Case studies · Level III audit
Case study: a remote NDT documentation audit for a client in Qatar
An independent Level III audit of NDT documentation for a Qatar-based client, completed without a site visit and for a fixed fee agreed up front.
| Client | Qatar-based (name withheld) |
|---|---|
| Service | NDT documentation audit |
| Delivery | Fully remote, no site visit |
| Led by | Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III |
| Commercial basis | Fixed lump sum, agreed before work began |
| Status | Completed |
The situation
A client in Qatar wanted an independent ASNT Level III to audit its NDT documentation. The usual way to do that is to fly an auditor in, which means visas, site access, travel days and a fee that grows with every day on site, for a job that is mostly reading records.
This audit was scoped as a remote engagement instead, with the cost fixed before anyone started.
What we did
Atlantis NDT carried out the documentation audit entirely remotely, led by Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III. The fee was a single lump sum agreed at the start, so the client knew the full cost when it raised the order. Nobody travelled, and the client's team did not have to host a visitor or arrange site access.
The specific records reviewed, and what the audit found, stay confidential to the client.
How Atlantis runs a remote documentation audit
This is the method Atlantis uses for every remote documentation audit. It is how this kind of engagement works, not a list of findings from this client.
- Agree the yardstick first: the client's written practice and the codes, standards and customer specifications its work is done to.
- Send one document request list, so records arrive once rather than in a trickle of follow-up emails.
- Trace technician files end to end: certificate, training hours, experience log, examinations and vision record, checked against the written practice.
- Trace sample reports backwards: the procedure revision in force on the inspection date, the instrument's calibration status, and the technician's certification on that date.
- Tie every finding to the clause it relates to, so the client can act on it and an auditor can check the fix.
- Walk through the findings with the client on a call before closing out.
What remote can and cannot cover
A documentation audit tests records, and records travel well. What a remote audit cannot do is watch a technician scan, check an instrument's condition or see how a site works. When a client needs those, a witness inspection or site visit is scoped separately, so the desk work is not paid at site rates.
If you are planning an NDT audit
- Ask for a fixed lump sum against a defined scope rather than a day rate with no ceiling.
- Ask for findings referenced to clauses, not general remarks.
- Ask the auditor to say up front what the remote format will not cover.