Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Requirements Under ITS Manitoba
Sensitivity setting is the auditable step: the reference block used must itself be in calibration and traceable, and its identity recorded on the report. ITS Manitoba, enforced by Inspection and Technical Services (ITS), a branch of Manitoba Labour and Immigration.: The ITS publications reviewed do not name an NDT personnel certification scheme.
An auditor examining UT asks for instrument, probes, cables, couplant, and the calibration and reference blocks used to set sensitivity. Manitoba is the province where a US firm is most likely to assume a third-party route exists and find none. Inspection and Technical Services performs the periodic inspections itself and issues the inspection certificate; the published ITS material does not describe an owner-user self-inspection or accredited third-party inspection agency programme of the kind Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec operate. What a firm can hold is a Certificate of Authorization for construction, installation, alteration, repair or pressure welding performance testing, obtained by registering a written quality control manual with ITS and passing an implementation audit. Since June 8, 2020 ITS has applied a graded interval system rather than fixed annual and biennial inspections.
Source: Manitoba Inspection and Technical Services Quality Control Program, Pressure Equipment Inspections, Repair and Alterations and Boiler & Pressure Vessel pages on gov.mb.ca; ITS Bulletin 22-004 Pressure Equipment Graded Inspections, describing the interval grading system implemented 2020-06-08; ITS Bulletin 20-003 Electronic Submissions Guide; The Steam and Pressure Plants Act and The Steam and Pressure Plants Regulation (Man. Reg. 108/87 R), and The Power Engineers Act. Note a genuine inconsistency in the source material: ITS pages variously cite The Technical Safety Act and The Steam and Pressure Plants Act as the governing statute, and the operative citation should be confirmed with ITS. Verified 2026-08-21.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | Inspection and Technical Services Manitoba — pressure equipment Certificate of Authorization and inspection certificate regime | Enforced by Inspection and Technical Services (ITS), a branch of Manitoba Labour and Immigration — a government department, not a delegated or arm's-length safety authority |
| 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 | UTT, RT, MT, PT, VT, PAUT | Each needs separate qualification |
| Renewal | The Certificate of Authorization is valid for a period not to exceed three years and must be renewed prior to the expiry date by submitting an updated manual. Equipment inspection certificates carry their own expiry dates and the next inspection must occur before that date. Since June 8, 2020 inspection intervals have been graded: equipment is first assigned a grade 1 interval and only becomes eligible for the longer grade 2 interval after a minimum of two in-service inspections under grade 1, depending on condition and deficiencies found. | Applies to the personnel certification behind this method |
Does ITS Manitoba 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 ITS Manitoba?
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 ITS Manitoba 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 ITS Manitoba is recorded the same way as not having done the work.
Can a technician certified elsewhere perform UT under ITS Manitoba?
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 ITS Manitoba?
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 ITS Manitoba?
Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. ITS Manitoba also covers UTT, RT, MT, PT, VT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.
Personnel certification for UT
The ITS publications reviewed do not name an NDT personnel certification scheme, so neither central CGSB certification nor an SNT-TC-1A employer written practice is affirmatively endorsed in Manitoba's own material. Certification requirements reach the province through the adopted code rather than through a provincial rule, and CSA B51 references CAN/CGSB-48.9712. What Manitoba does make explicit is a jurisdictional personal credential for welding: all welders and brazers working under a registered quality control programme must hold valid current Manitoba Welder Licences. Confirm the NDE expectation with ITS in writing before relying on employer-based certification.
Related: the ITS Manitoba overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.