ASNT, the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, is the professional organization that specializes in nondestructive testing. They developed a recommended practice for the qualification and certification of NDE personnel back in the 1970's. At the time, the idea of certification was new, up to that time, the employer trained their employees and put them to work when the work accrued the necessary experience working with a more experienced person. It was on-the-job training.
In order to introduce the new program that formalized the process of training NDE personnel without ruffling too many feathers, the recommendations included in their recommended practice, SNT-TC-1A, set the standards fairly low and allowed the employer to modify the recommendations to suit their needs. The Level III was primarily an administrative roll. The position included the responsibilities of ensuring the personnel performing the NDT were properly trained, experienced, and certified. Many Level III’s were certified by anointment to allow them fulfill their administrative responsibilities.
The employer described their qualification and certification program in a document called a written practice. In addition to declaring how the Level III became certified, it described the process by which the Level I and Level II were trained, the work experience required, and how the individual was certified, certifications were revoked, renewed, etc. All of the details were left to the employer and the certification issued was valid for only as long as the certified individual was employed by that employer.
Recognizing the weakness of SNT-TC-1A, ASNT developed CP-189 which reads much like SNT-TC-1A except the recommendations became minimum requirements and the Level III is required to be certified by ASNT. Most employers still comply with SNT-TC-1A for a number of convenient reason.
Europe started certifying NDE personnel on a national level through government agencies. They recognized five industry sectors which required separate certification as a Level I, Level II, and Level III. To stay competitive, ASNT initiated their ACCP, a central certification program, for Level II and Level III certification. Under the auspices of ACCP, the Level II and Level III certifications are issued by ASNT and are “transportable” provided the employer’s written practice recognized ACCP certification. For several years the Europeans recognized the ACCP certification, but recently ruled that since ASNT is not a government agency, they no longer recognize ACCP. At least, that is my understanding of the current situation.
The most widely recognized governing document is SNT-TC-1A. Until the paying customer demands certification to CP-189, it will be a distant cousin to SNT-TC-1A. At one point in time, I held five ACCP Level III certifications. In thirty years I had one, one day job that required certification by ASNT to their ACCP. Needless to say, when it came to renewing my ACCP I declined and maintain certification to SNT-TC-1A as required by my customers.
In answer to your question, since most employers are still working to SNT-TC-1A, you will be required to be certified to the requirements of their written practice. Most than likely, they will recognize prior training and relevant experience, but they will most likely require you to pass their written examinations.
The military has their own standards relating to the qualification and certification of NDE personnel. ASME has started their own qualification and certification program. AWS has also initiated their NDE endorsement intended to make the inspector’s certifications more “transportable” from one employer to another. Whether the various codes will buy into the program is another question. Time will tell.
Good luck – Al
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