Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Requirements Under TSASK

Sensitivity setting is the auditable step: the reference block used must itself be in calibration and traceable, and its identity recorded on the report. TSASK, enforced by Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK), administering The Boiler and Pressure Vessel.: Saskatchewan is the strictest of the western provinces on this point.

An auditor examining UT asks for instrument, probes, cables, couplant, and the calibration and reference blocks used to set sensitivity. Saskatchewan's Quality Management System of Inspections is voluntary but commercially decisive: it is what lets a company lengthen inspection intervals, remove start-up delays on newly installed equipment and extend PSV service intervals. Three authorization classes exist under Regulation 83(1) — Class A covering periodic inspections, repairs and alterations and acceptance inspections of new piping including boilers, Class B the same without boilers, and Class C for insurers inspecting equipment they insure. Every inspection carried out under an approved QMS must be done by a Licensed Pressure Equipment Inspector whose licence authorizes that inspection, and the holder must designate and employ one. Separately, contractors need a Certificate of Authorization built on a quality control manual.

Source: TSASK Saskatchewan Quality Management System of Inspections, document IP-2011-01-01, including the Class A/B/C authorizations under Saskatchewan Regulation 83(1); TSASK Guide for Quality Control Program Requirements, document IP-2008-07-04, revision September 2017; TSASK Quality Management Systems, Pressure Equipment Inspector licensing and Design Registration pages; The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Act and The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Regulations. Verified on tsask.ca on 2026-08-21.

Ultrasonic Testing under TSASK — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan — Quality Management System of Inspections and Licensed Pressure Equipment Inspector regime	Enforced by Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK), administering The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Act and The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Regulations, with oversight from the Saskatchewan Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety Board
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	Renewal applications must be requested at least 120 days before the certificate expiry date. Applications submitted closer to expiration may require an interim extension application to maintain compliance while the renewal audit is under way. A separate timing rule applies at first certification: the implementation audit must be completed within six months of manual approval or a new application and payment are required. TSASK did not publish a fixed certificate term in the material reviewed, so confirm the term on the certificate itself.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does TSASK 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 TSASK?

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 TSASK 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 TSASK is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform UT under TSASK?

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 TSASK?

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 TSASK?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. TSASK 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

Saskatchewan is the strictest of the western provinces on this point. The TSASK quality control program guide states that personnel performing NDE must be qualified and certified in accordance with CGSB, with their qualifications maintained by the certificate holder, and requires annual vision and colour differentiation testing. That is central third-party certification through the NRCan NDT Certification Body to CAN/CGSB-48.9712, not an employer written practice, so an SNT-TC-1A Level II will not satisfy an auditor on its own. Inspection personnel need a TSASK Licensed Pressure Equipment Inspector licence, and a Designated Pressure Equipment Inspector also needs a TSASK Certificate of Qualification.