Recommended Practice

SNT-TC-1A (2020 Edition)

Recommended Practice

SNT-TC-1A
(2020 Edition)

SNT-TC-1A (2020 Edition)

The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A had its beginning in the early 1960’s. The Society for Nondestructive Testing (SNT at that time) Board of Directors charged the Technical Council to develop a set of guidelines which could be used by employers to develop their own “In -house” employer based training, qualification and certification programs.

This set of guidelines, first published in 1966, is called the Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A. This document established levels of qualification based upon a combination of education, training, experience and qualification examinations. The basic levels begin with NDT Level I primarily used as an operator technician. NDT Level II, the next level requires more training and experience, but permits more independent activity including accepting and rejecting products, materials and/or components. The NDT Level III usually requires four (4) years of experience as an NDT Level II in the method. However, the number of years of experience depends upon the candidate’s formal education.

While there are several personnel qualification and certification programs used, SNT-TC-1A employer based certification has been widely accepted throughout the United States as the primary guide used for NDT personnel certification. This document is revised periodically, usually every five (5) years. The current revision is the 2020 Edition.

Employer's Written Practice

SNT-TC-1A requires an internal company procedure that details how employees are trained, qualified and certified to perform NDT functions for the company.
The Written Practice should provide descriptions of:

Organized Training

The structured training program(s) meeting the recommendations of the table below published in SNT-TC-1A should be successfully completed and documented in the NDT personnel records. Some common examples are:

Test Method

Level I Hours Level II Hours

Eddy Current (ET)

40
40

Liquid Penetrant (PT)

4
8

Magnetic Particle (MT)

12
8

Radiography (RT)

40
40

Ultrasonics (UT)

40
40

Visual (VT)

8
16
Level 1 Hours
Level 2 Hours

Note: NDT Level II training qualification should consist of the sum of the hours for NDT Level I and NDT Level II.

Experience

Personnel should accumulate the minimum experience hours recommended which vary for each NDT method. Experience hours for initial certification should be recorded in hours in the method and total hours in NDT. Some common examples are:

Test Method

Level I Hours Level II Hours Total NDT Hours

Eddy Current (ET)

210
630
1600

Liquid Penetrant (PT)

70
140
400

Magnetic Particle (MT)

70
210
530

Radiography (RT)

210
630
1600

Ultrasonics (UT)

210
630
1600

Visual (VT)

70
140
400
Level 1 Hours
Level 2 Hours
Total NDT Hours

Note: NDT Level II experience qualification should consist of the sum of the hours in the method for NDT Level I and NDT Level II.

Qualification Exam

NDT Level I/II examinations include:

Table 1 — General Examinations

Test Method

Level I Questions Level II Questions

Eddy Current (ET)

40
40

Liquid Penetrant (PT)

40
40

Magnetic Particle (MT)

40
40

Radiography (RT)

40
40

Ultrasonics (UT)

40
40

Visual (VT)

40
40
Level 1 Questions
Level 2 Questions
Table 2 — Specific Examinations

Test Method

Level I Questions Level II Questions

Eddy Current (ET)

20
20

Liquid Penetrant (PT)

20
20

Magnetic Particle (MT)

20
20

Radiography (RT)

20
20

Ultrasonics (UT)

20
20

Visual (VT)

20
20
Level 1 Questions
Level 2 Questions

Certification

Certification is a written statement of qualification. Using employer-based programs such as SNT-TC-1A requires employer certification. Typically, at least 70% must be achieved on each portion of the qualification examinations and an average (composite) score of at least 80% must be attained.
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