In Memory

the

The Official
Journal of theInternational
Committee for
Non-Destructive
Testing

ICNDTjournalNovember 1999 – Issue n. 4

The world Organisation for NDT

Crossing into the new Century

of Prof. Schnitzger
The NDT Community is astonished. It
has lost a strong support in the passing
away of Dr. Schnitzger, President of
DGZfP. We will feel his loss greatly.
His enthusiasm in leading the European Federation of NDT has been an
example to us all.
Even as recently as the Fall Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, (a week
before his death), he was working on
the foundations of new projects to berealized in the 21st Century.
We thank you Dr. Schnitzger for all
you've done for us and for the kindness you extended to the people
around you. In the depth of ourprayer we are with you as you enter
your new life. We bid you farewell as
we try to come to terms with your absence. From all your good friends in
ICNDT.
ICNDT

Attending the 15th WCNDT Roma 2000!
A Vision of NDTin the New Millennium*
by Dr. J.M. Farley
Dr. J.M. Farley*Paper presented at 7th ChSNDT Conference on NDTLooking to the future – the politicaland economic environment
Looking to the future it is important
to stand back and examine the changing
political and economic environment inwhich NDT is executed, worldwide.
Globalisation of world trade is extremely important for NDT. Increasing
numbers of projects and products are
multinational. Power stations, petrochemical plants, aircraft are designed in
one country and built in others withequipment and raw materials procured
around the world. To execute major
projects led from one country, it is frequently necessary to employ ex-patriate
labour from other countries, including
NDT personnel. Companies tendering
for and executing major projects need
to be able to call up standards and local
certificated personnel and organisations
to execute NDT reliably to order.
At the same time, in many developed countries, the companies responsible for major projects and for operating
plant are reducing their own staff andtheir specialist resources in response tocompetitive pressures. They do not have the people with the detailed knowledge of the complexities of NDT tojudge if it will be executed correctly.
They increasingly must depend on
standardisation and certification and on
the suppliers of equipment and services.
Within the European Union, national governments and European policymakers are committed to freedom of
movement of goods, services and labour. This impacts on certification of
products and of NDT personnel. Critical decisions are being taken at European level. For example, European Directives incorporate Essential Safety
Requirements and these are addressing
NDT. How NDT is executed and bywhom will be specified at a European
level and national governments will have to comply.

ICNDT

Looking to the future – technicalenvironment
The importance and technical complexity of NDT is growing.
(I) Where new materials or new design methods are introduced NDT isimportant to monitor performance inservice. Design margins are being reduced to take advantage of developments
in materials and in design methodologies, and also are subject to the pressures of competition.
(II) Life extension of major capital

ICNDT Pubblication
Editor:ICNDTManaging Director: G. Nardoni
Issued:Quarterly
Printed copies:
10000
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10$
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E-mail: ipnd@numerica.it

Looking to the future – environmental and safety
People worldwide are increasingly
conscious of the need to protect the environment. This is not purely a concern
in the Western world but increasingly
important in the developing world too.
Environmental disasters do not respectnational boundaries as evidenced by
global warming and nuclear fall-out.

plant such as power plant (nuclear andcoventional), oil platforms, petrochemical plant and of ageing aircraft is increasingly important and dependent onhighly reliable NDT. This is well understood in the aerospace industry andreflected in US (FAA) and UK/European (JAA) requirements.
(III) Increasingly NDT solutions rely
on complex computer controlled equipment and technology which are outside
the scope of the training syllabi of traditional NDT courses and not checked/measured by existing Certification Systems. Thissituation can only “worsen” as technological development continues.
Roles of Certification and Standardisation
Certification and standardisation have important roles within the infrastructure which has grown up to assist in theachievement of quality and are alreadythe prime focus of activity in ISO,ICNDT etc. Quality in execution of

Figure 1: NDT Quality Infrastructure
PROCEDURES

TechniqueStandards

EQUIPMENT

Equipment
Standards

Validation/
Performance
Demonstration/
Qualification

Surveillance/ Audit

Quality
Systems
Certification

2000: a hopeof Peace2000! a new century characterised by adetermination to establish an era of peace. The world press is unanimous in its
expression of the hopes of each of us, toleave the centuries of wars that have plagued our world.
We address our invocation to God and we
ask his help in making our Hope, reality.
The first step necessary to take towards
building this peace is to promote friendships.
The NDT Community with its extraordinary activity throughout the world has
made substantial contributions to forging
friendships across the globe.
As ICNDT President, I would like forthe season and the coming 2000 to takethis opportunity to thank you all for youroutstanding efforts. Thank you all foryour untiring dedication to this noble
cause and for your willingness to enlarge
the bonds of friendship on which ourcommunity exists.
I wish you and your families joy and peace.
Giuseppe Nardoni

PERSONNEL
AND TRAINING
CERTIFICATION

StandardsforQualification
andCertificationof Personnel

HUMAN
FACTORSNDT Activities

e.g.

Technical
Justification
and Practical
Trials (Open orBlind)

ISO9001
EN29001
and/or
EN45001(automated
NDT only)
Standards(ISO,
European,National)

Validation
Bodies(e.g.
IVC, PDI,JAPEIC)NDT has an important role in the protection of the environment and the safety of people living close to plants (eg.
pipelines, petrochemical plants, power
stations, airports etc.).

Authorised
Inspection
BodiesCertification
BodiesNDT operations demands attention to aseries of interlinked aspects extending
from the underlying science, researchand development, procedures, standards,
equipment, personnel training and certification to the effects of human reliability
and the influence of auditing and surveillance and quality systems. These aspects
can be represented as links in a chain.
The chain will only be as strong as
its weakest link. Extra attention to one
link in the chain cannot compensate forlack of attention to another – just as astrong link in a chain cannot compensate for a weak link.
For example, personnel certification
as a measure of the capability of personnel to carry out NDT is a vital linkin the chain. Standards, procedures,

equipment controls, audits, surveillance
etc. cannot achieve quality if the practitioner carrying out the NDT is notadequately capable. The converse is also true. An NDT skills certificate will
not guarantee quality if the practitioner
is expected to use inadequate equipment, is demotivated or demoralised bybeing put under inordinate pressure oftime or by being asked to work in impossibly difficult conditions. Neither
will a personal certificate ensure quality
if the practitioner is asked to carry outtasks which are outside the scope of his
certificate without being given the guidance of job-specific training.
National and international standards for quality systems such as ISO
9001 require management to establish
quality systems to control all activities
which affect quality including NDT.
The quality system must address eachof the links in the NDT quality chain –to ensure that all the links are in place
and properly joined.
An NDT infrastructure (see Figure1) has gradually grown up which provides some of the building blocks withwhich NDT quality systems can be constructed. Here the heavy boxes represent
the “doing activities” that make up
NDT operations, Procedures, Equipment, Training and Certification, Human Factors, whilst the lighter boxes re-November 1999 – n. 4 — page 2
present the various measures designed
to achieve quality. Techniques, Equipment and Personnel certification are all
the subject of standardisation at National, European and International levels.
In Europe standardisation is rapidly
shifting from national to European level. As European Standards are published, the corresponding National Standards must be withdrawn. Through theVienna Agreement, European and International NDT standards will converge. The nuclear industry has introduced
the concept of Qualification (alsoknown as Validation or Performance
Demonstration) and this is now being
extended in various ways to other industries. Organisations executing NDT
can have their Quality Systems(ISO9001/2/3) and/or their personnel(EN45013/ISO97012/EN473) certified
by an accredited Certification Body andthe competence of their laboratories andsite operations can be accredited toEN45001. Inspection Bodies, themselves accredited to EN45004, oversee
operations in the wider context of theirown role. In the area of human factors it
is arguable that the present quality infrastructure is lacking. There is a needfor a code-of-practice on employment
conditions for NDT staff. It is necessary
to set down guidelines based on research and experience as to what are appropriate employment conditions andworking arrangements for personnel engaged in quality critical activities. Responsibility for the various elements of
the infrastructure rests with a variety oforganisations, none of which are wholly
devoted to NDT. These include organisations responsible for Standards,
Certification and Accreditation, each ofwhich concentrates on its own elementsof the infrastructure. None is concernedwith the complete quality chain.
Looking to the future – role of
ICNDT, NDT Societies, regionalgroupings of Societies
The complete quality chain must be
the concern of the NDT societies. In noother way can an NDT society seek tofulfil its aim to promote and advance thescience and practice of NDT. Given theinternational nature of the marketplace
for NDT it is clear that the traditional“learned society” approach of individual
national societies is not enough.

BELARUS

60th BIRTHDAY of
Prof. PROKHORENKO
September 19, 1999 is thesixtieth anniversary of awell-known scientist in thefield of nondestructive testing and technical diagnostics, a Corresponding
Member of the National
Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Doctorof Sciences (Technics), Professor, Director of the Institute of Applied Physics of
the NAS of Belarus Petr Petrovich
Prokhorenko.
Prof. P. Prokhorenko is the author of
more than 200 scientific treatises, including 7 monographies and 64 patents.
Theoretical principles of penetrant testing, being worked out under the leadership of Prof. P. Prokhorenko, became
well-known due to their presentations at
World and European Conferences on
NDT (London, 1987; Amsterdam, 1989;
San-Paolo, 1992; Nice, 1994; NewDelhi, 1996; Copenhagen, 1998). Main
results were presented in the monographs “Ultrasonic Capillary Effect”(1981), “Physical Basics and Means ofLiquid Penetrant Testing” (1983), “Introduction into Liquid Penetrant Testing
Theory” (1988), “Theoretical Principlesof Liquid Penetrant Testing” (1999).
The team headed by Prof. P.P. Prokhorenko has developed new methods to increase a sensitivity and productivity of

the ICNDT journal

Letters, Messages, Events joined with ICNDTNDT with the use of both ultrasonic andmagnetic fields and new technologicalmedia – magnetic fluid. These results have been described in the monographs“Hydrodynamics and Heat Transfer in
Gradient Flows of Microstructural
Fluids” (1984), “Acoustic Cavitation
Near Solid Surfaces” (1990), “Ultrasonic
Metallization” (1987).
CROATIAMATEST '99
The National Congressof the Croatian Society
for NDT was held in
September, 23-24, in
Cavtat, a quaint village
Prof. Vjera Krstelj
located near Dubrovnik
on the Adriatic sea.
The CrSNDT President Prof. Vjera
Krstelj, chaired the opening session. In
her key note address, she gave a warm
welcome to the more than 150 attendees coming mostly from Croatia but
also from Bosnia - Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovenia
and U.S.A. There was a short address
given by invited guests, the late Prof.
Dirk Schnitzger, on behalf of EFNDTand Mr. Sergio Ghia on behalf of
ICNDT.
The Technical programme covered
many aspects in the NDT field, including the application of both the more
typical NDT methods as well as somemore advanced techniques. The problem concerning land mine detection
was strongly stressed at the congress, as
it is particulaly pertinent to the Croatian situation where it presents an ongoing problem because of the highnumber of mines located there. There
were reports given on Croatia land mineremoving programme and on the EFNDTWorking Group for Antipersonnel Landmine Detection headed by Prof. Krstely.
At the conclusion of the Congress there was a gala dinner held in a warm andfriendly atmosphere.

tal number of participants exceeded 400.
There were 15 exhibition stands representing 52 NDT companies. In the evaluation
meeting after the symposium, all of the exhibitors and organizers
agreed that the event
Hakan Gur
was a great success.
There was also anagreement on the realisation of the 2nd
International NDT Symposium andExhibition in 2001 (probably in Istanbul) by the NDT Committee of the
Chamber of Metallurgical Engineers.
USA

ASNT- FALL CONFERENCE
With over 800 attendees,
hundred and fifty fromabroad, hundred andtwenty oral presentations,ninety exhibitors the
ASNT Conference held in
Phoenix, Arizona enjoyed
H. Sadek
tremendous success.
Numerous specialist meetings, seminars, panel discussions, professional
short courses, examination sessions for
personnel certification formed part ofthe impressive line-up of events which
took place over the four day conference, 11-14 October '99.
The 120 papers of the technical programme were delivered over 24 sessions
and divided into 4 main groups, namely:
1) General NDT technologies, 2) Emerging NDT technologies track, 3) Industrial track and, 4) Radiography track.
The Papers included many innovative
topics such as laser methods, transducer technology, computational techniques, filmless radiography, advanced
material and requirement for the future in aerospace and many other more
typical ones like technology transfer,training and safety etc...

TURKEYFIRST INTERNATIONALNDT SYMPOSIUM
by Hakan Gur

The 1th International NDT Symposium and Exhibition has been held by
NDT Committee of the Chamber ofMetallurgical Engineers in Ankara on
Sept.29 to Oct. 1.
44 papers (26 from Turkey, 18 fromother countries) were presented in 10
sessions. During the sessions there wassimultaneous translation (englishturkish-russian).
16 countries were represented (asauthors, delegates, companies and visitors) in this event including Azerbaijan,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark,England, France, Germany, Iran,
Israel, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden,
South Africa, Turkey and USA.
The President of EFNDT, Prof.Dr.
Dierk Schnitger (RIP), made a presentation on EFNDT in the opening session. Mr. Anatoliy Gurwich delivered aspeech in the technical session on
NDT in Russia.
In the panel session, the present situation of NDT training in Turkey was
discussed. In the “get-together event”,
the plakets were given to the Presidency of the Middle East Technical
University for its contribution to thisevent, to the companies NDT Cihazlar, TESST, KB-Thermit for their financial contribution to the symposium; to the late Prof. Dr. Schnitger,
Mr. Friedrich Mischke and Mr. Dieter
Janke for their contributions to thedevelopment of NDT in Turkey. To-

Dr Green

Dr Doggart

The Quality Testing Show had morethan ninety Exhibitors covering thecomplete NDT field including both
typical and innovative equipment andinspection services.

Mr Vahaviolos, Mr Culbertson at the Awards Banquet.

The Annual Awards Banquet was heldat the Hyatt Regency Hotel in a formal
and elegant setting marked by its
friendly atmosphere. Many awards were presented to ASNT staff members aswell as to ASNT Members in recognition of their significant contribution to
the advancement of NDT. The ceremony marking the passing over of the
President's collar from the outgoing
President, Dr. Green to his successor
Dr. Doggart was also very impressive.

Dr. Doggart’s family

VIETNAMNDT KICK-OFF
The Vietnam Association for Non-Destructive Testing (VANDT) bas beencreated by the Decision N0. 26/ 1999
of the Government of Vietnam.The
major objective of VANDT is to promote NDT techniques and culture throughout the country.
Other important objective and activities
include the organization of conferences,
workshops and training courses for personnel qualification and certification.
The Vietnam Association for Non-Destructive Testing is an independent andnon-profit organization.
The First VANDT Conference and Exhibition on NDT will take place in Hanoi Vietnam in early December 1999.
ICNDT wishes to congratulate VANDT on its recent
initiation and to extend a very warm welcome to this
new NDT Association. We would like to take this opportunity to wish them every success in the future.

CHINA
The 7th ChSNDT Conference on
NDT and International Research
Symposium has been held in ShantouChina in Oct. 26-30, 1999. The Conference was enjoyed by the many, from
China and abroad, who attended the
Exhibition and the presentations which

Rome 2000 highlited in the exhibition stand of the Ultrasonic Istitute of China

included over 180 technical papers covering all the major NDT topics (Moreinformation will be reported in next issue)
ICNDT address at the opening Cerimony of the 20th anniversary of
ChSNDT made by Douglas Marshall

I would like to thankyou for the opportunity
to address you on thishistoric occasion, the20 th anniversary of theChinese Society for
D. Marshal
Nondestructive Testing.
I have been requested to represent theInternational Committee for Nondestructive Testing and address you onbehalf of our ICNDT President, Dr.
Nardoni from the Italian Society for
Nondestructive Testing. I therefore
would like to welcome each and everyone to this grand gala and celebrate the20th Anniversary of the Chinese Society.
The International Committee for
Nondestructive Testing would like totake this opportunity to congratulate
the Chinese Society for their contributions and dedication to the professionalizm of our chosen field “Nondestructive Testing” over the last 20
years. Also, for China’s participationand membership in the ICNDT since1985. … In 1996, the Chinese Society
made a formal presentation at the 14th
World Conference in India to host the
16th World Conference for Nondestructive Testing. Although the bid was unsuccessful mainly due to the need to rotate the World Conferences around theglobe, they more than assured the lead
position for the 17th Conference in 2008
because of their determination andknowledge that they are a world leader
in Nondestructive Testing……………..
Again, I would like to thank the Chinese Society for the opportunity to be active in celebrating their 20th anniversary and wish you continued success as
a leader in Nondestructive Testing.

page 3 — November 1999 – n. 4

the ICNDT journal
CHINA

PGP Meeting in Shantou

Chinese Society for NDT
by Guo Chengbin

The Chinese Society was founded in 1978. The First President of the Society
was Prof. Dr. C.F. Ying, a member of the Academia of China. The Present
President is Mr. Yao, director of Shanghai. The staff of the secretariat is professional. The main goal of the Society is to promote NDT in China. It organizes National Conferences on NDT every 3 or 4 years, a few Symposiums
Mr Guoand Seminars on specific NDT techniques every year. It organizes delegatesto attend international NDT Conferences, such as WCNDT and APCNDT. The Society runs ajournal “Nondestructive Testing” monthly. It is at the 21st volume at present.
International cooperation is one of the main priorities of ChSNDT’s activities. The Chinese Society for NDT was accepted for membership in the International Committee on NDT in 1979,
the second year after its foundation. The Chinese society is one of the most active members of
ICNDT. It is one of the members of PGPC committee. The Chinese Society sends delegations toevery World Conference on NDT. We would be very honored if our proposal to hold the 17th
WCNDT in China was accepted at the ICNDT meeting in Rome 2000. We successively organized 7th Asian-Pacific Conference on NDT, 1993 in Shanghai. We are experienced in organizing international conferences. The Chinese Society is interested in developing cooperation between
NDT societies. We have signed agreements on professional cooperation with Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and United States.
Qualification and certification of NDT personnel is another priority in ChSNDT’s activities. The Qualification and certification committee of ChSNDT runs a wide spread program including international cooperation on
harmonization. One of the most important activities of international cooperation is world harmonization and international recognition of personnel cetification in NDT. Agreement on mutual recognition of personnel certification in NDT between Chinese and German societies for NDT is one of thesteps in this direction. The Chinese Society for NDT is taking an active partin the preparation of a new national standard on qualification and certification of NDT pesonnel. New national standard accredited ISO 9712 scheMrs Zhu
mes will be another useful step.

Photo with all members that partecipate to PGP meeting. (l-r) Mr. Tako,
Mr. Klyuev, Mr. Guo, Mr Nardoni showing the panoramic picture of thepartecipant to the Chinese Conference, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Black.

The second annual PGP meeting was held in Shantou, October 28
1999, hosted by the Chinese Society for NDT. In attendance were
the following: Mr. Marshall (Canada), Mr. Black (USA - ASNT),Mr. Guo (Chinese Society for NDT), Mr. Tako (Japanese Society
for NDI), Mr. Nardoni (ICNDT Chairman), Mr. Klyuev (President
of RSNDT). All the items on the agenda were discussed and considered in line with ICNDT policy. The main outcome of the meeting included the following:• The approval of the first seminar on ISO 9712 standard to beheld in Rome during the World Conference (1 1/2 days duration).
The Chairman of ISO TC-135 will chair the opening session of
the seminar. Mr. Murphy (Canadian Certification Board) has been
recently nominated as ISO Representative in ICNDT. This represents a major step towards a future global recognition based on
ISO 9712 standard.
• The constitution has been fully approved.

SOME FIGURES CONCERNING NDT IN CHINA• The dialogue with ASME has to be continued. ASME andother Authorities for pressure vessels, aircrafts etc. will be invited to the seminar.

Methods

Involved
personnel

Equipment
Producers

Main field of
application

Research (examples)

UT> 20000

some tens

railways,chemicalRobotic ultrasonicscanner of 5dimension

ET> 3000> 10

tubingfar field eddy currentMT> 3000> 10

automobile, tractor
locomotive, aircraft

theoretical

Mr. B. Raj

AE

200

–

pressure vessls

aircraft, composites,
concrete, rocksRT

the most
popularsatisfying
domestic needs–

Compton backscattering

Past Presidentof ICNDT,
President of
PGP Committee• Two NDT Awards will be established, entitled to W. Rontgen
and Prof. Pawlowski Awards. The former, to pay tribute to his
contribution as the initiator of NDT techniques just a century ago,the latter to acknowledge the promoter of relationship within
NDT Community.
• The next goals of the ICNDT Presidency are to organise thefollowing: i) a common meeting for the NDT Representatives
from Central and South American Countries; ii) foundation meeting of the first nucleus of Africa - Middle East Regional Group.

ICNDT Secretariat open Window
The ICNDT Secretariat, with a view to maintaining a close, lively link with its membership, issues
this column devoted to publishing news, information or simply messages received from Societies.
All are invited to take part in keeping this column alive!
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The ICNDT Directoryon Internet
With a view to updating the ICNDT Directory,
a questionnaire has been circulated by the Secretariat, to the NDT Societies of the world.
Responses have been received from:
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S. Ghia

E. Rochfort

p
i
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a
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Erra

We wish to take this opportunity to correct a printing error made in the previous
issue n°3 of ICNDT Journal. We mistakenly ascribed the name of the President of JSNDI to the photo of Dr Mikio
Takagi.
The photo description should have been
as below.
We apologise to those concerned and to
our readers for any confusion resulting
from our error.
Dr Norikazu Ooka
President of JSNDI

We would kindly request those countries which have not yet responded, to do so at theirearliest convenience.

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Mr. Gilbert,
INSIGHT editor“Help to promote
the
ICNDT Journal”

Dr Mikio Takagi
ISO/TC135 Chaiman andformer JSNDI President

Secretariat

November 1999 – n. 4 — page 4

the ICNDT journal

THE GLOBAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION
Certification schemes toward ISO 9712 standard
SOUTH AFRICAESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL CERTIFICATION BODY FOR NDT IN THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
by Mr.Chic Nisbet
All international construction and fabrication codes (ASME,
BS, DIN, AD Merkblatt, AWS etc) require that non-destructive (NDT) be performed by certified NDT personnel.
The requirements for the certification process of NDT personnel are stipulated in certification codes (EN473, Recommended Practices SNT-TC-1A and ISO 9712 amongst others)
ISO 9712: Non-destructive Testing – qualification and certification of personnel – general requirements, has established itself as the code, which is increasingly adopted as the preferredstandard internationally.
In standard ISO 9712 it is a requirement that the Certification
body, which issues the certification of NDT personnel, is set
up and managed along the requirements in Standard EN
45013: Requirements for certification bodies offering certification of personnel (1989).
This standard requires that the certification body be accreditedby the Accreditation System operated in the respective country. In South Africa this body is the South African National
Accreditation Service (SANAS) which was brought into beingby the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for accreditation, where this is required by codes and standards.
In the Republic of South Africa (RSA) a system of independent
examinations for NDT personnel was formulated in 1984 andsince 1985 examinations have been available at the South African Institute of Welding (SAIW). This system, the South
African Qualification and Certification Committee (SAQCC)
is nominally in line with the requirements of ISO 9712.
However, with the revision of ISO 9712 during 1996 and 1997
some aspects, which in the past were quite acceptable andpractical, have become much more important. These aspects
include:1. The legal standing of the certification body.
2. Accreditation of the certification body by the National Accreditation System.
3. Certification as a process which addresses training, examination practical experience and physical ability of the personnel,
In order to meet with all the above requirements a national certification body has to be established. Over the past 4 years theSouth African Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (SAINT)
has been endeavouring to establish a certification body that will
be recognised in RSA and will also comply with all international
requirements which include ISO 9712 and EN 45013. These
efforts culminated, with the assistance of the Representative Accreditation Advisory Forum (RAAF) of the DTI and SANAS ina national meeting of industry representatives, including
SAINT, Southern Africa ASNT Chapter, SAQCC, SAIW andaerospace industry, being held in October 1997 at the CSIR. At
this meeting industry agreed that a South African Certification
Body for NDT personnel (SACB NDT) which conforms to thelatest international standards was necessary and a steering committee was appointed to establish such a body. Once formed the
SACB (NDT) must be accredited by SANAS. The advantage ofsuch a body for the industry in the RSA are obvious. Currently
NDT personnel are qualified and certified to a number of different standards, resulting in confusion and in many instances
substandard work. Through the SACB (NDT) the NDT industry will be pulled together under one system and conform to asingle standard, with regard to qualification and certification of
personnel. This will make multiple audits unnecessary, as the
SACB (NDT) will have the duty to approve training courses,
control examinations and perform surveillance of certificate holders.
PROGRESS TO DATE:
The steering committee has been meeting at regular intervals
to formulate the modus operandi for the establishment of thecertification system. To date the following progress has been
made:
•

•
•
•

•

•

SAINT has made funds available for a quality systems consultant to write the quality manual for the certification
body. The final draft has been received and is currently
being reviewed.
A constitution for the certification body has been compiled, outlining the proposed way of operation in the certification body.
SACB (NDT) has been registered as a Section 21 Company.
Numerous discussions with the Engineering Council ofSouth Africa (ECSA) have taken place to assure that thecertification system will in some shape be recognised by
ECSA. ECSA has indicated that they would definitely bewilling to be involved in the process of accrediting training
courses and centers.
An agreement has been reached with British Institute for
NDT regarding co-operation between the two countries infield of certification. The British system PCN has been accredited by UKAS and their experience will be invaluable to
the RSA.
The committee is presently approaching the DTI and industry for funding in this respect.

ncement
u
o
n
n
a
t
s
Fir
tandard9712 SOSINORSEMINA to be held in Rome DTCN
e 15th W
during th

J A PA N
From JSNDI President
Dear Dr. Nardoni,
Thank you for your fax dated August 25, 1999, regarding the ASME recognition of Certification Dr. N. Ooka
Schemes of NDT Personnel Based on ISO 9712.
We are interested in the above recognition and a global mutual
recognition of certification schemes of NDT personnel basedon ISO 9712. ………..We would like to learn the EFNDT position with ASME recognition of EN 473…………………..
• • •From Morio Onoe, Prof. Emeritus, University of Tokio
ISO standards are truly global standards, which
member countries have to respect and adopt whenever possible.
Dr. Farley has repeatedly stated that ISO 9712 and Prof. M. Onoe
EN 473 shall converge in one standard in the next revision.
ICNDT shall urge member NDT societies to accelerate thisprocess through ISO TC 135/SC 7.
It is noted that the convenor of SC 7/ WG 2 : Qualification
and Certification of personnel(Revision of ISO 9712) is ANSI.

STANDARDS MERGING UNDERWAY
CEN / TC 138
AHG4

ISO/TC135/SC7

ISO/CD 9712
Meeting
ISO/DIS 9712
ISO 9712

EN 473(1997/1998)

Rev. 1

Revision (2002)

Revision (2002)

Vienna Agreement
ISO lead CEN/TC 138
EN/ISOUSAASNT Central Certification
In The New Millennium*
by Stephen P. Black*Paper presented at 7th ChSNDT Conference on NDTStephen P. BlackASNT has begun several initiatives in its current programs tomove forward with the new century. These initiatives were developed to meet the future global demand for safety and human reliability in the nondestructive testing profession.
People choose to certify not because it is easy, but because thegoal wiIl serve to organise and measure the best of our energies
and skills for their respective companies and the industries in which they work. A recent study has determined that in the UnitedStates and other parts of the world the most important corporate
resource over the next 20 years will be qualified people, more important than capital, strategy or research and development.
In the United States over the next 15 years there will be 15%
fewer Americans in the 35 to 45 year-old range than there arenow. At the same time the US economy is likely to grow at a
rate of 3% to 4% per year. This equates to a demand for talentat an increase of 25% while the supply of qualified people
will be a rate of 15%. These statistics will result in theloss of manufacturing jobs in the United States and resultin a dependence on imports from China and other countries.
In preparation to permit an equal balance of trade, theChinese Society for NDT and ASNT have signed acooperative agreement for ACCP certification. You’ll
be pleased to know that in July of this year, 10 of yourmembers were certified as ASNT Level III’s in Ultrasonic and Radiographic testing.
This certification is recognized by American Society of Mechanical Engineers and demonstrates the very best in personal
achievement. This is an important step in the growth of ourstrategy for worldwide harmonization and a global central certification plan. It also represents a sign of your own society’s
success in the field of NDT.
Through permission of the Chinese Society, ASNT anticipates
the administration of many additional certification exams in
the coming years. This is a tribute to the relationship between
our two organizations and a milestone in the development of a
globally harmonized NDT community.
ASNT regards four very essential elements as necessary for the
success of world harmonization in central certification.
• Standardized and controlled difficulty levels of all written
examinations and Databases.
• Standardized and controlled difficulty levels of all associatedhardware used for the hands on practical examinations.
• Ongoing statistical analysis of examinations and newly created questions.
• Measured levels of difficulty that reflect a performance based
criteria.
These are the building blocks of ASNT’s Central Certification
Program, ACCP. Only when these critical elements are met
can the world NDT community be assured of uniform test results.
In the United States these objectives are met by the science of
psychometrics. These steps are simple but effective in producing performance-based examinations.
• Produce a body of knowledge by an expert group.
• Body of knowledge is weighted by category of importance.
• Questions are produced to the body of Knowledge.
• Expert group assigns a derived segregation point forpass/fail.
• Statistical analysis is performed on all questions to first establish and then maintain difficulty and discrimination.
The ACCP advantage:• Offered in RT, UT, PT, MT and VT.
• Fully compliant with ISO 9712
• Recognized by the ASME code in over 62 countries throughout the world.
• Recently adapted by American Petroleum Institute (API 1104)• Recently adapted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the UK.
Those who prepare for the new millennium by proving thatthey are the best will assure prosperity. ASNT’s Central Certification Program will set world standards for quality and value by
fostering a culture of responsibility, trust and high expectations.
Regarding membership and sections, ASNT is continuing withthe development of programs to promote membership andestablish new sections worldwide. As of May 31, 1999, morethan 20% of ASNT’s membership is comprised of international members. The society currently has 76 sections throughout the US and 12 sections in our global community.
In addition, ASNT will conduct, in the near future, section
meetings utilizing the conferencing capabilities of the ASNT
web site, www.asnt.org. With the advancement in electronic
communication, e-mail addresses for interested members will
be available for section use. A new member interim report will
be available to alert sections in a more timely manner of their
new members and other pertinent information. In order to assist international sections in timely receipt of our trade Journal, Materials Evaluation, in addition to the current mailingprocess, an advance copy will be sent via e-mail, for each international section to share with their members until personal copies arrive.
ASNT is responding to the demand of the NDT industry forcertification, training and educational materials by introducing
several features and programs in the publication arena. The
following are some highlights of these programs:• Interactive computer training utilizing ASNT educational
material• CD-ROM NDT handbook with audio/visual features• Product and services sales via internet commerce• Development of ASNT’s electronic literature archive for
NDT reference work and literature searches.
ASNT has also taken initiatives to improve our conferences
and promote more topicals and seminars with themes directedto specific industries. We will continue to sponsor and jointly
organize such topicals related to the NDT profession acrossthe US and other countries.
Lastly, ASNT continues to improve its information services
and capabilities, with services such as:• Research database searches• Electronic document delivery• Book loans and standard information
In closing, let me again acknowledge the importance of the relationship between CHSNDT and ASNT. Through the development of mutually beneficial certification programs, the exchange of NDT information, and our official Agreement forProfessional Cooperation, our two societies have built a solid
bridge to enhance trade between our two great nations. It is apleasure to share this important anniversary with such a respected partner in the world of NDT. This is my second trip to
China and I again marvel at the beauty of this vast country, but
most of all I will remember your courtesy and your warmth.
Thank you so much for allowing me to share ASNT’s vision.
May the sun always shine on the Chinese Society for NDT.

I.P.

The main change in ISO 9712 Standard is the move from employer based certification to independent certification
through the examination centers authorised by National Certification Body