Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Requirements Under IRAM / OAA

Sensitivity setting is the auditable step: the reference block used must itself be in calibration and traceable, and its identity recorded on the report. IRAM / OAA, enforced by Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM) as certification body; Organismo Argentino.: Central and third-party, not employer-based.

An auditor examining UT asks for instrument, probes, cables, couplant, and the calibration and reference blocks used to set sensitivity. Argentina issues no single NDT licence. Two things bind a service provider. First, personnel: technicians are expected to hold certification to IRAM-NM-ISO 9712, the Argentine adoption of the Mercosur standard NM ISO 9712, issued by an accredited certification body rather than by their own employer. Second, where the work is regulated the regulator names that standard directly. ENARGAS NAG-100 Part E, Section 243, requires NDT of pipeline welds to be carried out by persons trained and certified at Level 2 or 3 to IRAM NM ISO 9712 or recognised equivalent international standards, and requires the written, qualified NDT procedures to be signed by an inspector competent to the same standard. A firm selling inspection as an accredited third party additionally pursues OAA accreditation under IRAM-ISO/IEC 17020.

Source: IRAM, NDT operators certification scheme page (accessed August 2026), stating IRAM-NM-ISO 9712, IRAM-ISO/IEC 17024 and OAA accreditation since 2004; CNEA Departamento de Ensayos No Destructivos y Estructurales OCA page (methods and levels: US, PM, CI, LP, RI levels 1-3, USPA levels 1-2) and INTI Organismo de Certificación pages citing IRAM-ISO/IEC 17024, NM ISO 9712 and IRAM 710, and OAA persons-certification scope reference OCH-003 (accessed August 2026); ENARGAS NAG-100 Año 1993, Adenda N.º 3 Año 2026, Parte E, Sections 221, 225, 227, 229, 241, 243 and 245, text read directly, approved by ENARGAS Resolución 62/2026 published in the Boletín Oficial on 10 February 2026 and effective 11 February 2026, which also repeals NAG-105; AMN/Mercosur catalogue record for NM ISO 9712, April 2025 edition, identical adoption of ISO 9712:2021, superseding the January 2014 edition; OAA public site (accessed August 2026), noting Decreto 1474/94 as the framework for the Sistema Nacional de Normas, Calidad y Certificación, and the replacement of ILAC and IAF by Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (GLOBAC) from 1 January 2026.

Ultrasonic Testing under IRAM / OAA — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	IRAM-NM-ISO 9712 NDT Personnel Certification and Organismo Argentino de Acreditación (OAA) Accreditation	Enforced by Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM) as certification body; Organismo Argentino de Acreditación (OAA) as the sole national accreditation body; Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas (ENARGAS) as the sector regulator for gas transmission and distribution
Method	Ultrasonic Testing (UT)	Needs its own procedure and its own qualified personnel
Procedure approval	Per the certification scheme and the client specification	The signature an auditor traces
Other methods in scope	PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT, ET	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	IRAM-NM-ISO 9712 is the Argentine adoption of the Mercosur standard NM ISO 9712, whose April 2025 edition is an identical adoption of ISO 9712:2021 and whose previous edition, January 2014, adopted ISO 9712:2012. On that basis the ISO 9712 cycle applies: certificates run five years, are renewed once on evidence of continued visual acuity and uninterrupted activity, and require recertification at ten years. Confirm which edition IRAM has adopted before quoting an exam route. OAA accreditation is maintained by periodic surveillance and reassessment; OAA does not publish the interval on its public pages, so verify it in the current OAA rules rather than assuming a number.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does IRAM / OAA 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 IRAM / OAA?

Approval follows the certification scheme and the governing specification rather than the employer alone. The person approving must hold the scheme's qualification for UT at the appropriate level.

What UT records does a IRAM / OAA 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 IRAM / OAA is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform UT under IRAM / OAA?

Where the scheme's certification travels with the individual, yes — that is the point of central certification. Verify the certificate covers UT at the level required and is current, since scope and expiry are what get checked.

What equipment evidence does UT need under IRAM / OAA?

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 IRAM / OAA?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. IRAM / OAA also covers PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for UT

Central and third-party, not employer-based. IRAM operates an OAA-accredited scheme under IRAM-ISO/IEC 17024, accredited since 2004, certifying to IRAM-NM-ISO 9712; examinations are delivered by IRAM-authorised qualifying bodies (Organismos de Calificación Autorizados) including CNEA's OCA and UTN Facultad Regional Delta. INTI runs a separate OAA-accredited certification body for persons, scope reference OCH-003, using NM ISO 9712 and IRAM 710. An employer's SNT-TC-1A written practice does not on its own produce a certificate Argentina recognises for ENARGAS-regulated work. An outsourced Level III can still sign procedures under NAG-100's "normas equivalentes internacionales reconocidas" wording where he holds a centrally issued certificate such as ASNT NDT Level III.