All welds require a written WPS.

Consider AWS D1.1-2010, clause 5.5, last sentence; "All welders, welding operators, and tack welders shall be informed in the proper use of the WPS, and the applicable WPS shall be followed during the performance of welding."

There are situations where a prequalified WPS can be developed by following the stipulations of clause 3. When the production requirements fall outside the conditions set forth in clause 3, the WPS must be qualified by testing as per the requirements of clause 4.

I didn't address part of your original question in my first response. NDT procedures are typically developed by a Level III (working with the design engineer where possible). The Level III must sign off on all NDT procedures. There are a couple of certification schemas that are recognized for qualifying and certifying Level IIIs for the commercial sector. The lowest on the hierarchy is qualification and certification by the employer following the recommendations provided by SNT-TC-1A published by the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). Next is qualification and certification by the employer to CP-189 also published by ASNT. In the case of CP-189 the Level III in charge of the employer's program must be certified by ASNT. The last schema is the ASNT's ACCP program that provides central certification for both Level II and Level III personnel.

In my opinion certification in accordance with ASNT's ACCP program is the most desirable for individuals offering their services to the public. The program offers third party central certification for the professional NDT Level III that is free of employer bias.

When I took my ACCP Level III examination about 1/3 of those in attendance were foreign nationals. That being the case, I would expect there are ASNT ACCP Professional NDT Level III around the globe that can offer their services if you are seeking help to develop NDT procedures or if you are developing a qualification/certification program for your employer.

Best regards - Al