T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 Audit Preparation for Inspection Companies
A T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 audit runs in 6 stages, beginning with contract or navsea standard item invokes t9074-as-gib-010/271 on the work package. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); enforced in the field by the cognizant Government inspector — the Supervisor of Shipbuilding at a commercial shipyard, the Shipyard Commander at a government yard tests the system by sampling finished work backwards to the records behind it, so preparation means reconciling records.
The document usually spoken of as "NAVSEA T9074" is not a single publication — T9074 is a series prefix. The NDT requirement is NAVSEA Technical Publication T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, Revision 1, dated 11 September 2014, Requirements for Nondestructive Testing Methods, which supersedes the 30 April 1997 original and its Advanced Change Notice 1 of 16 February 1999. It sets the minimum requirements to qualify NDT personnel, procedures and equipment, and covers radiographic, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, ultrasonic, eddy current and visual testing in separate chapters. Its distinguishing feature for a service provider is that it converts ASNT SNT-TC-1A from a recommended practice into mandatory minimums, then layers Navy-specific controls on top. What separates firms that clear an audit from firms that collect findings is not the quality of the documentation but whether it describes what actually happens. The finding recorded most often is: Written practice reproduces SNT-TC-1A verbatim without adopting the modifications the publication imposes, so training hours or examination content fall short of the mandatory minimums
Source: NAVSEA Technical Publication T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, Revision 1, 11 September 2014, 116 pages, Distribution Statement A (approved for public release, distribution unlimited) — Chapter 1 (Scope; 1.5 definitions; 1.6 nondestructive test personnel certification; 1.7 procedure qualification and approval) and Chapter 2 (Applicable Documents) read in full. Related documents cited within it include MIL-STD-2132, NAVSEA S9074-AR-GIB-010/278 and NAVSEA S9086-CH-STM-020 Chapter 074 Volume 2. Revision 1 is the revision attached to current Navy solicitations; no Revision 2 was found. Verified August 2026.
| Stage | What happens | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Contract or NAVSEA Standard Item invokes T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 on the work package | Where the paperwork is tested against itself |
| Stage 2 | Activity writes or updates its written practice to SNT-TC-1A as modified by the publication, and delegates the Level III NDT. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 3 | Examiner is examined — basic and method examinations administered by the employing activity, ASNT or another outside agency, plus a. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 4 | Examiner certifies Operators and Inspectors, writes and signs the NDT procedures, and qualifies each procedure by demonstration on known discontinuities | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 5 | Government inspector reviews the written practice, procedures and personnel records on request, and may require a demonstration of the procedure. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 6 | Annual oversight by the Examiner, with a technical performance evaluation performed before the end of the second year of the. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Renewal | NDT Operators and Inspectors are recertified by examination at intervals not greater than three years; Examiners at intervals not greater than five years. A certification is considered expired on the last day of the month in which recertification is due. Recertification by evidence of continuing satisfactory technical performance, or on the basis of ASNT certifications granted without examination, is not permitted. Operators and Inspectors who have not satisfied the annual oversight requirement must be re-examined by an approved practical examination administered by the activity's Examiner. Vision tests are annual, or sooner after eye surgery or other conditions affecting vision. | Diarised from the certificate date, not the last audit |
How long does T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 audit preparation take?
Document work — the written practice, procedures and quality manual — takes weeks. What cannot be compressed is documented experience and records history: on-the-job hours accrue in real time, and calibration and certification history cannot be back-filled. Firms that start when the audit is scheduled rather than announced clear it without findings.
What does Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); enforced in the field by the cognizant Government inspector — the Supervisor of Shipbuilding at a commercial shipyard, the Shipyard Commander at a government yard look at first?
Records, not manuals. A manual states intent; records show practice. The usual opening move is to take a completed job and trace it back to the technician's certification, the instrument's calibration, the approved procedure and the report — and see whether all four reconcile.
What are the most common T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 findings?
Written practice reproduces SNT-TC-1A verbatim without adopting the modifications the publication imposes, so training hours or examination content fall short of the mandatory minimums, The Examiner's specific examination was prepared or administered by the Examiner himself rather than independently by the employing activity, Recertification granted on continuing satisfactory performance, or on an ASNT certification issued without examination — both expressly prohibited, No documented annual oversight, or no technical performance evaluation before the end of the second year of the certification cycle. Almost all of them are evidence problems rather than capability problems: the work was done correctly and the proof was not kept, or was kept somewhere the firm could not retrieve during the audit.
Can a consultant attend the T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 audit?
Yes, and it changes the outcome. Someone who has sat through the same audit at other firms answers in the auditor's own terms, produces the right record without a search, and stops a clarification turning into a finding. The firm still owns every answer — the consultant does not speak for it.
What happens after a T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 finding?
A corrective action with a deadline, and evidence of closure at the next audit. Repeat findings are treated far more seriously than first ones, because they show the corrective-action system itself is not working.
Does T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 require a pre-audit or gap assessment?
Not as a requirement, but the arithmetic favours it: a gap assessment finds the same evidence problems the auditor would, without the finding attached, and while there is still time to fix them. Firms entering their first T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 audit blind typically collect findings that a sampling exercise would have caught.
What the auditor asks to see
- The activity's written practice for NDT personnel training, examination and certification, provided to the Government inspector on request
- A written NDT procedure for each method performed, carrying a certification statement signed by the cognizant Examiner
- Procedure qualification data showing that known natural or artificial discontinuities near the accept/reject threshold can be reliably detected and evaluated
- Records of qualification training and experience obtained before initial certification, retained as long as personnel remain certified
- Results of all current examinations, correlatable to the examination administered, plus a master copy of each examination
- Vision test records noting corrective aids, retained for the current and preceding certification period
- Certification statements signed by the activity's NDT Examiner for Operators and Inspectors, and by an employer representative for Examiners
- Annual oversight records — witnessed in-process inspections, reinspections of previously inspected product, or technical performance evaluations
Findings to close before the audit
- Written practice reproduces SNT-TC-1A verbatim without adopting the modifications the publication imposes, so training hours or examination content fall short of the mandatory minimums
- The Examiner's specific examination was prepared or administered by the Examiner himself rather than independently by the employing activity
- Recertification granted on continuing satisfactory performance, or on an ASNT certification issued without examination — both expressly prohibited
- No documented annual oversight, or no technical performance evaluation before the end of the second year of the certification cycle
- Vision test lapsed; the requirement is annual and expires on the last day of the month in which retesting is due
- NDT procedure missing the Examiner's signed certification statement, or holding no procedure qualification demonstration data
- Certifications carried across from a previous employer, which the publication prohibits without NAVSEA authorisation
- Limited certifications used without the limitation being described in both the written practice and the certification records
Related: the T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.