Gentlemen,

ASME staff is pushing the synchronisation of requirements for the qualification of NDE personnel.
For this purpose they have asked me to collect and comment the current experience with EN 473 and SNT TC 1A/ACCP

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ASME is reviewing the requirements for qualification of NDE personnel in Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. We are trying to look at these NDE personnel requirements from a global perspective. We need your help as we gather information on this subject so that we may understand what requirements are used around the world.

For example, UW-54(a) of Section VIII, Division 1 requires NDE personnel to be qualified in accordance with the Manufacturer’s written practice. SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 must be used as the guideline to establish the written practice. However a national or international central certification program can then be used to fulfill the examination and demonstration requirements of the Manufacturer’s written practice.

The way we understand these requirements is that a Manufacturer can use another NDE standard such as EN 473 or ISO 9712 as a guideline to establish their written practice as long as they include all of the elements that would be required using SNT-TC-1A as a guideline. This allows the NDE personnel to be qualified to one standard rather than having to be independently qualified, for example, to both EN473 and ASNT’s ACCP.

We are asking you to provide us with some information so we can better understand this situation. Regarding vessels constructed in Germany for use in Germany, what standards are most commonly used by a manufacturer to qualify their NDE personnel? Are there any recognized organizations that administer the basic and practical examinations? If so, to what standards do they perform the examinations?

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Please consider this as a chance to contribute to uniform requirements for the qualification of NDE personnel and a contribution to a more cost effective investment in the qualification of NDE personnel of your customer.
It would also be a step forward to a more fair competition between certificate holders still qualifying their personnel by themselfs and those being forced to invest in an external certification such as EN 473.

Comments to this subject or examples from joint reviews demonstrating difficulties in providing evidence of examination results of external examinations or a lack of acceptance of a certificate according to EN 473 by ASME team leaders or other parties involved would be appreciated!

Thank you in advance and I look forward to your contribution by Wednesday February 23rd

Horst Michael
ASME Delegate Germany