Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In some industrial sectors non-destructive testing is the most important way of product testing. The testing is quite an involved and responsible task, which shall be performed only by testing personnel with high level of knowledge and suitable experience.

Certification of personnel, which has already been implemented in some fields, e.g. welding engineering, is being introduced also in the field of non-destructive testing. In 1996 Slovenia accepted, by the method of coverings, a standard regulating certification of NDT personnel /1/, and a European technical report /2/ supplementing the standard concerned. The European standard is based on ISO standard of 1992 /3/. Several countries have implemented the certification system for NDT personnel for quite some time. In Great Britain the personnel certification system was introduced by the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, with support of several welding firms, in the seventies /4/. In Germany, by which we often take example, European certification system has been introduced just recently 15 /.

In the United States, certification of NDT personnel is performed by the American Welding Society (AWS). Their system is somewhat different from European. It distinguishes nine different fields of application, i.e.: five in ultrasonic testing, two in radiographic testing, one in penetrant testing and one in magnetic particle testing. In the United States certification of NDT personnel is mostly applied in welding engineering. The examinations have been passed by more than 20.000 individuals /6/.

Keywords: Training

Source: Conference Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the Slovenian Society for Nondestructive Testing, 24 - 25 April 1997, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Pages:285 - 294

Publisher:
Slovenian Society for Nondestructive Testing, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Askerceva 6, SLO 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Tel +386 61 177 12 03, Fax +386 61 218 567, Email: janez.grum@fs.uni-lj.si.