NDT Ethics: Rewriting Your Written Practice According to Your Needs

Editor’s note: This NDT Ethics case study, written by Greg Weaver, is published in conjunction with the June 2022 issue?of?Materials Evaluation.?Published quarterly, each NDT Ethics column will present a case study and invite readers to respond here on?ASNT Pulse?with their comments. Readers are also invited to email column editor Toni Bailey with their own ethical scenarios, which may be featured in future columns.?

_______

This month we discuss an ethics situation regarding the development of a company’s written practice that did not meet the intent of?Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A?or customer requirements. We are using an example of unethical behavior by a company regarding the?qualification and certification of nondestructive testing (NDT) personnel. SNT-TC-1A, and other standards, are designed with a simple framework for ease of implementation for the NDT method and all certification levels. Customary practice is that an employer’s written practice should, at a minimum, mimic or even exceed the intent of SNT-TC-1A or other standards required by the customer.??

No matter which qualification for certification document is selected for use by the employer (SNT-TC-1A, ANSI/ASNT CP-189, NAS 410, ISO 9712, or EN4179), the intent is well defined for formal training and experience for all certification levels. The different standards do have minor differences, but in general, the levels go in sequence beginning with limited levels through Level I, Level II, and finally Level III. Per SNT-TC-1A, there is also a path to obtain?Level III certification?by working in a position comparable to Level II, but in those cases, the full formal training and experience requirements of Level II are required. The approach to reaching Level III is clear in all the previously mentioned documents.

Continue this article on ASNT Pulse to read this scenario where a company modified its written practice to allow for a Level I to obtain certification directly to Level III without meeting initial Level II qualification requirements and comment to join the conversation. Subscribe to the ASNT Pulse blog?today, so you don't miss out on more content like this.