Radiographic Testing (RT) Requirements Under T9074-AS-GIB-010/271

Radiation safety sits alongside the technical requirement: the radiographer licence, the area control and the dose records are audited as part of the same programme. T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, enforced by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA); enforced in the field by the cognizant.: Employer-based and deliberately non-portable.

An auditor examining RT asks for source or tube, exposure devices, film or detectors, densitometers, IQIs and the survey meters used to control the area. 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.

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.

Radiographic Testing under T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	NAVSEA Technical Publication T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, Revision 1 — Requirements for Nondestructive Testing Methods	Enforced by 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
Method	Radiographic Testing (RT)	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	MT, PT, UT, ET, VT, Computed radiography	Each needs separate qualification
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.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 require a separate procedure for RT?

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 RT procedure under T9074-AS-GIB-010/271?

A Level III qualified in RT. Because T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 accepts employer-based certification, that Level III may be contracted rather than employed — but their own qualification must cover RT, and an auditor will check that before accepting the signature.

What RT records does a T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's RT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — source or tube, exposure devices, film or detectors, densitometers, IQIs and the survey meters used to control the area. 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 RT finding at audit?

IQI sensitivity not achieved, or radiation area control records missing for the shot. 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 T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform RT under T9074-AS-GIB-010/271?

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 RT need under T9074-AS-GIB-010/271?

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 RT requirements differ from the other methods in T9074-AS-GIB-010/271?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 also covers MT, PT, UT, ET, VT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for RT

Employer-based and deliberately non-portable. Personnel are certified under the activity's own written practice, developed as required by ASNT SNT-TC-1A, which the publication invokes as mandatory minimum requirements and states shall not be considered recommendations or guidelines. The Level III is called the NDT Examiner: the activity delegates to that individual the responsibility and authority to examine and certify its NDT personnel and to approve NDT procedures and workmanship standards, so an outsourced Level III can hold the role. The catch sits in 1.6.2.1 — the Examiner's specific examination must be prepared, approved and administered by the employing activity, independent of the Examiner being tested. Transfer of NDT certifications between activities is prohibited except as authorised by NAVSEA.