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Schemes and Distinctions of Certification of NDT Personnel in Russia Prof. F.R. Sosnin (MSIA "Spectrum", Moscow, Russia) Contact

At present the three schemes of certification of NDT personnel are used in Russia:
• The Scheme of Voluntary Certification of NDT Personnel with the Russian Society for Non-Destructive Testing and Technical Diagnostics (RSNTTD) as a central body of the Scheme.
• The Scheme of Voluntary Certification of NDT Personnel with the All-Russia Research Institute of Optical and Physical Measurements (VNIIOFI) of GOSSTANDART of Russia as a central body of the Scheme.
• The Scheme of Compulsory Certification of Personnel, performing the inspection by nondestructive methods of metal and welded joints during manufacture, installation, repair, technical diagnostics and operation of installations, which are in control of the Mining and Industrial Supervision of Russia (GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia).

The first two Schemes operate in conformity with the requirements of GOST 30489/EN 473, and the third one operates in conformity with the requirements of "The Rules of Certification of Nondestructive Testing Specialists" approved by GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia.

Differences of GOSGORTECHNADZOR's scheme from the schemes on EN 473 are the following:

On industrial sectors

The specialist of any qualification level is certified on products (12 types of equipment and its components, for example :
1. steam boilers,
2. pressure vessels,
3. underground and surface gas pipelines ,
4. lifting equipment,
5. main oil pipelines and etc.)
which are under control of GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia.

On certifying instances

There are two instances : certifying centers (CC) and certifying points (CP), in addition GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia issues licenses to CC and CP.

Requirements for training of specialists for examinations

The requirements for general education and specialized training, the execution of which is compulsory for certification of a specialist for a corresponding qualification level, are given in Table 1. The programme of specialized training for specialists in a concrete NDT method must be developed on the basis of the programmes for certification of specialists in the given NDT method of a corresponding level, which are approved by GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia.

Qualification level		Requirements for
	General education	Specialized training with the issue of the document on education (certificate, diploma)
I	Secondary school	Training on special courses or on the place of work in NDT subdivisions in accordance with the programme approved by the management of the enterprise.
II	Secondary school, specialized technical secondary school, or higher educational institutions	Training in technical secondary schools or professional technical specialized schools or on special courses in conformity with the programmes approved by the certification centers.
III	Higher educational institutions or specialized technical secondary school	Training or refresher courses at higher schools and institutes for improvement of qualifications in NDT. The necessary knowledge may be acquired by persons with higher or specialized technical education as well as independently during the work in the field of NDT for not less than 4 years as a level 2 specialist with participation in development of normative documents on NDT.
Table 1: Requirements for training of candidates

The minimum experience for a candidate after the specialized training taking into account the NDT method, which is necessary for certification for a certain qualification level, is given in Tables 2 and 3.

NDT method	Experience in NDT method, (months)
	Level I	Level II
Eddy current testing	3	9
Magnetic testing	3	6
Radiographic testing	6	12
Ultrasonic testing	6	12
Penetrant testing	3	6
Leak testing	3	9
Table 2: Minimum experience after the specialized training, which is necessary for certification of specialists for level 1 and 2.

General education and specialized training	Experience of specialist, (months)
	Level II	Not certified
Higher educational institution or institute for improvement of qualifications in NDT	12	24
Technical secondary school in NDT	24	48
Technical higher educational institution or technical secondary school	48	72
Table 3: Minimum experience after the specialized training, which is necessary for certification of candidate for level III

The minimum training hours are not specified.

Requirements for qualification examinations

The qualification examination consists of a general examination in NDT; specific examination ( on technology of inspection by the given method of objects of concrete type ); practical examination. In addition to the above-mentioned examinations the candidate must pass an examination on knowledge of the approved by GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia rules of arrangement and safety operation of the equipment that the certified specialist will inspect.

During the general examination a candidate is put 20-50 questions chosen at random at corresponding qualification level. The examination questions are composed according to the requirements stated in "The Rules of Certification of Nondestructive Testing Specialists".

During the specific examination a candidate is put 10-30 questions chosen at random in accordance with the corresponding qualification level.

Requirements for qualification examinations

The qualification examination consists of a general examination in NDT; specific examination ( on technology of inspection by the given method of objects of concrete type ); practical examination. In addition to the above-mentioned examinations the candidate must pass an examination on knowledge of the approved by GOSGORTECHNADZOR of Russia rules of arrangement and safety operation of the equipment that the certified specialist will inspect.

During the general examination a candidate is put 20-50 questions chosen at random at corresponding qualification level. The examination questions are composed according to the requirements stated in "The Rules of Certification of Nondestructive Testing Specialists".

During the specific examination a candidate is put 10-30 chosen at random questions in accordance with corresponding level of qualification.

The requirements for a content of examinations , minimum number of questions and grading of the examinations are identical for all three levels. The candidate is considered to pass the examinations, if he correctly answered 80% of given questions.

Validity of certificates

The period of validity of certificates for the specialists of 1 and 2 levels is 3 years.

Upon completion of the first period of validity the qualification certificate may be renewed by the corresponding center under conditions:

• application from the place of work of the specialist;
• submission of the conclusion of a medical commission;
• lack of interruption in the work on nondestructive testing for more than one year.

In case of absence of the above-mentioned documents the specialist must be recertified.

When changing the place of work the specialist of level I or level II shall pass the specific and practical examinations.

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