Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Requirements Under ABSA / AB-515

Sensitivity setting is the auditable step: the reference block used must itself be in calibration and traceable, and its identity recorded on the report. ABSA / AB-515, enforced by ABSA, the pressure equipment safety authority (originally incorporated as the Alberta Boilers.: Two separate credentials apply, and only one can be outsourced. NDT technicians work under employer-based certification: AB-515 §4.

An auditor examining UT asks for instrument, probes, cables, couplant, and the calibration and reference blocks used to set sensitivity. ABSA requires an inspection firm performing in-service integrity assessments to hold a Quality Management System Certificate of Authorization Permit and to document its system against AB-515. The written description must address scope, organization, impartiality, confidentiality, competence, measuring and test equipment, integrity assessment procedures, plans and work plans, reporting, repairs and alterations, internal audits, and control of NDE. Authorized scope is fixed on form AB-515(a), and work outside it is prohibited until a revised AB-515(a) is accepted. Individuals who certify equipment for continued operation must personally hold an Alberta In-Service Pressure Equipment Inspector Certificate of Competency. AB-515 renamed these firms Integrity Assessment Organizations, formerly Inspection Companies.

Source: ABSA AB-515 Quality Management System Requirements for Integrity Assessment Organizations, Edition 3 Revision 0, issued 2022-09-19 (next scheduled revision 2027); ABSA AB-526 In-Service Pressure Equipment Inspector Certification Requirements, Edition 3 Revision 3, issued 2025-01-17; ABSA AB-512 Owner-User Pressure Equipment Integrity Management Requirements, Edition 4 Revision 0, issued 2025-10-14; Pressure Equipment Safety Regulation, Alta. Reg. 49/2006 as amended by AR 195/2015, ss. 11-13 and 41-44; ABSA Fee Schedule for Delegated Functions effective 2025-11-01; ABSA QMS-CAP FAQs. All verified against absa.ca and the Alberta King's Printer on 2026-08-21.

Ultrasonic Testing under ABSA / AB-515 — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	ABSA, the pressure equipment safety authority — Quality Management System Certificate of Authorization Permit for Integrity Assessment Organizations (AB-515)	Enforced by ABSA, the pressure equipment safety authority (originally incorporated as the Alberta Boilers Safety Association; a Delegated Administrative Organization under the Boilers Delegated Administration Regulation, Alta. Reg. 32/2002, administering the Safety Codes Act)
Method	Ultrasonic Testing (UT)	Needs its own procedure and its own qualified personnel
Procedure approval	The employer's Level III, qualified in this method	The signature an auditor traces
Other methods in scope	UTT, PAUT, TOFD, RT, MT, PT	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	The normal term of a Certificate of Authorization Permit is three years. ABSA conducts surveillance audit(s) within the term and continued validity depends on an acceptable audit. Renewal requires review and updating of the manual and submission of a new application for re-certification, approximately six months before expiry. In-Service Inspector Certificates of Competency run on a separate five-year cycle: form AB-98 plus the renewal fee of $188.90 must be submitted at least 21 days before expiry, with at least 15 weeks of in-service inspection experience in the last five years, a minimum of 80 hours of technical training (of which up to 12 hours may be in-house) and a re-certification examination.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does ABSA / AB-515 require a separate procedure for UT?

Yes. Every method in scope needs its own written procedure, approved by someone qualified in that method, describing technique, equipment, calibration, scanning or coverage, acceptance criteria and reporting. A single combined "NDT procedure" covering several methods is a finding under every regime that names procedures individually.

Who can approve a UT procedure under ABSA / AB-515?

A Level III qualified in UT. Because ABSA / AB-515 accepts employer-based certification, that Level III may be contracted rather than employed — but their own qualification must cover UT, and an auditor will check that before accepting the signature.

What UT records does a ABSA / AB-515 audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's UT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — instrument, probes, cables, couplant, and the calibration and reference blocks used to set sensitivity. The auditor works backwards from a finished job, so every item has to reconcile with the report and its stated acceptance criteria.

What is the most common UT finding at audit?

An in-calibration instrument used with an unidentified or out-of-calibration reference block. It is a records failure rather than a technique failure — the examination was performed correctly and the evidence supporting it cannot be produced, which under ABSA / AB-515 is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform UT under ABSA / AB-515?

Not automatically. Employer-based certification ends when the holder leaves, so the new employer must certify them under its own written practice. Prior training and documented experience transfer as evidence; the certificate itself does not.

What equipment evidence does UT need under ABSA / AB-515?

Calibration status traceable to the day of use, covering the instrument and its accessories — probes, cables, blocks and reference standards for ultrasonics; sources and densitometers for radiography. An in-calibration instrument with an out-of-calibration reference block fails the same way as an uncalibrated one.

How do UT requirements differ from the other methods in ABSA / AB-515?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. ABSA / AB-515 also covers UTT, PAUT, TOFD, RT, MT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for UT

Two separate credentials apply, and only one can be outsourced. NDT technicians work under employer-based certification: AB-515 §4.14 states an NDE organization conforming to ISO 9712, SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 (ACCP/ASNT) is desired, requires NDE procedures approved and signed by a Level III, and explicitly accepts a Level III who is 'contract or employee'. An outsourced Level III can therefore own the written practice and sign procedures. The in-service inspector credential cannot be handled that way: the person who certifies pressure equipment for continued operation must personally hold an ABSA Certificate of Competency issued under AB-526.