Personnel Certification
Certification Services Division
Personnel certification and quality assurance
Non-destructive testing and inspection are vital functions in achieving the goals of efficiency and quality at an acceptable cost. In many cases, these functions are highly critical; painstaking procedures are adopted to provide the necessary degree of quality assurance. The consequences of failure of engineering materials, components and structures are well known and can be disastrous.
It is an increasing requirement of quality assurance systems that a company's engineers, technicians and craftsmen are able to demonstrate that they have the required level of knowledge and skill. This is particularly so since NDT and inspection activities are very operator dependent and those in authority have to place great reliance on the skill, experience, judgement and integrity of the personnel involved. Indeed, during fabrication, NDT and inspection provides the last line of defence before the product enters service, whilst once a product or structure enters service, in-service NDT is often the only line of defence against failure.
Personnel certification
Independent certification complying with European and international standards, for example the PCN Scheme
Independent central (or third party) certification means that personnel are required to pass examinations which are devised and set by professional examiners authorised by a Certifying Body which has overall control over the certification process which it operates.
The main advantage of such a system is that independently awarded verifiable qualifications carry wider recognition and acceptance. The PCN scheme also offers a system whereby qualification of NDT personnel can be carried out in accordance with European and international standards by an Authorised Qualifying Body or AQB. An AQB is defined as:
"A body, independent of any single predominant interest, authorised by the Independent Certifying Body to prepare and administer examinations to qualify NDT personnel."
PCN document CP/23 sets out the general requirements for the creation of PCN Authorised Qualifying Bodies for the purposes of issuing NDT personnel certification complying with agreed standards. Such a system offers the best of both worlds and has numerous advantages but, beware, not all such certification schemes confer wide recognition and acceptance. You can be confident that, holding PCN Certification, you will gain the widest possible recognition and acceptance, as well as a highly cost-effective service!
Any organisation – anywhere in the world – interested in becoming authorised to conduct PCN examinations is encouraged to seek further information from audits@bindt.org
Third-party accreditation and how it relates to BINDT’s Personnel Certification Scheme
What is third-party (central) certification?
Third-party (or central) certification is an independent certification that complies with European and international standards ISO 9712 and ISO 18436. Independent certification means that personnel are required to pass examinations that are devised and set by professional examiners authorised by a Certifying Body, which has overall control over the certification process it operates.
The main advantage of such a system is that independently awarded verifiable certification carries wider recognition and acceptance. The Personnel Certification in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN) Scheme offers a system whereby certification of non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition monitoring (CM) personnel can be carried out in accordance with European and international standards by an Authorised Qualifying Body (AQB). An AQB is defined as: ‘A body, independent of any single predominant interest, authorised by the Independent Certifying Body to prepare and administer examinations to qualify NDT personnel.’
Types of accreditation:
One of BINDT’s key propositions is personnel certification, which it provides through the PCN Scheme, covering programmes that include NDT and CM across a number of industry and product sectors. BINDT is a Personnel Certification Body (PCB) accredited to ISO 17024 ‘Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons’, accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS), reference: 0030 (accredited to ISO/IEC 17024:2012 to provide certification of persons against EN ISO 9712:2012).
PCN is a central (or third-party) certification scheme, as opposed to an employer-based (or second-party) certification scheme, which means that a certificate issued under the scheme indicates conformance to an international standard and competence to undertake certain prescribed NDT or CM tasks.
Ultimately, the aim of personnel certification is to provide assurances to those who rely on the tests being undertaken (for example end-users, regulators, insurers, etc) that they have been carried out competently and that is what PCBs and diligent employers set out to do. However, there are some misunderstandings that keep cropping up around personnel certification that can lead to unrealisable expectations being set, which in turn can lead to damage being done to the respective certification scheme’s reputation and, indeed, damage being done to the reputation of the whole NDT/CM profession.
To certify students, professional organisations such as BINDT have two options in terms of accreditation: second- or third-party.
Second-party certification (employer-based):
To view the full article, click here.
Non-destructive testing and inspection are vital functions in achieving the goals of efficiency and quality at an acceptable cost. In many cases, these functions are highly critical; painstaking procedures are adopted to provide the necessary degree of quality assurance. The consequences of failure of engineering materials, components and structures are well known and can be disastrous.
It is an increasing requirement of quality assurance systems that a company's engineers, technicians and craftsmen are able to demonstrate that they have the required level of knowledge and skill. This is particularly so since NDT and inspection activities are very operator dependent and those in authority have to place great reliance on the skill, experience, judgement and integrity of the personnel involved. Indeed, during fabrication, NDT and inspection provides the last line of defence before the product enters service, whilst once a product or structure enters service, in-service NDT is often the only line of defence against failure.
Personnel certification
Independent certification complying with European and international standards, for example the PCN Scheme
Independent central (or third party) certification means that personnel are required to pass examinations which are devised and set by professional examiners authorised by a Certifying Body which has overall control over the certification process which it operates.
The main advantage of such a system is that independently awarded verifiable qualifications carry wider recognition and acceptance. The PCN scheme also offers a system whereby qualification of NDT personnel can be carried out in accordance with European and international standards by an Authorised Qualifying Body or AQB. An AQB is defined as:
"A body, independent of any single predominant interest, authorised by the Independent Certifying Body to prepare and administer examinations to qualify NDT personnel."
PCN document CP/23 sets out the general requirements for the creation of PCN Authorised Qualifying Bodies for the purposes of issuing NDT personnel certification complying with agreed standards. Such a system offers the best of both worlds and has numerous advantages but, beware, not all such certification schemes confer wide recognition and acceptance. You can be confident that, holding PCN Certification, you will gain the widest possible recognition and acceptance, as well as a highly cost-effective service!
Any organisation – anywhere in the world – interested in becoming authorised to conduct PCN examinations is encouraged to seek further information from audits@bindt.org
Third-party accreditation and how it relates to BINDT’s Personnel Certification Scheme
What is third-party (central) certification?
Third-party (or central) certification is an independent certification that complies with European and international standards ISO 9712 and ISO 18436. Independent certification means that personnel are required to pass examinations that are devised and set by professional examiners authorised by a Certifying Body, which has overall control over the certification process it operates.
The main advantage of such a system is that independently awarded verifiable certification carries wider recognition and acceptance. The Personnel Certification in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN) Scheme offers a system whereby certification of non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition monitoring (CM) personnel can be carried out in accordance with European and international standards by an Authorised Qualifying Body (AQB). An AQB is defined as: ‘A body, independent of any single predominant interest, authorised by the Independent Certifying Body to prepare and administer examinations to qualify NDT personnel.’
Types of accreditation:
One of BINDT’s key propositions is personnel certification, which it provides through the PCN Scheme, covering programmes that include NDT and CM across a number of industry and product sectors. BINDT is a Personnel Certification Body (PCB) accredited to ISO 17024 ‘Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons’, accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS), reference: 0030 (accredited to ISO/IEC 17024:2012 to provide certification of persons against EN ISO 9712:2012).
PCN is a central (or third-party) certification scheme, as opposed to an employer-based (or second-party) certification scheme, which means that a certificate issued under the scheme indicates conformance to an international standard and competence to undertake certain prescribed NDT or CM tasks.
Ultimately, the aim of personnel certification is to provide assurances to those who rely on the tests being undertaken (for example end-users, regulators, insurers, etc) that they have been carried out competently and that is what PCBs and diligent employers set out to do. However, there are some misunderstandings that keep cropping up around personnel certification that can lead to unrealisable expectations being set, which in turn can lead to damage being done to the respective certification scheme’s reputation and, indeed, damage being done to the reputation of the whole NDT/CM profession.
To certify students, professional organisations such as BINDT have two options in terms of accreditation: second- or third-party.
Second-party certification (employer-based):
- Employer-based certification schemes are systems in which the employers are responsible for the administration of the training and qualification examinations of their own employees, as well as the documentation of the required training, examinations and experience in accordance with an employer-based standard or recommended practice. Most employer-based schemes do allow the employer to accept training and examination services provided by outside agencies provided it is properly documented and the employer has determined that the content of those services meet their own company requirements as described in the employer’s Written Practice.
- Third-party (central) certification:
Central certification is when an independent accreditation body has provided assessment to assure that the organisation’s scheme conforms to the relevant standard they are certifying to. This independent third party provides recognition that a prescribed standard of performance has been achieved. To do so, the independent third party reviews processes, systems, organisations, personnel, etc, and when a suitable standard has been achieved provides that organisation with written assurance or certification that it confirms to the specified standard. BINDT’s PCN Scheme is a third-party accredited training scheme and has been independently approved by UKAS. In terms of certification UKAS has accredited BINDT to be able to authorise training and exams with its AQBs and ATOs. Working alongside its AQBs and ATOs, which provide training that BINDT has approved, it is able to provide the certification that industry needs. This third-party accreditation allows for BINDT to provide its world-renowned certification with the assurance that it will be of the same quality no matter where you received your certificate.
To view the full article, click here.