Montreal, Canada, 1967, Queen’s Printer,
for recognizing equivalence by waiving conditions or Ottawa, 1969, p. 479.
examinations for certificate holders from other specified
jurisdictions, for example. Codes, standards, and regulations [5] Resnick, I., International Nondestructive Testing
which reference personnel qualification documents will Standards” Nondestructive Testing Standards - A
need to address the issue of equivalence. Accreditation and Review, STP 624, H. Berger, Ed., American Society for
auditing schemes will need to be applied to national certifying Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 1977.
bodies, if they are to be credible. National certifying bodies,
particularly in countries where there is no experience, will [6] The Complete Recommendations on International
need assistance in establishing valid certification systems. Harmonization of Training, Qualification and Certification
of NDT Personnel, International Committee on Non-
References Destructive Testing, Amsterdam, 1987.
[1] “Nondestructive Testing--Qualification and Certification
of Personnel,” Draft International Standard lSO/DIS [7] Training Guidelines in Non-Destructive Testing
9712-2, International Organization for Standardization, Techniques, IAEA-TECDOC-407, International Atomic
1991. Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987.

[2] McMaster, R.C., “Qualification and Certification of NDT [8] Report of Voting on ISO/D1S 9712, Standards Council
Personnel,” Proceedings, Fifth International Conference of Canada, 1990-07-19.
f on NDT, Montreal, Canada, 1967, Queen’s Printer,
Ottawa, 1969, pp. 478-479. [9] Zirnhelt, J.H., Beswick, C.K., and Wilstaetter-Greig,
E P., “The Commitment of Multilateral Assistance
[3] Zirnhelt, J.H. and Beswick, C.K., “International Trends Organizations to NDT Development,” Proceedings,
a in the Training, Qualification and Certification of Twelfth World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, J.
T NDT Personnel,” Proceedings, Ninth International
Conference on NDT in the Nuclear Industry, Tokyo,
Boogaard and G. M. van Dijk, Eds., Elsevier Publishers
BV, Amsterdam, 1989.
u 1988.
[10 “Meeting Report on NDT and the Single Market,” British
R [4] Havercroft, W., “Report of Meetings of the International Journal on NDT, Vol. 32, No. 12, Dec 1990, p. 641.
E Committee, Proceedings, Fifth International Conference

g h
a
R Mohawk College Open House
T
i CINDE Training
Manager Sharon
C Bond explains
l the Quality
E Engineering
Technician-NDE
program to a
potential student
at the Mohawk
College Open
House on April
2nd that was
well attended by
students looking
for information
about programs
of study with
good employment
prospects.

14 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.3 t May/June 2011 www.cinde.ca

 Page 24
iCndT working group 1 meets in Valencia, Spain
to work on harmonization of ndT Certification
Reported by John Zirnhelt
The International Committee for NDT established Working Group 1
(ICNDT WG1) in October 2008 at ICNDT’s meeting during the World
Conference in Shanghai. The objectives of this working group were
simple: to encourage and support the harmonization of ISO 9712 and its
European equivalent, EN473, and ultimately to produce a single world
standard for the qualification and certification of personnel in NDT. The
WG1 proposed to do this by:
• providing background documentation
• establishing international linkages with accreditation bodies, and
• to generally to address barriers to harmonization and resolve
them.
The WG1 was given a somewhat aggressive mandate—to achieve
barrier free harmonization by the time of the next World Conference in
Durban, South Africa in 2012. The group agreed to meet twice a year to
review progress and adjust its work plan as necessary.
The WG1 is chaired by John Thompson, formerly with the Personnel
Certification in NDT (PCN) agency of the British Institute for NDT
(BINDT), and now representing the BINDT on WG1 in this activity. His
experience and capacity for hard and meaningful work has contributed
significantly to the progress of the work.
Ten countries were represented at the meeting held in Valencia, Spain
in early June 2011. Canada was represented by John Zirnhelt, who was
nominated as the Canadian representative to WG1 by the Canadian
Institute for NDE (CINDE), which also provided funding for his participation
in this important effort. Also attending from Canada as a guest was P.K.
Yuen, Manager of Canada’s NRCan NDT Certifying Agency.
The ICNDT WG1 considers its work plan at the meeting facilities provided
by the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia.
NRCan Certification
Agency Manager P.K.
Yuen (r) and John
Thompson (l) seek
inspiration from
Valencia’s fabulous
architecture.
26 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.5 t September/October 2011
The members of WG1 were generally satisfied with the progress of the
work to date. Most significantly, it was reported that a final draft of the
newly harmonized standard (CEN ISO 9712) is currently being balloted
around the world. While the ballot has not yet closed, feedback has
generally been positive. Thus the principal objective of WG1 has been
achieved.
The WG1 has a link to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and
to the International Standards Organization (ISO). The current work
of the ICNDT WG1 addresses the issue of accreditation and mutual
acceptance. A framework is being developed for ICNDT to provide
an accreditation procedure which essentially would employ auditors
who are NDT experienced and acceptably qualified as auditors. It is
recognized that in some countries there already exist organizations that
could provide the accreditation service, such as the Standards Council
of Canada (SCC) and, for these countries, there is some emphasis in
having qualified auditors available to participate as subject matter experts
on the audit team.
Countries will be encouraged to sign a Mutual Recognition Agreement
(MRA) to provide a framework for the mobility of qualified personnel. One
barrier to the establishment of compliant national certification schemes is
the availability of valid examination questions, and through the WG1, the
European Federation for NDT (EFNDT) has agreed to make its English
language question bank (some 8000 questions) available to countries
who commit to the MRA.
ICNDT WG1 meets next in Cancun in September, and then finally in
Durban in April 2012, where presumably, it will be able to report that its’
work to achieve a harmonized standard for NDT certification is done.
Delegates from
10 countries
worked hard to
finish the WG
business in one
day.
From L to R, Ooka
(Japan), Fallouey
(France), Zirnhelt
(Canada), Gilbert
(BINDT) and Thompson
(Chairman, WG1)
caught in a decision
making moment after
the official meeting.
www.cinde.ca
 Page 25

CAMC/NDT, an Aerospace Sector

for CAN/CGSB 48.9712-95
by David Ronson
Chairman1 of Canadian Maintenance Council NDI Trade Advisory Committee

Editor’s Note: This paper was originally presented in 2000 at the 15th WCNDT hosted by the AIPnD. Copyright 2000 by
AIPnD (all rights reserved)

This paper is being reprinted because it is demonstrates how an industry sector in Canada worked in a collaborative and
structured fashion to create an NDT training and certification system for inspection technicians working in the aviation
industry. It also serves as a reminder that this work followed the development of the ISO 9712 standard which culminated
in the 1990’s, and was subsequently adopted by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) as CAN/CGSB
48:9712-95 for use by Canada’s NDT personnel certification agency, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Of interest
is the author’s comment at the time: “It follows the Certifying Agency’s plans to a sectored approach to certification.”,
and furthermore: “Canada and its aviation maintenance industry have made a large leap into the harmonization process f
of ISO 9712, and it is hoped that other industries could follow the same process of development towards a total sector E
approach of a CGSB certification process.”
a
T
introduction The sections of the industry it includes are: u
In 1988, the Canadian aviation maintenance industry was
facing a critical shortage of skilled personnel and a lack of
• General Aviation;
• Commercial Air carriers;
R
standards for most occupations in this sector. As a result, and • Rotor Craft Operations; E
at the request of the Air Transport Association of Canada, • Repair and overhaul companies;
a steering committee of thirty industry representatives • Manufacturers overhaul & repair divisions;
was formed and a comprehensive human resources study • Military aviation. a
commissioned with the financial assistance and expertise
of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). The mission of the Canadian Aviation Maintenance R
This study, the first one ever completed on the industry,
recommended actions on four fronts:
Council is, “To develop a framework for, and to facilitate
the implementation of, a human resource strategy for the
T
• Defining occupational standards for the industry; aviation maintenance industry in Canada.” i
• Establishing training programs and core curricula;
• Recruiting new entrants to the industry; The mission will be accomplished by achieving the following C
• Developing on-going mechanisms for industry-wide goals: l
human resource planning. • Establish national standards for specified skilled
trades within the aviation maintenance industry; E
In addition to the above, the study recommended that • Facilitate improved training and re-training programs
the industry create a sector council in order to address for all occupations in the industry;
these challenges. In the fall of 1991, the Canadian • Establish on-going mechanisms for industry-wide
Aviation Maintenance Council (CAMC) was established human resource planning and development;
to coordinate future human resource planning. It was • Develop effective recruitment and retention
incorporated as a none-profit organization. The member strategies for potential entrants and the existing
organizations are: work force;
• Air Transport Association of Canada; • Achieve financial self-sufficiency.
• Aerospace Industry Association of Canada;
• Canadian Federation of Aircraft Maintenance The first step in development of any curriculum is that of
Engineers Association; an occupational analysis. The occupations selected for
• Department of Defense (DND)/Air Command; development of an occupational analysis are:
• National Training Association; 1. Aircraft Structural Repair Technician.
• Canadian Business Aircraft Association. 2. Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine R&O Technician.
3. Aviation Machinist.

1 at the time of original publication

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.4 t July/August 2011 5

 Page 26
4. Aviation Nondestructive Inspection Technician.
5. Aviation Mechanical Component Shop
Technician.
6. Aviation Welding Technician.
7. Aviation Electrical/ Electronics / Instrument
Technician (Curriculum Pending).
8. Aircraft Maintenance Technician (Curriculum
Pending).
9. Avionics Maintenance Technician (Curriculum
Pending).
10. Aviation Painter.
11. Aircraft Reciprocating Engine Technician.
12. Aircraft Propeller Systems Technician.
13. Aircraft Interior Technician.
One of the occupations identified above is the focus of this
paper - “Aviation Nondestructive Inspection Technician”.
f development of an ndi
occupational analysis
E The first step in the development of any curriculum is
a that of an Occupational Analysis. The draft of the NDI
Occupational Analysis was developed with the assistance
T of individuals having extensive knowledge and experience
in the Aircraft NDI Industry.
u following 12 modules make up the NDI curriculum:
R Specialists in aircraft nondestructive inspection then
forwarded the analysis to companies and associations
E across Canada for validation. Their recommendations
were assessed and incorporated. The final draft was then
reviewed to ensure conformity with the CAMC nationally
a approved format.
R The final document, which is the primary reference for
T the development of a standard training curriculum, was
translated and printed in both official languages.
i 8. Eddy Current Testing.
C Structure of analysis
The Occupational Analysis was laid out to facilitate the
l understanding of the nature of the occupation. It was split
E up into “Tasks” and “Sub-tasks”. A Task being the specific
action that, combined with others, makes up the logical and
necessary steps the NDI technician is required to perform
to complete an assignment within an area of activity. For
example, “Performs Liquid Penetrant Inspection”. Sub-
tasks are the smallest division into which it is practical to
sub-divide any work activity and, combined with others, fully
describes all duties constituting a Task. Using the above
example of a Task, a Sub-task would be “Selects penetrant
as per specification”. In addition, enabling objectives were
identified as elements of skill and knowledge that an
individual must acquire or possess to perform the Sub-
tasks and Tasks satisfactory.
An example of an enabling objective specific to the
above Sub-task would be “Knowledge of assembly
or part manufacturers’ manual(s), penetrant systems
manuals, manufacturers’ instructions and codes and
6 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.4 t July/August 2011
specifications, service bulletins and technical manuals for
types of penetrants to be used on parts, components and
assemblies”. Tools & Equipment necessary to carry out the
Task is also listed where applicable.
Development of the Course Profile
In order to facilitate compliance with the approved
Occupational Analysis, a detailed Course Profile was
developed which would serve as a main frame for the
curriculum which would be ultimately be used by the
training institutes to teach the Aerospace NDI candidates.
This task was awarded to DND to develop. A sub-committee
was established from industry practitioners and academia
from the provincial training institutions and colleges. Their
mandate was to review and recommend changes that were
necessary during the development stage of the Course
Profile.
ndi Curriculum development
Using the Course Profile as a guide to the various tasks,
the NDI Curriculum was developed. In order to minimize
design time, the curriculum was developed in modules. This
would further reduce the cross training time for workers
transferred to other occupations within a company. The
1. Safe working Practices.
2. Aircraft and aircraft systems.
3. Aircraft related materials, manufacturing
processes and material analysis procedures.
4. Preparation of parts, components or assemblies
for Inspection.
5. Visual and assisted visual inspection.
6. Liquid Penetrant Testing.
7. Magnetic Particle Testing.
9. Ultrasonic Testing.
10. Radiographic Testing, x-rays and Gamma Ray.
11. NDI written instructions and technical procedures.
12. NDI specialty testing methods.
As in the development of the Occupational Analysis, a
committee was established from specialists in the NDI
Industry and community colleges to review the curriculum
as it was being developed. This has been instrumental
in fostering a better dialogue between the aviation
maintenance industry and the education/training systems.
The development of the curriculum was done in stages.
The contractor, (DND), developed a first draft of a number
of modules. The modules were then submitted to the
Curriculum Development Committee for review. After their
review, the Committee recommended changes to the
contractor, which were discussed and agreed upon. The
contractor then made the necessary changes to the drafts,
and the modules were re-submitted for final review and sign
off by the Committee. Upon final approval, the document
went for translation into French and then to print.
www.cinde.ca
 Page 27
To summarize, the Training Standard and Core Curriculum
is:
• A document providing details on how required
skills and knowledge identified in the occupational
standard must be taught.
• A detailed course profile developed prior to course
outline (student) and instructor guide.
• A curriculum national in scope.
• Developed in module format to provide ease in
training.
• Developed with committees comprised of
industry practitioners and specialists from training
establishments.
national Trade advisory Committee (nSTaC)
To ensure the aviation maintenance standards are
maintained and updated, a National Trade Advisory
Committee was formed which is composed of industry
practitioners. The committee is responsive to immediate
needs of industry as they represent employers and NDI
Technicians.
aviation Standard
With the introduction of the International Standards
Organization (ISO) there has been a need for an
international standard for nondestructive testing. In 1987
ISO 9712 was first published, and since that date there has
been much discussion as to whether or not harmonization
of the various standards around the world is necessary.
The writer strongly believes that in the global market we
are faced with today, it would be in a company’s interest to
adapt the certification of their personnel according to the
ISO standards. This would allow them to compete globally
and follow many of the developing countries and Europe
who have already adapted the ISO standard.
The ISO standard is based on sectors, an area which
has not yet been clearly defined. However, the Canadian
aviation maintenance industry has felt a need for such a
sector. With help from the Canadian Aviation Maintenance
Council program, the development of the aviation sector
for nondestructive inspection has been accomplished in all
five major methods. This is “A first in the industry”.
On November 5th, 1997, a meeting was held between the
Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) committee
and representatives from CAMC National Standing Trade
Advisory Committee (NSTAC). At this meeting CAMC
proposed that the C.G.S.B. committee approve the CAMC
curriculum as a standard for training and certification for
the Aviation Sector for CGSB 48-9712. As a committee,
the NSTAC did not want to introduce another certification
program since CGSB is a highly recognized certification
program.
The proposed approach for the CAMC/CGSB certification
would be as per Figure 1.
www.cinde.ca
Fig 1: Proposed Approach for CAMC/CGSB certification
As a new candidate entering the NDI workforce, he/she
would enrol with CAMC and be given a log book. This
log book would be used to record all relevant practical
experience and would require sign-off by a supervisor once
each phase of the practical training has been successfully f
completed. In conjunction with on the job training (OJT),
the candidate would attend a formal classroom training E
session following the CAMC curriculum specific to the
method for which he/she is applying. Upon completion
a
of the classroom training a written CGSB/CAMC exam T
would be exercised. If successful in passing the exam, the
candidate would either complete the OJT portion of the u
training or if sufficient training had been accomplished, a R
practical exam in the method applied for would be given.
Upon successful completion of the practical exam, the E
candidate would be issued a CAMC/CGSB certification.
This process eliminates having to sit two written exams (i.e.
a final course exam and the C.G.S.B. examination which is a
presently being exercised under the existing process).
R
The elimination of the present Level 1 certification is T
also proposed. The candidate would be classed as an
apprentice until sufficient on the job training (OJT) had i
been accomplished and successful completion of the
written and practical examination had taken place.
C
The exam would include questions and aircraft related l
components specific to the aircraft industry.
E
grandparenting
The council also has recognized that the current workforce
must be treated fairly and equitably in order for the
registration process to succeed. Therefore a structure has
been put in place to handle candidates that have been in
the business for many years in the aerospace industry
practicing NDI.
Candidates coming from another industry, i.e. Petrochemical,
would be required to complete a number of aerospace
related modules to become eligible for certification in the
aerospace industry, as per Figure 2.
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.4 t July/August 2011 7
 Page 28
f
E
a
Fig 2: Module map for aircraft sector of CAMC/CGSB certification.
T
u The Benefits to CGSB by using the
R CaMC Curriculum
E A number of benefits were presented to C.G.S.B. on
why they should accept CAMC’s proposal for using the
curriculum as a training and certification program for the
Aviation sector of CAN/CGSB 48-9712.
a plan to implement the concept.
R • It follows the Certifying Agency’s plans to a sectored
approach to certification.
T • Foreign country interest has already been shown in
i the modules promoting the idea of harmonization.
• It was industry driven and developed.
C • An advisory committee (NSTAC) has been
established to ensure the standard is maintained
l and updated.
E • The curriculum has been developed using the same
course outline requested by the certifying agency,
but has been expanded to reflect the differences in
the aircraft industry.
• Provisions have been made for grandparenting.
• It provides an industry Sector at no cost to the
certifying agency.
• A standardized course and teaching plan
established which would provide the same calibre of
training coast to coast across Canada.
8 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.4 t July/August 2011
CgSb approval
At the conclusion of the meeting, members of the CGSB
committee approved, in principle, the aviation sector
certification. It was agreed that a sub-committee of the
National Standing Trade Advisory Committee (NSTAC), in
cooperation with members of the CGSB, would work on a
Conclusion
The sub-committee has just completed the process
of reviewing the present C.G.S.B question banks for
applicability for use in the Aerospace Sector exam. Specific
Aerospace questions are now being developed. Parallel
to this task a lesson plan is being worked upon to pave
the way for delivery of the curriculum into the teaching
institutes and colleges across Canada.
Canada and its aviation maintenance industry have made
a large leap into the harmonization process of ISO 9712,
and it is hoped that other industries could follow the same
process of development towards a total sector approach of
CGSB certification process.
g h
www.cinde.ca
 Page 29
Page 29
ASME NDE (ANDE)
Personnel ASME NDE (ANDE)
Certification
Personnel
Steve Biondi, AmericanCertification
Society for Manufacturing Engineering (ASME)
ASME has initiated development of a new
personnel certification program for Non-
ASME has initiated development of a new
Destructive Examination (NDE) personnel and
personnel certification program for Non-
quality control inspectors. The new program,
Destructive Examination (NDE) personnel and
ASME NDE (ANDE) Personnel Certification,
quality control inspectors. The new program,
will include features consistent with other ASME
ASME NDE (ANDE) Personnel Certification,
Personnel Certification best practices. ANDE
will include features consistent with other ASME
certification will initially focus on nuclear in-service
Personnel Certification best practices. ANDE
inspection and new nuclear construction, but
certification will initially focus on nuclear in-service
will ultimately expand to include other pressure
inspection and new nuclear construction, but
boundary and structural applications in other
will ultimately expand to include other pressure
industries, as well as internationally. ANDE
boundary and structural applications in other
will comply with third party NDE certification
industries, as well as internationally. ANDE
requirements of ASME Section XI Code Case
will comply with third party NDE certification
N-788 as well as applicable requirements of
requirements of ASME Section XI Code Case
ASME NQA-1. The ANDE program will provide
N-788 as well as applicable requirements of
independent third-party centralized certification for
ASME NQA-1. The ANDE program will provide
non-destructive examination and quality control
independent third-party centralized certification for
inspection personnel as an option to the historical
non-destructive examination and quality control
employer-based NDE certification system. The
inspection personnel as an option to the historical
ANDE Personnel Certification program will assist
employer-based NDE certification system. The
the nuclear NDE workforce development with
ANDE Personnel Certification program will assist
transportable certification credentials. Further, for
the nuclear NDE workforce development with
international users and domestic users working
transportable certification credentials. Further, for
with international customers, this will satisfy the
international users and domestic users working
requirements for third party certification imposed
with international customers, this will satisfy the
in some jurisdictions.
requirements for third party certification imposed
in some jurisdictions.
The objectives of this project include creating a
third party NDE/QC certification organization to
The objectives of this project include creating a
provide a central NDE/QC personnel certification
third party NDE/QC certification organization to
program administered through ASME and
provide a central NDE/QC personnel certification
governed by a consensus committee composed
program administered through ASME and
of subject matter experts from industry and
governed by a consensus committee composed
regulators. The overall objective is to develop
of subject matter experts from industry and
the workforce, expand the numbers entering the
regulators. The overall objective is to develop
profession, increase the quality and predictability
the workforce, expand the numbers entering the
of NDE/inspection, and improve efficiency. The
profession, increase the quality and predictability
support of workforce development will help
of NDE/inspection, and improve efficiency. The
ensure an adequate number of examiners/
support of workforce development will help
inspectors are available to meet the demand
ensure an adequate number of examiners/
and that the quality of their skill sets meets
inspectors are available to meet the demand
required standards for the nuclear industry. The
and that the quality of their skill sets meets
employer remains responsible for verification of
required standards for the nuclear industry. The
certification of personnel to the required level and
employer remains responsible for verification of
releasing NDE and QC personnel for work.
certification of personnel to the required level and
releasing NDE and QC personnel for work.
The ANDE program performs job task analysis
(JTAs) in the development of the NDE methods
The ANDE program performs job task analysis
with the guidance of a psychometrician.
(JTAs) in the development of the NDE methods
with the guidance of a psychometrician.
18 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
18 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
Program
Program
Psychometric practices are a science of
measurement and helps establish the validity,
Psychometric practices are a science of
reliability, and fairness of the ANDE program,
measurement and helps establish the validity,
which starts with the JTA. The JTA is the process
reliability, and fairness of the ANDE program,
of describing and recording aspects of jobs and
which starts with the JTA. The JTA is the process
specifying the skills and other requirements
of describing and recording aspects of jobs and
necessary to perform the job. One of the main
specifying the skills and other requirements
purposes of conducting the job task analysis is
necessary to perform the job. One of the main
to prepare job description and job specification
purposes of conducting the job task analysis is
leading to identification of the knowledge, skills,
to prepare job description and job specification
and abilities necessary to accomplish the specific
leading to identification of the knowledge, skills,
job. This will form the basis for the Body of
and abilities necessary to accomplish the specific
Knowledge and Skills (BOKS) to be included in
job. This will form the basis for the Body of
the ANDE criteria. The BOKS will in turn serve as
Knowledge and Skills (BOKS) to be included in
the basis for development of valid, reliable, and
the ANDE criteria. The BOKS will in turn serve as
fair assessment examinations.
the basis for development of valid, reliable, and
fair assessment examinations.
The immediate focus of ANDE program
development will be on the development and
The immediate focus of ANDE program
review of the criteria document and completing
development will be on the development and
the JTA for the Ultrasonic Testing (UT) NDE
review of the criteria document and completing
method. The criteria document will define the
the JTA for the Ultrasonic Testing (UT) NDE
program requirements and procedures, while the
method. The criteria document will define the
JTA will define the procedure/requirements to
program requirements and procedures, while the
perform the specific NDE methods; [i.e. Ultrasonic
JTA will define the procedure/requirements to
Testing (UT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT),
perform the specific NDE methods; [i.e. Ultrasonic
Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT) and Radiography
Testing (UT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT),
Testing (RT)]. The UT written exam is expected
Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT) and Radiography
to be launched in August 2012.
Testing (RT)]. The UT written exam is expected
to be launched in August 2012.
A corresponding Training Program will be
independently developed by ASME to provide
A corresponding Training Program will be
training materials to prepare individuals for the
independently developed by ASME to provide
ANDE Personnel Certifications. The training
training materials to prepare individuals for the
material will be developed independently, but will
ANDE Personnel Certifications. The training
utilize the body of knowledge and skills (BOKS)
material will be developed independently, but will
developed from the JTA. Types of training to
utilize the body of knowledge and skills (BOKS)
be provided consist of class room material,
developed from the JTA. Types of training to
computer simulations; web based training
be provided consist of class room material,
programs and review materials to support the
computer simulations; web based training
ongoing maintenance of the Certifications.
programs and review materials to support the
ongoing maintenance of the Certifications.
The ANDE Project Team meets quarterly
during ASME Boiler Code week and interested
The ANDE Project Team meets quarterly
stakeholders are invited to participate. The
during ASME Boiler Code week and interested
next meeting is Monday November 7, 2011 at
stakeholders are invited to participate. The
the Union Station Marriott St. Louis, Missouri
next meeting is Monday November 7, 2011 at
from 1:00pm – 3:30 pm. Contact Steve Biondi
the Union Station Marriott St. Louis, Missouri
(biondis@asme.org, 212-591-7150) for more
from 1:00pm – 3:30 pm. Contact Steve Biondi
information.
(biondis@asme.org, 212-591-7150) for more
information.
www.cinde.ca
www.cinde.ca
 Page 30
CNSC / CSA Standard Development Project for
Certified Exposure Device Operators
Reported Douglas J. Marshall, CINDE Director and CNSC-CSA project team member.
Reported by Douglas J. Marshall, CINDE Director and CNSC-CSA project team member.
Introduction
In collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC), the Canadian Standards Association
(CSA) has been contracted to lead a project to review,
update and revision for a national certification program for
persons who operate exposure devices used in industrial
gamma radiography.
Background
The original CEDO certification document was written in the
late 1980’s and redrafted in 2004 by the Canadian Nuclear
Safety Commission (CNSC). The CNSC has identified the
need to update the certification to meet the requirements
of current regulations with industries and stakeholder input.
During the week of June 07, 2011 the Canadian Standards
Association (CSA) organized a group of sixteen prominent
industry leaders who would represent and participate as
the Scheme Committee for the revised Certified Exposure
Device Operator. The CEDO certification is a high-stake
certification program as there is considerable personal
risk and significant public health and safety consequences
affected by the job function.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates the
use of nuclear energy and materials to protect the health,
safety and security of Canadians and the environment; and
to implement Canada’s international commitments on the
peaceful use of nuclear energy.
CNSC was established in 2000 under the Nuclear Safety
and Control Act and reports to Parliament through the
Minister of Natural Resources. CNSC was created to
replace the former Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB),
which was founded in 1946.
The Project
Prior to the start of the review CSA approached stakeholders
to ensure they had an opportunity to provide feedback
and participate. The CSA recruited volunteers to serve
as subject matter experts who will be responsible for
shaping the future direction of this occupation. The subject
matter experts will form the CEDO Program Scheme
Committee which is a requirement of ISO17024. The
scheme committee is composed of a broad representation
of industry stakeholders and meets on a periodic basis,
as required, to develop and/or update the standards, the
competency exam(s), to review exam performance and
other requirements to ensure that they are relevant and
meet current industry needs. The scheme committee will
oversee the scope, eligibility requirements, prerequisites,
occupational standard, program development and other
requirements for competency related to the occupation.
Introductory Meeting
The CSA held the initial Scheme Committee meeting from
28 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
June 7-9 for the revision of 2004 CEDO document. It
presented to the committee the scope of the project along
with the roles and responsibilities of the various expert
groups that will be required to complete the certification
examination:
Roles & Responsibilities
• Document certification program scope and requirements
• Detail and describe the certification path
• Describe the characteristics and expectations of the
minimally qualified candidate (MQC)
• Define the candidate pool and target market
Tasks
• Review the scope of the certification and the overall
certification scheme
• Review the eligibility requirements
• Review and update the requirements of the job and the
related job tasks
• Develop a new occupational standard for exposure
device operators
The bulk of the meeting was spent developing the test
definition for the certification. A few details regarding pre-
requisites will need to be considered and finalized prior to
the program launch. A working group of C. Doyle, T. Levey,
R. DeBruyn and T. Beniston drafted a revised Practical
Examination checklist for committee consideration. This
was presented to the Scheme Committee and amended
according to their feedback.
The Next Steps
CSA discussed the next phase of the test development
which incorporated a Job Task Analysis Workshop. The Job
Analysis Workshop will collect information on the following
areas with respect to a CEDO:
• Duties and Tasks: The basic unit of a job is the
performance of specific tasks and duties.
• Environment: This may have a significant impact on the
physical requirements to be able to perform a job.
• Tools and Equipment: Some duties and tasks are
performed using specific equipment and tools.
• Relationships: Supervision given and received.
Relationships with internal or external people.
• Requirements: The knowledge, skills, and abilities
(KSA’s) required performing the job.
The Committee also wanted to ensure an appropriate
geographic representation across Canada as the current
committee lacks representation from eastern regions of
Canada. However, the Committee indicated there are no
variances in the law based on geography, but there are
different uses, equipment and industries based on the
region.
www.cinde.ca
 Page 31

In addition to certification, it was suggested that the

scheme committee should provide guidelines around
de-certification or revocation of a certification. The CSA
explained that de-certification falls under the jurisdiction of
the certifying body, but the scheme committee may provide
recommendation for consideration.
FLAWED SPECIMENS AND CALIBRATION STANDARDS
Please Note
Interested individuals may participate in multiple committee/ QUALIFICATION/DEMONSTRATION BLOCKS TO MEET
workgroup functions if desired. To nominate yourself to ANY CODE AND/OR CLIENT REQUIREMENTS
serve on one of these committees, please submit a REAL FLAWS, AVAILABLE WITH THE SMALLEST
resume or curriculum vitae along with the application form DIMENSIONAL TOLERANCES IN THE INDUSTRY
available on the CSA website at: http://www.csa-america. MANUFACTURED USING ANY SPECIFIED MATERIAL(S),
org/personnel_certification/exposure_device_operator/ WELD PROCEDURE, AND/OR HEAT TREATMENT
default.asp?load=application
CALIBRATION AND REFERENCE STANDARDS TO MEET
For additional information, please contact Mike Dickerson, ANY CODE AND/OR CLIENT REQUIREMENTS
Product Manager at 216-524-4990 ext. 88058 or contact EDM AND CONVENTIONAL MACHINING AVAILABLE
him at mike.dickerson@csa-america.org FOR ANY TYPE AND SIZE OF REFERENCE REFLECTORS
CUSTOM WELDED SPECIMENS FOR ALL JOINT
CINDE members will be updated regularly about the CONFIGURATIONS AND ALLOY MATERIALS
progress, meeting highlights and project activities through
COMPONENT MOCK-UPS CONTAINING COMMON
the Industry News on the CINDE website www.cinde.ca and
the print Journal. IN-SERVICE EQUIPMENT DEGREDATION MODES
COMMITTED TO THE HIGHEST PRODUCT QUALITY AND
References THE SHORTEST DELIVERY SCHEDULE
1. Minutes of the Meeting of the Certified Nuclear Exposure CODE COMPLIANCE OF ALL PRODUCTS IS GUARANTEED
Device Operator Personnel Certification Scheme
Committee, Tuesday, June 07-09, 2011
PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS
2.CSA Standards Website: http://www.csa-america.org/ 8125 – 43 Street Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6B-2M3 (780) 468-5181 www.flawspec.com
personnel_certification/exposure_device_operator/
g h
The Art of Metallurgy

Photo by
Shane Turcott,
used with
permission of
Steel Image©
2011. All rights
reserved.

Turbine engines used to propel airplanes and

generate power are made of some of the most
advanced materials known to man.

The hottest parts within a jet turbine engine are

made of metals appropriately called, “super
alloys”. Turbine blades made of this material
operate in burning fuel at temperatures of
approximately 1500 oC while turning at speeds
up to 10,000 RPM. Most metals would melt,
corrode or fracture in this environment, let alone
be strong enough to survive crossing the Atlantic
several times. But because super alloys are filled
with these tiny, cube-shaped particles, super
alloy material remains very strong, even at such
high temperatures and centrifugal forces. 542912_IPEIA.indd 1 7/22/11 7:33:52 PM

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 29

 Page 32

Trends in NDT Certification and Training

in Canada
L. Cote 1, P.K. Yuen 2, J. Zirnhelt 3
1 Canadian Institute for NDE (CINDE), 135 Fennell Ave. West, Hamilton, ON L8N 3T2, Canada;
2 Natural Resources Canada, NDT Certifying Agency, 183 Longwood Road S., Hamilton,L8P 0A5 Canada;
3 Ponteca Inc., 4188 Beacon Lane, Mississauga, ON L5C 3V9 Canada

Abstract
Changes in nondestructive testing (NDT) technologies and workforce demographics are affecting
people in the business of NDT inspection. Changes in economic factors are affecting the NDT business
community, with many companies now competing in a world-wide marketplace. What hasn’t changed
is the requirement for people to be certified as competent to work in the specialty occupation of NDT.

Many of the people who helped develop and shape the NDT business for the last 40 years are
preparing to retire, if in fact they have not already. They leave behind a much different playing field
that includes new technologies and new international standards for NDT personnel. The companies
that rely on the competency of their NDT inspectors are impacted by the standards, and by the fact
that people entering the NDT occupations today are often different from those who entered the NDT
workforce 30 to 40 years ago.

Given the above, two key aspects of NDT training and certification in Canada should be reviewed and
understood by industry stakeholders and interested parties:
1) Occupational turnover and the rate at which new people are certified to generate NDT data, A
interpret it, report it, or act on the results, and
2) The training, certification and qualification programs needed for existing and new NDT R
technologies.
T
I
Introduction 1966: SNT publishes SNT-TC-1A, with assistance from
In the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, Canada and the rest of the Canadian W. Havercroft. C
world was busy learning how to use newly emergent 1967: ICNDT recognizes the need for a Personnel
NDT technologies. The inspection, testing and quality Qualification system, hears from UK, USA, L
assurance techniques taken for granted today were Canada and Japan who have one, and initiates E
driving research and shaping the NDT industry. The the creation of ISO committees TC135 and SC7.
pioneers of the NDT industry realized that to have a skilled 1972: First Canadian certification in Ultrasonics
workforce, they needed specialized training, qualification 1983: TC135 SC7 meets in Canada and agrees to
and certification programs to keep pace with the rate of develop an international standard for three levels
technical and business development. of certification with qualification by examination,
based on requirements for education, formal
The quick pace of technological development and parallel training, and practical experience.
interest in training and certification continued throughout 1984: The Canadian certification system using CGSB
the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and into the new millennium because of 48-GP standards moves from a two level to a
additional requirements to improve safety, productivity and three level system and adds more methods to the
quality while protecting the environment. These, coupled original RT and UT methods.
with continuous technology advances, constantly redefined 1992: ISO publishes ISO Standard 9712 with significant
the needs of the NDT community and its’ customers. The Canadian input.
good news for Canada is that the academic, supplier 1995: Canada CGSB 48/2 Committee adopts the ISO
and employer base were sensitive to these forces and 9712:1992 standard without modification as
responded in an appropriate manner to devise systems to the national standard for implementation by the
assure a competent workforce. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) CANMET-
Materials Technology Laboratory, National NDT
A brief historical overview of NDT standard developments Certifying Agency.
affecting Canada is:
1960: First CGSB NDT standards published (48-GP-4) Forty years of standard changes, technological advances
1962: First industrial radiographer certified in Canada and workforce aging have created an interesting prospect:

Keywords: NDT personnel certification, NDT training, workforce, demographics, trends

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 13

 Page 33

How to cope with them with an eye to the future?
The Economy and Workforce Demographics
Over the past 50 years Canada has enjoyed good
economic growth as shown by the trend in national GDP
in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Canada GDP Growth: 1960 – 2009
present in practically every manufacturing and industrial
sector. Will the retirement numbers be any different for
automotive, nuclear power, aviation, construction and
general manufacturing?
Trends in NDT Certification
The national standard and certification agencies, certainly
Canada’s, must help deal with the demographic and
technical challenges that lie ahead. Anticipating this, the
NRCan Certification Agency studied the demographics of
their certified NDT inspector clients. Not surprisingly, as
shown in Figure 3, it approximates the national population
demographic.

Figure 3 shows that the CGSB certified NDT inspectors

Source: World Bank Indicator database [1]
A healthy advance in employment opportunities for NDT
occupations accompanied this growth. Hidden within it
though was the demographic time bomb of “boomer” [2]
generation retirements. Now that it is upon us, the topic
of workforce retirement is receiving extensive study so
as to avoid the problem whereby more people leave the
A workforce than are entering it, as shown in Figure 2.
R Figure 2: Number of Persons Aged 15 to 24 years versus
T Persons aged 55 to 64 in Canada
I years. This includes the renewal of CGSB certifications
C
L
E
in Canada have an average age around 50 years old.
Industry feedback is that hundreds of new inspectors will
be needed in the next 10 years to sustain the existing
workforce, and potentially more will be needed to deal with
new work from an expanding economy. Which begs the
question, “Where will they come from?”
Figure 4 shows the number of new CGSB certification
certificates issued by NRCan over the past 10 years,
which increased on average by 4.5% each year.
Figure 5 shows an average 3.4% increase in individuals
holding one or more CGSB NDT certifications, boosting
the total number of certified people from approximately
4000 to slightly over 5000 people over the past 5 to 10
which averaged approximately 85% over the past 5 years.

Source: Statistics Canada [3]

Figure 3: Age versus Number of Inspectors

Source: Natural Resources Canada Certification Agency
Further underscoring the impact of workforce retirements,
in June 2010 the Globe and Mail published an article about
retirements in Canadian oil and gas firms that will require
the hiring of 100,00 skilled workers, many of whom are not
available today. It stated: “At least one third of our work
force is eligible for retirement today,” said Kim McCaig,
chief operating officer of the Canadian Energy Pipeline
Association. “Over the next few years, likely the next five,
you’ll see that that moves up even farther: two-thirds of
that work force becomes eligible.” [4]

To put this into an NDT perspective, think about the

fact that oil and gas is not the only industry sector
that is highly dependent on NDT; NDT technicians are

14 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 www.cinde.ca

 Page 34
Figure 4: New NDT Certificants per Year
Source: NRCan reports to CGSB 48/2 Committee
Figure Five – Total NDT Certificants by Decade
Sources: CSNDT Journal & NRCan reports
Of the trends exhibited in Figure Four, the trend for
certified Level 3 inspectors is intriguing, as it does not
follow the increasing trends demonstrated by Levels 1
and 2. These trends raise more questions: “Will there be
enough qualified people to adequately support NDT in
Canada in the next 10 years?” And: “Will they really know
how to properly perform NDT inspections when they are
deployed?”
Trends in NDT Training
A report jointly issued in 2009 by Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada and Statistics Canada states:
“Education and training are complementary. While initial
education plays a key role in strengthening Canada’s
human capital and developing people’s potential, however,
it is also necessary for individuals to continually develop
new skills and competencies and upgrade existing ones.
Thus, it is important for Canadians not only to acquire higher
education but also to participate in learning throughout life
in order to manage external pressures and changes in the
workforce and society at large.” 5
With this encouragement in mind, the education of quality
NDT personnel takes on new importance. Traditional
sources of NDT technicians in Canada are field recruits,
skilled trades, military retirees, and college and university
graduates. Wherever they come from, they require certain
technical, physical and interpersonal skills.
Technical Skills
• Level 2 manual technical skills related to the NDT
method(s), of which more than one is usually required.
• Ability to handle fragile electronic instrumentation with
care and expertise.
• An understanding of how the technician impacts
the overall measuring system in terms of precision,
accuracy, reproducibility, repeatability and probability
of detection (POD).
• Significant computer skills to interface with the
instrument for data acquisition, analysis, reporting and
archiving.
www.cinde.ca
• An understanding of the industry sector and the
materials, components and machinery that are used
within it.
Physical Skills
• Meet vision requirements per the national standard.
• Ability to work in constrained or confined spaces, at
heights in sometimes extreme environments.
Interpersonal Skills
• Ability to articulate results verbally and in writing
• Excellent decision making capability, understanding
that decisions are not always straightforward, and
that judgement must be exercised to provide sound
interpretations.
• Good customer service attitude.
Education and training programs are more important than
ever to ensure NDT personnel acquire these technical and
soft skills. However, the educational and training programs
devised over the past forty years are encountering students
who are not entirely the same as those of 30 to 40 years
ago. For example, a Statistics Canada report issued in
2005 stated that “In 2003, roughly 45% of Canadians aged
16 years and older attained numeracy scores at or above
Level 3. This means that over half of adult Canadians A
did not demonstrate levels of mathematical skills and
knowledge associated with functioning well in Canadian R
society.” 4 Other studies and reports have documented T
the differences between students entering post-secondary
schools and training organizations today and their peers I
of three or four decades ago. [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] The minimum
training hours stipulated by the national standard remain
C
at levels decided decades ago; very often course feedback L
received today by a training organization is: “Great course,
but could have used more time.” E
Some new student characteristics encountered today are:
• Highly variable numeracy and literacy skills.
• Older second career students apprehensive about a
modern educational environment. [12]
• Absorbed with computers and digital devices. [13]
• Impatient with classroom lectures.
• Expectations misaligned with effort.
• Attitude of entitlement. [14]
• Quicker to challenge institutional rules and structures.
This creates new challenges and requirements
for academic and training organizations. They must
accommodate a broader spectrum of students that include
- rapid learners, the easily bored, and those unwilling,
unprepared or unable to do the work necessary to achieve
the academic success and hands-on training needed for
a career in NDT.
Advances in curriculum design now acknowledge that
education cannot be treated like a templated or formulaic
approach because:
• People learn at different speeds.
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 15
 Page 35
• People learn different things different ways through
different learning channels, i.e. visual, auditory, or
hands-on, with the best approach often being a blend
of each.
• More types of delivery methods are available.
Advances in the delivery of training programs now include
self-guided computer-based training (CBT) or interactive
voice-over-internet (VOIP) on-line delivery. “The new
technologies are unlike previous learning technologies,
digital media has the potential to be highly disruptive of
classroom-based education and training because they are
personal, portable and bi-directional.” [15] While they have
the benefit of enabling more flexible access to suit the
specific needs and timetable of the student, they also have
a potential downside of creating an overall educational and
training experience that is fragmented in a non-traditional
manner, and may not be fully optimal to best prepare the
specialized personnel.
Additionally, less experienced computer users become
aggravated when the CBT or VOIP technology crashes,
times-out or freezes while they are trying to learn. When
used for testing, test candidates using on-line systems
may try to deflect their poor performance on problems
A with server-side or client-side firewalls, security programs,
or the internet service provider which is susceptible to
R bandwidth changes and all other manner of technical
T hiccups that will inevitably occur.
I It is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago that academic
education or technical training gained in a classroom and
C laboratory / workshop setting can only provide a strong and
L structured lattice upon which experience-based knowledge
and competency can grow. Put another way, classroom
E training is no substitute for on-the-job experience, which
is how deep knowledge becomes embedded, rehearsed,
mastered and refined into top performance.
Regrettably, unlike some other trade occupations with
apprenticeship programs, the NDT occupation in Canada
seems to have a lack of entry level positions, with many
employers insisting on some level of CGSB certification
before job applicants will even be considered for hiring.
This creates the merry chase of “You need experience
to get the job … if I don’t get any experience, how can
I get a job?” Furthermore, this has promoted a trend in
Canada for more candidates to attempt their CGSB NDT
certification exams before fully accumulating the requisite
practical experience. During 1999 to 2000, allowing
people to attempt practical exams without experience was
discussed by the national CGSB 48/2 NDT committee and
also subsequently at the CEN/ISO committee meetings,
resulting in the implementation of this allowance by
the NRCan NDT Certifying Agency. The overriding
rationale was that it would provide more options, i.e.,
with and without experience, to achieve certification in an
accelerated and expeditious manner for some candidates,
and thus support the needs of the industry better. But this
16 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
may have also adversely contributed to the changes in
the pass / fail demographics, and the overall quality and
competency of the candidates attempting the practical
certification examinations. This accommodation, along
with the realities of the industrial landscape and increasing
cost consciousness, may have also translated into fewer
opportunities for candidates to acquire valuable hands-
on practice and on-the-job experience that would in all
likelihood better prepare them to pass their certification
examinations and excel in their NDT careers.
Discussion is also ongoing in Canada about the options
to recertify knowledge and competency, such as written
tests, practical performance demonstration, etc. One of
the authors has heard it described as “The impossible
challenge - how to quantify human factors in terms of
performance demonstration”. The science of knowledge
and competency testing has improved vastly in the last 40
years. The discussion about when to test and how best to
test ongoing competency is polarizing many people, and
the debate has somewhat constrained the Canadian NDT
arena, possibly affecting the development of training and
certification program for new technologies. Other highly
technical occupations routinely measure and recertify
peoples’ competency on an ongoing basis, why should
NDT be any different? Applied intelligently and diligently,
other well known best practices[16] for personnel training
and certification programs should work to the advantage
of students and NDT technicians, their employers and
customers, and the public at large.
Summary
This paper provides some history and trends for NDT
training and certification in Canada. It is obvious to those
in the business today that:
1. Given the global marketplace, international equivalency
and reciprocity is needed to align NDT training and
certification systems around the world.
2. Areas of improvements should be discussed regarding
how much education, theoretical training and practical
experience is needed before applying for professional
certification and qualification.
3. Programs should be developed and implemented
that reflect the realities of today and the needs of the
industry.
4. Schools and training organizations need to respond
with outcome based curricula and delivery systems.
5. An urgent demand for qualified NDT personnel will
continue into the next two decades.
6. More entry level opportunities are needed while the
current NDT workforce retires.
7. Many of the fundamental factors need to be addressed
by the industry as a whole. Key stakeholders must
engage and work together to achieve significant
progress. Therefore the national membership society,
certifying agency, national standards organization,
training organizations, unions, employers, and NDT
personnel must collaborate effectively and efficiently to
make the sought after improvements.
www.cinde.ca
 Page 36

After 50 years of development and successful endeavor, 7. Zwaagstra, M., “An ‘F’ for Social Promotion”, Frontier
now is a good time to examine and continually improve all Center for Public Policy, http://www.fcpp.org/publication.
aspects of the NDT training and certification programs in php/2919
Canada. 8. Zinchuk, B., “You can no longer fail in school”,
Battlefords News Optimist, September 11, 2009
Authors 9. The Centre for Education Statistics report, “Education
Larry Cote CET, CLS, CMRP Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training
President / CEO in Canada”, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-
Canadian Institute for NDE (CINDE) cel?catno=81-004-X&chropg=1&lang=eng
135 Fennell Avenue West 10. Foot, D., “Canadian Education: Demographic Change
Hamilton, ON L8N 3T2 CANADA and Future Challenges”, Education Canada, Spring
l.cote@cinde.ca 2001
11. Chow, H., “Exploring Predictors of Educational
P.K. Yuen Experience and Academic Performance among
Manager University students in Regina”, The Alberta Journal of
Natural Resources Canada NDT Certifying Agency Educational Research, Vol. XLIX, No. 1, Spring 2003,
183 Longwood Road South pp. 101-105.
Hamilton, L8P 0A5 CANADA 12. The Canadian Press, with files from Dana Brown,
PuiKei.Yuen@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca “Laid-off workers head back to classrooms”, The
Hamilton Spectator, Jan 11, 2010
John Zirnhelt 13. Hauge, M.R., Gentile, D. A., “Video Game Addiction
Senior Engineer Among Adolescents: Associations with Academic
Ponteca Inc. Performance and Aggression”, Child Development
Chair, CGSB 48/2 Committee (2003) Volume: 40, Issue: 306, Pages: 1-3.
4188 Beacon Lane 14. CTV.ca News Staff, “Profs say students lack maturity,
Mississauga, ON L5C 3V9 CANADA feel entitled”, Monday April 6, 2009 http://www. A
john.zirnhelt@gmail.com ctv.ca/CTVNews/MSNHome/20090406/student_
study_090406 R
References
Rerences 15. Woodill, G., “Improved Learning…or Not?” The T
1. The World Bank Data Catalogue, http://data.worldbank. Canadian Learning Journal, Volume 14 No. 2, Pages
org/country/canada and http://www.google.ca/ 32, 39, 2010. I
16. Cote, L., “Best Practices for Personnel Certification
publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_
Programs”, NDT in Canada 2009 Conference
C
gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:CAN&dl=en&hl=en&q=can
ada+gdp+trend Proceedings, August, 2009. L
2. “boomer” definition and explanation: http://en.wikipedia. E
org/wiki/Baby_boomer g h
3. Statistics Canada Demography Section, Publication
Catalogue no. 91-003-X, “Canadian Demographics at a
Glance”, p. 36, Figure 24
4. VanderKlippe, N., Retirements to
force Canadian oil and gas firms
to hire 100,000 new workers www.
GlobeAdvisor.com, June 3, 2010, https://
secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/
ArticleNews/story/gam/20100603/
DAYBOOKENERGYJOBS03ATL
5. Statistics Canada Report, “Lifelong
Learning Among Canadians Aged 18
to 64 Years: First Results from the
2008 Access and Support to Education
and Training Survey”, Catalogue no.
81-595-M – No. 079, p. 7
6. Statistics Canada Report, “Building
on our Competencies: Canadian
Results of the International Literacy
and Skills Survey”, Catalogue No.
89-617-XIE, p. 26 http://www4.hrsdc.
gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=79

543116_CWB.indd 1 8/10/11 2:29:54 AM

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 17
 Page 37

Fractures and Fixes in the Qualification and

Certification of NDT Personnel
John R. Thompson
Director, International Affairs, British Institute of NDT

Abstract
ISO 9712:2005 (Non-Destructive Testing – Qualification and certification of NDT personnel – General
principles) defines the minimum requirements for qualification and certification of NDT personnel
and has been in existence since 1992 having evolved through three editions. ISO/IEC 17024:2003
(Conformity Assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons), which
is a normative reference in ISO 9712, evolved from an earlier European standard (EN 45013) and
defines the requirements for certification bodies. Both standards have been improved during reviews
and in the light of the experience gained in their implementation. However, the systems defined in
these standards do not result in harmonised operation of qualification and certification, and this paper
highlights specific problems, and proposes some solutions, many of which are being addressed by the
on-going work of the International Committee for NDT (ICNDT). F
E
Introduction and ISO 9712:2005 are both 3rd editions which have A
Standards define the minimum acceptable criteria for evolved from the 1st edition of ISO 9712:1992, and are
products or services and they enable organisations presently being fast tracked as a single harmonised EN T
delivering those products or services to harmonise their ISO 9712 through the so called Vienna agreement (see U
operations with similar organisations. Harmonisation is bibliography for a full list of standards referred to in this
a pre-requisite to recognition and acceptance of NDT paper). R
personnel qualification and certification.
ISO/IEC 17024 evolved from European standard EN
E
Accreditation provides the essential evidence that 45013 (now withdrawn), which was one of the many
certification bodies are delivering qualification and conformity assessment standards drafted and published in
certification in compliance with standards. support of the Treaty of Rome which set out requirements A
in support of the ideal for freedom of movement of goods, R
Qualification, certification and accreditation – together services and personnel within the European Economic
– provide a degree of confidence in the competence of Community. T
personnel, but this is only true at the time of issue of a
certificate; Thereafter the employer, who is ultimately These referenced standards do have a harmonising
I
responsible for the work carried out by employees, has effect, but quality and consistency – and equivalence of C
a key role in ensuring the competence of NDT personnel qualification and certification -- is not assured by simple
through on-the-job training and monitoring. compliance with the specified minimum requirements, L
particularly in the following areas: E
There is a chain of quality which binds these elements • management & governance
– qualification, certification and accreditation – together • acuity of vision tests
to provide for on-going confidence in competence, and • training
failure of any link in this quality chain can lead to systemic • experience
failure, the consequences of which could be significant. • written and practical examination content
The following paragraphs represent the author’s view of • accreditation
where actual and potential problems within the quality
chain exist, and what might be done in mitigation. Is there a solution?
Great improvements are being made, but the solution to
Standardisation the problem of standards representing the lowest common
EN 473 [1] and ISO 9712 [2] include a normative denominator amongst the participating ISO members is
requirement for compliance of the personnel certification a difficult one. The author considers that to overcome
body with ISO/IEC 17024 [3] and, at the time of writing, these perceived inadequacies it would be necessary
all three of these standards are undergoing revision with a for NDT Personnel Certification Bodies (PCB) and their
view to publication of new editions in 2012. EN 473:2008 stakeholders to form an association, draft and agree a

Keywords: qualification, certification, accreditation, training, non-destructive testing (NDT)

www.cinde.ca CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 5

 Page 38
‘private standard’ or normative specification with a great
deal more detail in it to ensure near total harmonisation,
and apply it within the closed group.
An Association of NDT Personnel Certification Bodies
(ANPCB) would satisfy the harmonisation and international
recognition needs of personnel certification schemes, and
could offer peer assessment against the criteria of regional
and international standards and, for those that satisfied
the published criteria, offer registration under a global
Multilateral Recognition Agreement or MLA. Such an
Association should have a legal status and a responsible
administration, and be operated for the International NDT
community as a whole.
Among the benefits of such a system are that the
competence of personnel certified under these
arrangements might be better assured, with the result
that cross border recognition and acceptance would
F also be improved. If such a private standard were to be
E drafted and published, it is considered that other PCB
might well perceive the benefits and subsequently join the
A association and apply the private standard themselves.
T Might this private standard subsequently be considered for
U adoption during the next revision of EN ISO 9712?
R Accreditation
E Globalisation of manufacturing and trade relies upon
the recognition and acceptance of certification to ensure
freedom of movement of goods (raw materials, products
A and fabrications) and personnel. The most important factor
in ensuring recognition and acceptance of qualification
R and certification of NDT personnel is accreditation, yet the
various national accreditation systems are presently failing
T to deliver. But why?
I ICNDT MRA;
In Europe the national accreditation bodies (there is an
C European Union (EU) regulation that limits accreditation
L bodies to one per state) are members of an ‘umbrella’
association known as the European Accreditation of
E Certification (EAC). The primary purpose of EAC is to
ensure the harmonisation or assessment and accreditation
systems operated in all EU Member States and this is
achieved by peer review in accordance with ISO/IEC
17040:2003 [4], which underpins a multilateral agreement
(MLA) on recognition of accreditation of systems (ISO/IEC
17021) and personnel (ISO/IEC 17024). If an accreditation
body (AB) in one state is conducting its assessments in
a dissimilar manner to ABs in other states, this would
indicate the failure of such an MLA.
In the wider global arrangements for accreditation there
is a similar body known as the International Accreditation
Forum (IAF). The IAF has similar objectives, and it does
have an MLA covering the accreditation of ISO/IEC 17021
(management systems) Conformity Assessment Bodies
(CAB), but at the time of writing there is no IAF MLA for
ISO/IEC 17024 CABs. The wide variation in the national
CAB assessment accreditation systems at the global
6 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
level is perceived as failing to achieve the cross border
recognition and acceptance upon which we rely. Is there
a solution?
Recognising the necessity for international recognition
and acceptance of NDT personnel qualification and
certification issued by Personnel Certification Bodies
(PCB), and acknowledging the failure of accreditation to
secure that recognition and acceptance, the International
Committee for NDT (ICNDT) has developed a global
multilateral recognition agreement (MRA) and a system
for peer review in accordance with ISO/IEC 17040 : 2003
and ICNDT approval of NDT PCBs, which it is envisaged
will be formally launched during 2012 (perhaps at the 18th
World conference on NDT in Durban, South Africa).
ICNDT MRA
The work of developing the ICNDT Multilateral Recognition
Agreement (MRA), which is to be based upon compliance
with ISO 9712, was entrusted to the ICNDT WG on
Qualification, Certification and Accreditation (WG1).
The objectives of this ICNDT MRA are to harmonise
and achieve widespread recognition of NDT personnel
certification issued by the Personnel Certification Bodies
(PCB) registered under the ICNDT MRA.
The signatories to the ICNDT MRA are the full and
associate members of the ICNDT that choose to support
the agreement. Signatories are not, of necessity, owners
or operators of NDT personnel certification schemes.
Each Party that is signatory to the ICNDT MRA will
undertake to:
• pursue the objectives of the ICNDT MRA;
• promote the recognition and acceptance of the
certification issued by PCB registered under the
• assist other interested parties by giving a clear
overview of the NDT personnel certification activities
in its own country;
• provide other parties with non-confidential information
on the certification scheme(s) operated by PCB
registered under this ICNDT MRA, and
• consult with and seek membership of the scheme
committees and technical committees of NDT PCB
in its own country.
• To gain registration under the ICNDT MRA, PCB
shall:
• be proposed for registration by a signatory to the
ICNDT MRA, and
• be in compliance with ISO 9712, and
be accredited by a body recognised by the ICNDT*1,
or assessed and approved by the ICNDT,
• sign an undertaking to comply with the ICNDT Code
of Practice (CoP) for NDT PCB.
*1 To be ‘recognised’ by ICNDT for the propose of
administering the ICNDT MRA, ABs would have to
participate in an MLA for accreditation of ISO/IEC
17024 CABs, and/or might use support assessors or
qualified and certified NDT ‘experts’ listed on a register
www.cinde.ca
 Page 39
administered by ICNDT.
Those ICNDT members that sign the MRA and have
thereby agreed to recognise and promote acceptance in
their own country those certificates issued by the PCB
registered by ICNDT in accordance with the Agreement
will be listed in a document published at www.icndt.org.
The PCB which have been accepted for registration by
the ICNDT under the MRA, and thus are recognised by
all of the signatories to the Agreement, will be listed and
published at www.icndt.org.
ICNDT assessment and approval
Representatives of the members of the International
Committee for Non-Destructive Testing (ICNDT) have
recognised the need for a system for approval of NDT
Personnel Certification Bodies (PCB) as a complement
or alternative to accreditation. The need for such a
system arises from the proposed ICNDT agreement on
recognition of NDT personnel certification.
The work of developing the proposed system, which
is to be based upon compliance with ISO 9712, was
entrusted to ICNDT WG1 for Qualification, Certification
and Accreditation.
The ICNDT approval system is intended solely to facilitate
participation in the ICNDT MRA by those Personnel
Certification Bodies (PCB) that are unable to utilise
national accreditation or, for other reasons, prefer to seek
approval by ICNDT of their certification scheme.
To gain approval under the ICNDT system, the applicant
PCB shall:
• make formal application to ICNDT for assessment registered or have applied for registration in compliance
against specified criteria, e.g., ISO/IEC 17024 and
EN ISO 9712,
• undergo assessment by an ICNDT appointed team 1. The ICNDT will give no guarantee regarding the
of qualified assessors to demonstrate compliance
with the applicable criteria.
Approval is awarded by ICNDT following a final review of
the application and assessment reports and is valid for
a period of three years from the date of issue. Approval
is renewed following a further full assessment. Once
approved by the ICNDT, PCB are obliged to comply with
the ICNDT CoP for PCB.
Question banks
As has been indicated earlier in this paper, there are
numerous areas where standards fail to deliver the
required harmonisation at the technical level, and one
of the main deficiencies is the lack of an internationally
recognised bank of multiple choice examination questions,
each of which is validated against an agreed body of
knowledge that itself addresses an agreed syllabus.
This deficiency is probably the most difficult to solve,
but it is also probably the one where the potential for
www.cinde.ca
improving recognition and acceptance of certification is
greatest. If we continue to ‘bury our heads in the sand’
like the proverbial ostrich, we are failing our industry and
stakeholders.
Some years ago the European Federation for NDT
(EFNDT) put together a collection of ~8,000 examination
questions and a database application to manage the
question bank and compile question papers. The work on
this resource was embarked upon to support a concept
known as the European certification programme (or ECP),
which represented an attempt to implement a ‘private
standard’ such as that mentioned earlier in this paper. The
project was shelved after some three or four years of work,
and only the question bank remained as evidence of the
vast amount of work that was undertaken.
For around five years this resource has been available
to participants in the EFNDT MRA at a cost of €7,500.00.
The EFNDT and the participants in the ECP project have
F
now agreed that this resource can be made available for E
a nominal charge to participants in the ICNDT MRA. The
ICNDT has decided that it will not at this time embark upon A
a project to maintain or extend this valuable resource, but
it describes the conditions for purchase and use in a draft
T
document as follows: U
The bank provides questions which shall be taken as
R
examples for examination questions. Aim of the question E
bank is to support member organisations which are in the
process to develop a certification scheme and foundation
of a certifying body. A
The question bank is available only to those member R
organisations and/or certification bodies that are currently
T
with the ICNDT Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MRA) I
and agree to the following procedure.
C
suitability of the questions or operating software.
2.ICNDT will not provide any after-sales support for
L
the operating software or question bank. E
3.The question bank is not available for preview to
prospective purchasers.
4.A cover charge (amount to be decided) is payable
prior to release of the question bank and associated
software.
5.The content of the question bank shall be taken
as examples, but strict confidentiality is required to
protect those CBs that decide to use the questions
in qualification examinations.
6.Only personnel authorised by the purchasing
organisation shall have unrestricted access to the
question bank software and database.
7.Questions shall not be further distributed by the
purchasing organisation.
8.Failure to abide by the conditions of use shall result
in cancellation of registration of the purchasing
organisation or refusal of application for registration
under the ICNDT MRA.
CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011 7
 Page 40
The application form to purchase and use of the examination
question bank shall be signed by a senior representative
of the purchasing organisation, agreeing to the conditions
stipulated above.
Maybe this resource will, in time, be developed and
expanded for the global NDT community?
Best Practice
It is a sad fact that, no matter how well trained or how
thoroughly assessed, the competence of personnel – in
any field – will deteriorate unless effective measures are
taken to maintain their skills and knowledge. How can this
be countered?
Once qualified and certified in accordance with a relevant
standard or code, employers of NDT personnel should
adopt ‘best practice’ in the application of NDT. Each of the
following should be considered:
F • Use 3rd party qualified and certified personnel
E where possible, but supplement this with job-specific
qualifications
A • Provide representative test pieces containing typical
T discontinuities and geometry for operator practice
(to give confidence, as well as to confirm correct test
U setup)
• Audit operator performance through random repeat times set out to develop systems that will enhance the
R inspections and regular supervision
E • Regularly review procedures and instructions for
continued appropriateness
• Ensure that the NDT vendor is not encouraged to risk continue exist, and make every effort to identify solutions,
A safety and quality for speed
• The remuneration of all those involved in inspection problems.
R activities should not depend on the number of
inspections carried out in a given time
T • Make use of laboratory accreditation systems
I • Qualify inspection systems where appropriate
C Qualification
L The qualification and certification standards [1 and
2] require that personnel are assessed for practical
E competence through an impartial practical qualification
examination initially and at 10 year intervals thereafter. What
confidence does this provide in on-going competence?
Not many people would be satisfied if individuals carrying
out tests that could affect their very survival last had their
competence reconfirmed 9 years previously. And NDT
is so often the last defence against failure of critically
important products.
So, are we satisfied with a 10 year recertification cycle? If
not, what should we consider doing about it? We could of
course agree to delete the 5 year ‘renewal’ from references
1 and 2 and implement recertification at 5 yearly intervals,
but that would still leave many of us feeling uneasy about
the lack of assurance of on-going competence.
8 CINDE Journal t Vol.32 t No.6 t November/December 2011
This problem has already been solved by qualification
of safety critical tests in the nuclear sector (by European
Nuclear Inspection Qualification – or ENIQ), but in the
non-nuclear sectors in Europe where NDT equipment,
procedures and personnel are qualified in accordance
with CEN/TR 14728:2003 (Methodology for qualification
of non-destructive tests [5]) and are thereafter regularly
monitored in the workplace.
However, the ENIQ and CEN/TR 14728:2003 qualification
methodologies are complex and expensive to implement,
but the ISO TS 11774 (Non-destructive testing –
Performance based qualification [6]) option is relatively
simple and does require at least annual requalification of
NDT personnel.
Conclusions
We in the NDT field possibly have the most tested
and controlled workforce of any industry, and this is
indicative of the importance that is placed upon personnel
competence where the consequences of failure are often
unimaginable and always unacceptable.
We have made great strides in terms of standardising out
qualification and certification systems – and continue to do
so. And the ICNDT and its regional groups have in recent
application standards for personnel competence.
Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that problems
whilst accepting that solutions often generate further
References
1. EN 473 : 2008 – Qualification and certification of NDT
personnel – General principles
2. ISO 9712 : 2005 – Qualification and certification of NDT
personnel – General principles
3. ISO/IEC 17024 : 2003 -- Conformity Assessment –
General requirements for bodies operating certification
of persons
4.ISO/IEC 17040 : 2003 -- Conformity assessment -
General requirements for peer assessment of conformity
assessment bodies and accreditation bodies
5. CEN/TR 14728: 2003 – Methodology for qualification of
non-destructive tests
6. ISO/TS 11774: 2011 -- Non-destructive testing –
Performance based qualification
g h
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