Examination content is determined by an employer’s written practice, i.e. employers who do not have a written practice cannot have their NDT personnel certificated under the SNT-TC-1A scheme. All companies who wish their NDT operators be qualified to SNT-TC-1A requirements must hold a written practice in accordance with this recommended practice; this document is intended as a guideline for employers to establish their own written practice for the qualification and certification of their NDT personnel.
Written practices are available via our Level 3 Services Manager. A self-employed individual may hold their own written practice, but it should be appreciated that they may be re-examined in accordance with a different written practice when employed by another organisation.
Written practice
A written practice is not a set of NDT procedures. A written practice is for the control and administration of NDT personnel and is written specifically for a company’s needs, e.g. related to welds, welds and castings, forgings etc.
The document may also relate to specific British Standards, American Standards, in-house procedures etc. and may cover one NDT method more. A written practice typically consists of 10-25 pages and includes the following:
- Minimum training and experience requirements for personnel wishing to be certificated.
- Methods which may be relevant, e.g. UT, MT, PT, RT, ET, VT, T.
- The syllabus for the training related to each method.
- The number of examination questions and number of practical test points. Theoretical questions are usually multiple-choice
- Minimum examination pass marks.
- It should be noted that it is the employer who is responsible for the document, i.e. it is the employer who is responsible for his own qualification system for NDT personnel under the SNT-TC-1A scheme.
Examinations
Examination duration is typically less than a day and is divided into 3 parts:
(1) General
Typically 20-40 multiple-choice questions related to the relevant NDT method.
(2) Specific
Typically 20-40 questions related to the test equipment used, product/process and specifications/procedures used by the employer.
(3) Practical
Typically 10 check points which may relate to one or more test samples. All candidates would also have to undertake physical tests applicable to the test method, e.g. eyesight and, in some cases, colour differentiation.
NB. Training and examinations are available to meet Rolls Royce, Agusta Westland, Airbus and BAE Systems requirements.
Examination results
Exam results are normally available within 2 working days of the examination. The employer receives details of the exam results and certificates of achievement for successful candidates, normally within 7 working days. SNT-TC-1A certificates are normally valid for 5 years.
Aerospace and Military examinations
Examinations conducted under EN 4179 and NAS-410 (formerly MIL-STD-410) follow a similar format to SNT-TC-1A. Contact us for further details.