How to track NDT certificates and calibration dates

1. List what expires

For each technician: method certificates (with level and sector), the scheme (ISO 9712 via PCN or AINDT, or your SNT-TC-1A written practice), vision test, radiation licence if applicable, and site and safety tickets such as working at heights, confined space and first aid. For each item of equipment: calibration certificate, verification records for reference blocks, and any licence or registration.

2. Give every document an owner and a due date

The due date is not always on the certificate: calibration intervals are set by you, and some schemes require a renewal application months before expiry. Record the date you must act on, not just the date it lapses.

3. Set a warning window

A month is the minimum that lets you book a course or a calibration slot. For renewals that involve external examinations, add a longer reminder as well.

4. Check at the point of assignment

The supervisor allocating a job should see the technician’s certificates and the equipment’s calibration status at that moment, not discover a problem on site.

5. Keep the evidence chain

An assessor picks a report and asks for the certificate that was valid on that date and the calibration certificate for the serial number on the report. Keep certificates with the person and equipment records, and keep report history per job.

How AMPS does it

AMPS keeps personnel and equipment certificates on dedicated personnel and equipment pages, and its flag system warns one month before a certificate, calibration document or scheduled inspection falls due, so managers always know what is missing or expiring. The shutdown case study names working-at-heights certificates, confined-space certifications and equipment calibration forms among the documents tracked. Every upload and change is recorded by the history feature, and the files themselves live in your own OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive.

Key facts

Documents to track for people: method certificates per level and sector, vision tests, radiation licences, working-at-heights, confined-space, first aid, site inductions

Documents to track for equipment: calibration certificates for instruments, probes, gauges, yokes, light meters, thermometers; verification records for reference blocks

ISO 9712 certificates renew at 5 years and re-examine at 10; SNT-TC-1A intervals come from the Written Practice; vision tests are usually annual

AMPS flags every personnel and equipment document one month before expiry

Frequently asked questions

How much notice do we need before a certificate expires?

Enough to book training or a calibration and receive the new document: a month is the practical minimum and is the window AMPS uses. Renewals that need an examination or an external lab need longer, so start those at the 90-day mark.

What happens to reports signed after a certificate lapsed?

They are at risk. Accreditation assessors and clients can reject reports signed by a technician whose certificate had expired, and out-of-calibration equipment triggers an impact assessment on the work done since the last valid calibration. Prevention is far cheaper than the investigation.

Where should the certificate files live?

With the person or equipment record, in storage you control. AMPS files them on the personnel and equipment pages while the documents themselves stay in your own OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive.

How to track NDT technician certificates and equipment calibration