Equipment Calibration Records for ONAC
ONAC names this requirement as "Equipment inventory with calibration and verification records for each method in the scope". The equipment custodian owns it, and a contracted Level III can author and sign it.
The finding auditors record against this document is: Scope creep: the firm inspects a tubular size or applies a normative document that is not in the annexed scope, so the report cannot legitimately carry the accreditation mark. ONAC is the Colombian state's accreditation body and its inspection body scheme, coded OIN, is where NDT sits. Scopes are granted against ISO/IEC 17020:2012 under inspection field code 22, "Equipos y elementos a través de ensayos no destructivos — END", and the annexed scope names the exact activity, the execution criteria and the acceptance and rejection criteria down to the clause and table, plus the inspection body type A, B or C. Two hydrocarbon inspection scopes have been made effectively compulsory by regulation: flare efficiency measurement and natural gas leak detection and quantification at production facilities, under Ministerio de Minas y Energía Resolución 40066 de 2022 as modified by Resolución 40317 de 2023, and ANH Resolución 10981 de 2023.
Source: ONAC accreditation certificate 24-OIN-053 for ATP Integridad y Corrosión S.A.S, NIT 900.412.013-9, ISO/IEC 17020:2012, form FR 3.5.3-03 V7 approved 2023-07-18, read in full: inspection field code 22 for NDT (ultrasonic, visual-dimensional and MFL of drill pipe, heavy weight, drill collar, casing and tubing, and visual inspection of storage tanks) as a type C body, and inspection field code 29 for flare efficiency and gas leak detection as a type A body, with dates 2025-07-28, 2026-07-10 and 2028-07-27, and citing DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection Vol. 3 5th ed. 2020, ASME BPVC.V-2023 Art 23 SE-797, API Spec 5CT 11th ed. December 2023, API RP 5C1 8th ed. 2020 and API Std 653 5th ed.; ONAC OIN and OCP scheme pages and the DOA directory (accessed August 2026), noting 26 inspection categories; ONAC Reglas del Servicio de Acreditación RAC-3.0-01 version 12, 8 January 2025, for the month 9/21/33/45 surveillance and month 55 re-evaluation schedule; Ministerio de Minas y Energía Resolución 40066 of 11 February 2022 and Resolución 40317 of 10 April 2023; ANH Resolución 10981 of 31 October 2023 and ANH Circular No. 0003 of 30 January 2025. ACOSEND's ONAC ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation for NDT Levels I and II to ISO 9712:2012 is reported by secondary sources only and should be re-verified in ONAC's DOA before it is relied on. No public Ecopetrol NDT personnel specification was verified, so none is quoted.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) — Inspection Body Accreditation for Non-Destructive Testing | Enforced by Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) as the national accreditation body; Ministerio de Minas y Energía and the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) for the regulated hydrocarbon inspection scopes |
| Document | Equipment Calibration Records | the traceable evidence that every instrument was in calibration on the day it was used |
| Owner | the equipment custodian | The signature an auditor traces back |
| Where it is checked | Decision by ONAC's decision-making body and publication of the certificate and annexed scope in the Directorio Oficial de. | Usually against a sampled job, not in isolation |
| Common failure | Scope creep: the firm inspects a tubular size or applies a normative document that is not in the annexed scope, so the report cannot legitimately carry the accreditation mark | The gap between the manual and the job file |
What must a equipment calibration records contain under ONAC?
It has to satisfy ONAC as Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) as the national accreditation body; Ministerio de Minas y Energía and the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) for the regulated hydrocarbon inspection scopes enforces it: the traceable evidence that every instrument was in calibration on the day it was used. The test is not completeness on paper but traceability — an auditor picks a finished job and works backwards to this document, so anything it claims must be demonstrable on that job.
Who signs the equipment calibration records for ONAC?
The equipment custodian. Because this regime accepts employer-based certification, that role can be filled by a contracted Level III rather than a staff appointment, provided they are qualified in the methods they sign for.
How does a ONAC auditor test this document?
By sampling. They take a completed job, find the technicians and equipment used, and trace each back through this document to the evidence behind it. A document that reads well but cannot survive that trace is the most common finding across every regime, not just this one.
How long must ONAC records be kept?
ONAC does not run one fixed validity across every scheme; the certificate itself carries the expiry date, and it is the surveillance rhythm that is published. Under the accreditation service rules RAC-3.0-01, version 12 dated 8 January 2025, from the first renewal onwards ONAC schedules surveillance evaluations in months 9, 21, 33 and 45 after approval of the renewal, with re-evaluation in month 55, and the new cycle begins from publication of the certificate in the DOA. A live example: certificate 24-OIN-053 carries a grant date of 28 July 2025 and an expiry of 27 July 2028. Retention is set by the regime and by the client contract above it, and the longer of the two governs. Firms that set one retention period for everything and document it fare better at audit than firms tracking different periods per record type and losing track.
Does a generic template satisfy ONAC?
No. A downloaded template describes a generic firm, and the first question an auditor asks is whether the document describes THIS firm — its methods, its equipment, its people, its actual workflow. Templates are a starting structure; the content has to be the firm's own or the trace fails immediately.
What happens if this document is missing at a ONAC audit?
It is a finding, and depending on the regime it can suspend the certificate rather than merely generate a corrective action. The related finding auditors record most often is: Scope creep: the firm inspects a tubular size or applies a normative document that is not in the annexed scope, so the report cannot legitimately carry the accreditation mark
Where this sits in the ONAC evidence pack
- Solicitud de acreditación with the proposed scope drafted the way ONAC's annex is drafted: inspection field code, inspection activity, execution criteria, acceptance and rejection criteria, and body type
- Internal inspection procedures cited by exact name and version number, in the style of "Ultrasonido — Medición de Espesores con Scan B en Tuberías de perforación (Drill Pipe - Heavy Weight) y tubería de producción (Tubing) V.8"
- Controlled copies of every normative document named in the scope, at the edition named: DS-1 Drill Stem Inspection Vol. 3 5th ed. 2020, ASME BPVC.V-2023 Article 23 SE-797, API Spec 5CT 11th ed. December 2023, API RP 5C1 8th ed. 2020, API Std 653
- Impartiality analysis and the declared type A, B or C under ISO/IEC 17020:2012
- Personnel competence records covering certification, authorisation, training, witnessed performance and ongoing monitoring per ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1
- Equipment inventory with calibration and verification records for each method in the scope
- Inspection reports and certificates in the format ONAC assessed, with the accreditation symbol applied per ONAC's rules of use
- Fee calculation from ONAC's Modelo Integral de Tarifas (MIT)
- For the hydrocarbon scopes, the ANH technical guidance annexes and documented method for flare efficiency evaluation and leak quantification
Personnel certification context
Colombia is the regional exception: it has a domestic third-party route. ONAC accredits certification bodies for persons under ISO/IEC 17024, and ACOSEND has held that accreditation to certify NDT inspectors at Levels I and II against ISO 9712:2012 in MT, PT, RT, UT and VT; verify current status in ONAC's Directorio Oficial de Acreditados before relying on it. Level III is not covered domestically, so Level III comes from ASNT or a foreign ISO 9712 body. Employer certification under SNT-TC-1A remains common in operator supply chains, but inside an ONAC-accredited inspection body personnel competence must be demonstrated against ISO/IEC 17020 clause 6.1, not merely against the employer's written practice.
Related: the ONAC overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.