Personnel Qualification and Certification

MSNT Kecommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1M, Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing, American Society for Nondestmctive Testing, Columbus, Ohio, 1992, periodically revised. 

Personnel performing examinations other than visual shall be qualified in accordance with apphcable portions of SNT TC-IA, Recommended Practice for Nondestructive Testing Personnel Qualification and Certification. Procedures shall be qualified as required in Par. T-150, Art. 1, Sec. V of the ASME Code. Limitations on imperfections shall be in accordance with the engineering design but shall at least meet the requirements of the code (see TaBles 10-54 and 10-55) for the specific type of examination. Repairs shall be made as applicable. 

SNT-TC-lA-1984, "Recommended Practice for Nondestructive Test Personnel Qualification and Certification."... 

ANSI/ASNT CP-189, ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification of Nondestructive Testing Personnel... 

EN 473, Nondestructive Testing Qualification and Certification of NDT Personnel— General Principles, Comite Europeen de Normalisation, Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 2000. 

WSRC Quality Assurance Manual IQ (Reference 10) procedure QAP 2-5, Revision 0, provides the detailed requirements for compliance to DOE Order SR 5700.6C and NQA-1. This procedure specifies requirements and responsibilities for training, qualification, and certification of those WSRC independent inspection personnel who verify compliance of items, products, and activities to specified requirements. The procedure states that cognizant WSRC Quality Function (CQF) management is to perform an evaluation of personnel qualifications to determine the extent of formal and on-the-job training necessary to meet the independent inspector requirement. Formal core training programs for the qualification of independent inspectors are to be established and documented by the Site Quality. 

WSRC QA Plan (Reference 26) Section 9.0, and QA Manual, Procedure QAP 9-1, properly address the requirement of QA-2.2. The QA Plan also addresses conformance to the standards of American Society of Nondestructive testing SNT-TC-IA (Reference 11) for qualification and certification of NDE personnel. 

Qualification and certification of NDE personnel is addressed in Section 9.0 of the WSRC QA Plan. The QA Manual (IQ), Procedure QAP-11, addresses the requirement of "testing personnel." For the reactor tank UT, use of a Level III inspector is required for all tank testing and has been verified from the K-UT test report (Reference 8). UT inspection personnel are qualified to ASME Code Case N-409-1 or pass a performance demonstration as required by the EPRI NDE Center IGSCC program. 

The procedure specifications and personnel qualifications, testing, and certification shall conform to the requirements of this Chapter and the following ... 

Application for employment ( 391.21) Initial 3-year motor vehicle record (MVR) from state(s) ( 391.23(a)(1)) Road test form and certificate ( 391.31(g)), or license or certificate accepted in lieu of road test ( 91.33) Employment + 3 years Driver Qualification file Note May be combined with personnel file. 

Protective equipment to be provided by the inspected State Party, and agreed proeedures, personnel training, and personnel qualification tests and certification requireik and agreed procedures for use of the equipment ... 

This requirement poses something of a dilemma when purchasing subcontract labor because it cannot be treated the same as product. You still need to ensure, however, that the labor conforms with your requirements before use. Such checks will include verification that the personnel provided have the requisite qualifications, skills, and knowledge and they are who they say they are. These checks can be made on the documentary evidence provided, such as certificates, but you will probably wish to monitor their performance because it is the effort you have purchased, not the people. You will not be able to verify whether they are entirely suitable until you have evaluated their performance. Subcontract labor could be classified as product released prior to verification being performed and so you need to keep records of the personnel and their performance during the tenure of the contract. 

Concern was also expressed over potential conflict between proposed EPA procedures for inspection of laboratories conducting toxicology studies in other countries and national laws regarding foreign inspection. Further clarification is needed on requirements for certification or accreditation of personnel in foreign laboratories, and on the qualifications needed for quality assurance officers. 

A copy of this certificate must be placed in the driver s personnel or qualification file and kept for as long as the driver is employed by the employer and for one year thereafter. 

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