FIFTH CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON NONDESTRUCTIVE ... - IAEA

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(e) A differing but persisting problem since the M- Standard on Radiography was
introduced in 1979 concerns the Aircraft Structures category. The General category
includes Welding, Casting and Forgings. The Aircraft Structures is a
category which now pre-requires the General certification whereas the absolete Astandards
did not have such a requirement. That extra requirement has always encountered
strong opposition from both the civilian and military users who are only
interested in maintenance work. That issue has re-surfaced in recent times and
will be given further study during the coming months by the national CGSB
Committee.
( f ) The certification network now includes nine (9) practical test centres but
it would need to be enlarged in Eastern Canada but progress is slow, one reason
being the difficulty to obtain defective metal parts from users and producers and
the considerable time needed to analyse them and prepare documentation.
A new certifying agency (?)
Following an offer made by the Canadian Welding Bureau (CSA) to assume the responsibility
of Certifying Agency, the possible withdrawal of DEMR is currently being
given consideration within the interested forum. Considerable resources are being
devoted to both building and operating the new certification programme and those
resources are indeed conflicting with the basic mission of PMRL/CANMET which is
R&D. A feasibility study will be conducted for submission Lo the next meeting of
the CGSB Committee in April 1985.
B) THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE
This section briefly surveys the international developments within the optics of
possible harmonization of national standards or practices. There is no doubt that
the SNT-TC-1A practice for certification of ndt personnel which was introduced in
1966 has exerted an important influence on the development and contents of such
national documents. Their growing number reflects the necessity for measuring the
qualification of ndt personnel in order to cope with the increasing demand and
complexity of ndt requirements during manufacturing or service.
Efforts at harmoning certification have been carried out for several years by Lhe
ICNDT whereas ISO has become active only during the past year although its
official commitment dates back to 1975. The secretariat for ISO-TC 135/SC7 on
certification is now held by Canada which gives DEMR the responsibility for
drafting an international document.
(a) Perhaps the most striking feature which differentiates the various national
schemes is the "general" and "sector" components of certification as being conducted
by an independent central body, leaving the employer responsible for any
additional features. From a survey of several national documents, it would appear
that SNT-TC-1A is the only procedure giving the employers the sole responsibility
for the whole certification.
(b) The number of levels of certification may vary but are usually conceived to
roughly correspond. Thus, a country with two levels will correspond to levels I
and II. The range of qualifications ascribed to each level shows extensive