A couple of years ago, ASNT published a series of articles in Materials Evaluation relating to employer-based certification programs (specifically Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A). They covered some of the challenges facing the industry relating to the correct interpretation/understanding of employer-based programs, but they also clarified expectations relating to the content of certificates issued by the employer.
Because this topic is still important, we are addressing it again here.
ASNT Certificate Compared to SNT-TC-1A-Based Certificate
One item that continues to cause confusion is the difference between a person who holds an ASNT certificate as opposed to someone holding an SNT-TC-1A-based certificate.
An ASNT certificate is a third-party central certification program (similar to ACCP) in that only ASNT can issue ASNT or ACCP certificates. ASNT, through the Certification Management Council (CMC), develops and maintains these programs in accordance with ASNT’s ISO 17024: Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons accreditation granted by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).
SNT-TC-1A-based certificates are employer-based certification programs for which ASNT does not hold the responsibility for certification. This is the responsibility of the employer. An employer, when required by the customer to meet SNT-TC-1A, will develop a written practice (procedure) that addresses how the employer will train, qualify, and certify NDT personnel to perform the required functions. While SNT-TC-1A contains many references to “should,” the employer is responsible for addressing specific needs, and so in the employer’s written practice any “should” references are replaced by the word “shall.” The employer and the employer’s Level III will approve the written practice and implement it into the employer’s quality system as a mandatory requirement for all to follow.
The Written Practice
From an SNT-TC-1A-based certification standpoint, for an individual to perform NDT to Level I, II, or III, it is necessary to be certified by their employer in accordance with the employer’s written practice. This is generally understood by all involved in NDT, but are you familiar with the written practice that your company uses? Have you read it? Do you know where it is located if you wanted to look up the requirements? If the answer is “No” to any of these questions, ask your employer or Level III to show you the procedure which spells out how to become a certified NDT Technician to your employer’s written practice. In general, the employer’s written practice will be similar in format to SNT-TC-1A, except that “should” becomes “shall” and will contain employer-specific requirements.
While you may not need to read the written practice on a regular basis, as a technician it is important to have an appreciation of the requirements. If you are planning to pursue a career in NDT, it makes a lot of sense to begin to understand the requirements now and not later. If there is something you do not understand about certification, speak with your employer or Level III.
The Certificate
Most people are familiar with the content of an NDT certificate, but it is not always clearly understood who is responsible for issuing one. Over the last few years, ASNT has seen many different types of documents that are being used as certificates. In a number of cases, those “certificates” are actually just evidence of completion of a training course and examination results. The following are two examples of certificates that were submitted to ASNT.
Example 1
Figure 1 is a wallet card that a company issued to demonstrate an individual is certified to SNT-TC-1A. From the use of the ASNT logo and the number of times ASNT is mentioned, it may be misinterpreted that this wallet card was issued by ASNT (that was the query the International Service Center received). Those familiar with ASNT wallet cards will know that is not the case; however, there are many people who won’t know.
First, it is illegal to use the ASNT logo unless specifically authorized by ASNT. Second, employer-based certification programs are not ASNT certifications, therefore there is no basis for using the ASNT logo. In no case shall a certificate issued by an employer carry the ASNT logo.
Example 2
Figure 2 is a document that was issued by a training agency but is being misrepresented as a certificate to perform NDT. At best this could be declared evidence of obtaining a qualification in NDT through a training class and by passing a nondescript series of examinations; however, some aspects need further identifying.
“NDE Certification as per American Society for Nondestructive Testing”
- What does this mean? Employer-based certifications are only to an employer’s written practice.
- Why is SNT-TC-1A referenced when it is not possible to certify directly to SNT-TC-1A?
- Why is there no reference to the employer’s written practice?
“Self-Sponsor”
- What is a self-sponsor in the context of this example? A company owner, an independent contracting inspector, or something similar? If you are an owner of a company, an independent contractor, or both, and need to be certified to an SNT-TC-1A-based program, then a written practice is still necessary, and it still needs to be approved by the employer and the Level III. Self-sponsor is not the correct terminology.
Recertification
- Why is a training agency recertifying an individual to SNT-TC-1A 2006 and not to the employer’s written practice?
- “Based on experience and continuous performance reviewed up to…” This stamp has been used on two occasions (slightly different wording each time) to record a recertification (2013 and 2018) to SNT-TC-1A 2006. Is 2006 the requirement, or should 2011, 2016, or even 2020 apply? Note: this will be dependent on the requirements of the customer.
- How can a training organization or outside agency confirm that the individual has continued satisfactory performance since they are not part of the individual’s supervisory structure for their employer?
- Why is the employer not involved in this process? Is the person still a self-sponsored individual even after initial certification and two recertifications issued by the training agency?
Interpretations
On occasion when reading specifications and standards, it is necessary to obtain clarification or an interpretation of a requirement. Did you know ASNT has a process for obtaining interpretations to SNT-TC-1A? At the end of the SNT-TC-1A document, there is a page that contains the template for obtaining clarifications (Figure 3).
Simply copy the page, complete it, and send it to ASNT. Consider that ASNT can only provide interpretations and not consultation in terms of whether a requirement is being met or not.
ASNT also publishes Interpreting SNT-TC-1A (Figure 4) annually. This book can provide clarification to some of the most common types of interpretations requested since 1976. Even some of the older interpretations still stand the test of time and can prove very useful!
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This article originally appeared in The NDT Technician, Vol. 17, No. 4. Written by James Bennett, ASNT director of standards & accreditation; email jbennett@asnt.org.