Phased Array Ultrasonics (PAUT) Requirements Under ONAC

Procedure qualification usually requires a demonstration on a representative flawed sample, and the scan plan forms part of the approved procedure rather than a field decision. ONAC, enforced by Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) as the national accreditation body;.: Colombia is the regional exception: it has a domestic third-party route.

An auditor examining PAUT asks for the phased array unit, wedges, encoders, and the calibration blocks used for wedge delay, sensitivity and TCG. 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.

Phased Array Ultrasonics under ONAC — procedure, personnel and evidence
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
Method	Phased Array Ultrasonics (PAUT)	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	UT including B-scan thickness measurement, MFL (magnetic flux leakage), RT, MT, PT, VT and dimensional inspection	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	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.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does ONAC require a separate procedure for PAUT?

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 PAUT procedure under ONAC?

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

What PAUT records does a ONAC audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's PAUT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — the phased array unit, wedges, encoders, and the calibration blocks used for wedge delay, sensitivity and TCG. 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 PAUT finding at audit?

Data acquired outside the scan plan the procedure qualified, or encoder position not recorded. 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 ONAC is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform PAUT under ONAC?

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 PAUT need under ONAC?

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 PAUT requirements differ from the other methods in ONAC?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. ONAC also covers UT including B-scan thickness measurement, MFL (magnetic flux leakage), RT, MT, PT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for PAUT

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.