New Edition of National Standard for Qualification and certification of Non-destructive Testing Personnel

The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) has published a new edition of National Standard of Canada for Qualification and certification of Non-destructive Testing Personnel, CAN/CGSB-CAN/CGSB-48.9712-2014 ISO 9712:2012. This new edition is an identical adoption of ISO 9712:2012.

ISO 9712:2012 is the result of joint work between the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 135 Sub-Committee and the European Technical Committee CEN/TC 138. The new edition reconciles the differences between ISO 9712 and EN 473, the European (CEN) standard. Although similar, it had enough differences from ISO 9712 that the two standards could not be used interchangeably. The last round of changes to ISO 9712 resulted in a harmonization of the two standards, the eventual publication of EN ISO 9712, and the withdrawal of EN473. This now allows ISO 9712 to be truly described as a “harmonized” international standard.

The new ISO 9712:2012 includes the following changes from the 2006 edition:

  • clarification of responsibilities for the certification body, the qualification body, and the examination center,
  • redrafting of the clause “training” for clarification and change in the number of required hours,
  • redrafting of the clause “experience” for clarification,
  • introduction of “digital certificates”,
  • and other minor technical and editorial changes.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. Since the effectiveness of any application of NDT depends upon the capabilities of the persons who perform or are responsible for the test, the requirements in ISO 9712:2012 provide a means of evaluating and documenting the competence of personnel whose duties require the appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge of the non-destructive tests they perform, specify, supervise, monitor or evaluate.

The CGSB Standards Committee on Non-destructive testing and certification of personnel consists of over 40 organizations from every region in Canada representing all aspects of the NDT community. The membership includes organizations that sell or use the services of Certified NDT Personnel NDT services, training organizations services, includes unions, membership organizations, and equipment suppliers and regulators.

CGSB would like to thank the sponsor, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) CanmetMATERIALS (Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology), and all members of the Committee for their invaluable contributions and for their determination and goodwill to complete the voluntary standard.

The new edition of this National Standard of Canada is available for purchase through the CGSB Purchase Standards.