There are two guarantees in life that everyone talks about—death and taxes. I'd like to add a third: certification documentation requirements will continue to grow. If you've worked in NDT for any length of time, you've probably noticed that audits have evolved over the years. What was acceptable ten years ago may not even pass an internal review today. That's especially...
Over the years, I've often said that technical competence is only half of what makes a great NDT professional. The other half is something that no certification exam can truly measure: ethics. In nondestructive testing, our decisions matter. Missing a crack in a forged turbine disk, overlooking a defect in a fuel valve during radiographic inspection, or improperly performing an eddy current...
A Small Oversight with a Big Impact Most Responsible Level 3s don't lose sleep worrying about catastrophic failures. More often, we worry about the little things, because in NDT, the little things have a way of becoming big things. Consider a realistic example. An internal audit is underway, and the auditor pulls an NDT inspector's certification record. At first,...
The Conversation No Level 3 Wants to Have Most Level 3s know the fear of discovering that an inspector’s certification expired on the last day of the month, only for that inspector to begin work first thing the next morning. All work performed may be considered invalid. If those parts ship to the customer (or worse, are already in use) you may...
After spending decades in aerospace NDT, I can tell you this with complete confidence: Audits are not about what you know. They’re about what you can prove. I’ve worked with companies of all sizes—OEMs, primes, and independent labs—and the same issue comes up repeatedly. It’s not that inspectors aren’t qualified. It’s that organizations can’t prove they are qualified when...
The Challenge I Faced Managing NDT Certification Records Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time managing NDT certification programs and supporting organizations through NADCAP audits. One thing became clear very early on: maintaining control of certification records and ensuring proper validation of competency is one of the most difficult responsibilities for a Responsible Level 3. Certification records...
