An inspection holds if three distinct things hold: the competence of the person performing it, the validity of the instrument used to perform it and the management system of the organisation issuing it.
- ✓ EN ISO 9712: third-party certification of NDT personnel
- ✓ EN 4179 and NADCAP: the specific path of the aerospace sector
- ✓ Metrological traceability: what it really means on the certificate
- ✓ ISO 9001, EN 9100 and IATF 16949: the management system standards, by sector
The first level concerns people. EN ISO 9712 specifies the requirements for the qualification and certification of personnel performing industrial non-destructive testing, including ultrasonic testing. It defines three levels of qualification, and certification is always specific to the method and to the industrial or product sector: there is no such thing as a generic NDT certificate.
In the aerospace sector a distinct path operates. EN 4179 establishes the minimum requirements for the qualification and approval of personnel performing non-destructive testing in production, service, maintenance and overhaul; the FAA affirms its technical equivalence to NAS 410, and personnel qualification requirements are among the elements verified in NADCAP programme audits.
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The second level concerns the instrument, and revolves around the concept of metrological traceability: the property whereby a measurement result can be related to a reference through a documented and unbroken chain of calibrations, each with its own uncertainty. It is a subject that deserves precision, because the phrase “NIST traceable” is often used more loosely than NIST itself allows.
The references in this section
| Reference | What it concerns |
|---|---|
| EN ISO 9712 | Qualification and certification of NDT personnel, three levels |
| EN 4179 and NADCAP | Qualification of personnel in the aerospace sector |
| NIST traceability and MIL-STD-45662A | What a calibration certificate declares |
| ISO 9001, EN 9100, IATF 16949 | The quality management system standards |
Three certifications that do not replace one another
It is worth keeping the three objects separate. An EN ISO 9712 certification concerns a person; a calibration certificate concerns an instrument and a measurement result; an ISO 9001, EN 9100 or IATF 16949 certification concerns the management system of an organisation. None of the three replaces the others.
In a tender or an audit all three are typically requested, each from a different party. For the part that concerns us, the instrument calibration service is described on the Calibration and adjustment page.
Frequently asked questions
No. ISO 9001 certifies the organisation’s management system, not the competence of the people nor the validity of the instruments. The qualification of NDT personnel follows EN ISO 9712 or, in the aerospace field, EN 4179.
No. Under EN ISO 9712, certification is specific to the testing method and to the industrial or product sector: a certificate for ultrasonic testing in one sector does not automatically cover other methods or other sectors.
That the result can be related to a reference through a documented and unbroken chain of calibrations, each of which contributes to the measurement uncertainty. Traceability is a property of the result, not a badge on the instrument.
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