Applicable standard: ISO 9712: 2005

It has been noted in recent NDT certification applications that some individuals are verifying either their own industrial experience record or the continued satisfactory work activity record required by ISO 9712:2005. This is not acceptable to the certification body and applications where this occurs will be rejected.

The certification requirements of this standard and those of SAIW Certification/SAQCC-NDT are shown below.

All documents submitted in support of an application for initial certification, renewal or re-certification must either be original or legible copies of the original. The employer and the applicant must confirm the validity of all personal documents provided by the applicant to the certification body. This information will include the declaration of education, training and industrial experience/work activity needed to determine the eligibility of the applicant.

The required work activity/industrial experience must be supervised and verified by the supervisor/employer. The supervisor/employer is required to print his/her name on the records as well as signing the records. If the applicant is self employed, the declaration of education, training and experience must be verified by one or more independent parties.

These documents cannot be self verified in the case of self employed non-destructive testing technicians.

Requirements for initial certification as non-destructive personnel

Initial certification requirements are as follows:

• The candidate must complete the application form appropriate to the non-destructive testing method and level for which certification is sought.
• The candidate must have passed the relevant SAIW Certification qualification examination.
• The candidate must submit a record of the industrial experience requirements in accordance with ISO 9712:2005, signed by his employer. The industrial experience in months is based on a nominal forty hour week or the legal week of work and an average of twenty-two working days in the month. When an individual is working in excess of forty hours per week or more than twenty two days in the month, he/she may be credited with experience based on the total hours but he/she will be required to produce verified evidence of this experience. Experience must be supervised and also verified by the supervisor or manager in the organisation.
• The candidate shall provide evidence of having undergone the minimum required SAQCC-NDT training hours from a training body acceptable to the certification body, for the certification category sought.The candidate shall have a verified record of satisfactory visual acuity issued in the preceding twelve months. A legible copy of candidate identification.

Requirements for five-year renewal:

• The candidate shall have a verified record of satisfactory visual acuity issued in the preceding twelve months.
• A verified record of continued satisfactory work activity, relevant to the certification, covering the period of validity of the certificate, without significant interruption. Self verification of satisfactory work activity will not be acceptable for renewal of certification.
• A significant interruption is defined in ISO 9712:2005 as “an absence or change of activity which prevents the certified individual from practising the duties corresponding to the level in the method and sector(s) within the certified scope, for either a continuous period in excess of one year or two or more periods for a total time exceeding two years”.
• A copy of the certificate for which the candidate is seeking renewal.
• A legible copy of candidate identification.

The above documents shall be attached to the appropriate application form and forwarded to the SCERT Administration Controller – Certification.

Requirements for ten year re-certification:

• The candidate shall have a verified record of satisfactory visual acuity issued in the preceding twelve months.
• A copy of the certificate for which the candidate is seeking recertification.
• A legible copy of candidate identification.
• The candidate shall have passed the re-certification examination.

The above requirements shall be attached to the application form and forwarded to the SCERT Administration Controller – Certification. The recertification examination comprises a full practical examination in which the candidate will be required to obtain a pass mark of 70% for each specimen tested.

Note: No extension will be granted for certification. Recertification should be applied for at least three months prior to expiry.

Award certificates

Upon satisfactory completion of the assessment process, a certificate will be prepared for signature by the scheme committee chairperson and the certified person. The certified person will be required to sign a Code of Ethics, a copy of which will be retained as part of SCERT records

Contact John McLeish at SAIW for more information.