Visual Testing (VT) Requirements Under SAE (ex-OAE)

Visual is the method most often performed without a written procedure, and it is exactly as procedure-bound as the others — including the illumination level actually measured at the surface. SAE (ex-OAE), enforced by Servicio de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (SAE) as the national accreditation body; Agencia de.: Employer-based certification is accepted and is the norm.

An auditor examining VT asks for light meters, measuring aids, mirrors and borescopes where remote viewing is used. The body named here is real but no longer carries that name. The Organismo de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (OAE), created under the Ley del Sistema Ecuatoriano de la Calidad, was renamed and now operates as the Servicio de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (SAE); older Ecuadorian legal text and legacy contracts still say OAE, which is a frequent source of confusion at tender stage. SAE accredits inspection bodies against NTE INEN-ISO/IEC 17020:2013, the Ecuadorian adoption. Applications run through SAE's SISAC and ACREDITA SAE platforms. Accreditation is granted for five years, maintained by two surveillance evaluations at eighteen-month intervals inside the cycle, with reaccreditation applied for before expiry. In the hydrocarbon sector operators additionally require ARCH qualification, so accreditation alone does not open the gate.

Source: SAE, "Cómo acreditarse: organismos de inspección" (accessed August 2026), giving the ISO/IEC 17020 basis, the SISAC application route, the three-part evaluation of documentary review, on-site verification and witnessing, the five-year accreditation period, two surveillance evaluations at eighteen-month intervals, reaccreditation before expiry, scope extension and withdrawal grounds; SAE news item on training in NTE INEN ISO/IEC 17020:2013 for accrediting inspection bodies, and SAE course for Andean Community technical experts on ISO/IEC 17020; SAE published scope document SAE-INS-17-002 and SAE-accredited inspection body scopes covering hydrocarbon-sector metallurgical and non-destructive inspection; Decreto Ejecutivo 1036 of 6 May 2020 creating ARCERNNR by merging the electricity, hydrocarbons and mining regulators, and Decreto Ejecutivo 256 of 8 May 2024 splitting it back into ARCH, ARCOM and ARCONEL under the Ministerio de Energía y Minas, with a 90-day implementation window, as reported by Primicias; SAE institutional pages confirming creation in 2007 under the Ley del Sistema Ecuatoriano de la Calidad and the OAE-to-SAE naming.

Visual Testing under SAE (ex-OAE) — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	Servicio de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (SAE), formerly the Organismo de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (OAE)	Enforced by Servicio de Acreditación Ecuatoriano (SAE) as the national accreditation body; Agencia de Regulación y Control de Hidrocarburos (ARCH), re-established by Decreto Ejecutivo 256 of 8 May 2024 under the Ministerio de Energía y Minas, for hydrocarbon-sector qualification of inspection companies
Method	Visual Testing (VT)	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, PAUT, RT, MT, PT, ET	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	SAE accreditation runs for five years and is maintained by two surveillance evaluations at eighteen-month intervals within the cycle; reaccreditation must be applied for before the cycle expires. Scope extension is available at any point on demonstration of conformity, and accreditation can be withdrawn where non-compliance affects technical competence or the quality of results. ARCH qualification runs on its own cycle set by the agency and must be tracked as a separate diary item; firms routinely lose work by keeping one current and letting the other lapse.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does SAE (ex-OAE) require a separate procedure for VT?

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 VT procedure under SAE (ex-OAE)?

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

What VT records does a SAE (ex-OAE) audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's VT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — light meters, measuring aids, mirrors and borescopes where remote viewing is used. 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 VT finding at audit?

Illumination at the surface never measured, or near-vision acuity test lapsed. 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 SAE (ex-OAE) is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform VT under SAE (ex-OAE)?

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 VT need under SAE (ex-OAE)?

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 VT requirements differ from the other methods in SAE (ex-OAE)?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. SAE (ex-OAE) also covers UT, PAUT, RT, MT, PT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for VT

Employer-based certification is accepted and is the norm. Ecuador has no verified accredited domestic body certifying NDT personnel to ISO 9712, so technicians hold employer certification written against ASNT SNT-TC-1A, or ISO 9712 certificates issued abroad. An outsourced Level III can sign the written practice, approve NDT procedures and certify Level I and II staff. The constraint sits on the other side of the transaction: inside a SAE-accredited inspection body, personnel competence must be demonstrated to the assessor against NTE INEN-ISO/IEC 17020:2013, meaning training, formal authorisation, witnessed performance and ongoing monitoring records. An SNT-TC-1A card on its own is not sufficient evidence at a SAE witnessing evaluation.