Personnel Certification Records for TSSA
TSSA names this requirement as "NDE procedures and evidence that NDE personnel are qualified in accordance with the applicable code section and CAN/CGSB-48.9712". The QA manager owns it, and a contracted Level III can author and sign it.
The finding auditors record against this document is: Qualified personnel performing alternate piping inspections who are contractors rather than employees, contrary to clause 2.1 of Advisory BPV-001-23 which requires them to be an employee of the Certificate of Authorization holder.. Ontario splits the requirement in two. A firm needs a Certificate of Authorization, obtained by submitting a written Quality Program Manual, undergoing a TSSA audit and providing a demonstration item showing adequate controls for the activities claimed; deficiencies must be closed before the certificate issues. The audit team includes a Quality Assessment Specialist plus an Authorized Inspector or Authorized Inspector Supervisor. Separately, individuals inspecting for an Authorized Inspection Agency need a personal Certificate of Competency, which requires a National Board examination, a TSSA examination and an in-service commission. Ontario is unusual in tying inspection personnel to employment by the certificate holder rather than allowing a contracted inspector.
Source: TSSA Advisory BPV-001-23, Alternate Process for Pressure Piping Inspection in Ontario, dated 2023-04-17 and effective 2023-05-01, referencing CSA B51-19 clause 4.10.2.1 as modified by Code Adoption Document BPV-20-01 R1; TSSA Accreditation of Owner/User Self-Inspection Repair Program, Guide for Review Teams, June 2007 Rev. 4; TSSA Accredited Inspection Agencies Acceptable to TSSA, 2008-05-08 Rev. 8; TSSA Certification: Boilers and Pressure Vessels, Types of Inspections, and Boiler & Pressure Vessel Owners pages; Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 and O. Reg. 220/01. Verified on tssa.org on 2026-08-21.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | Technical Standards and Safety Authority — Boilers and Pressure Vessels Certificate of Authorization and Certificate of Competency regime, O. Reg. 220/01 | Enforced by Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), Boilers and Pressure Vessels Safety Division, administering the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 and O. Reg. 220/01 |
| Document | Personnel Certification Records | the file proving each technician is currently certified for the work they are doing |
| Owner | the QA manager | The signature an auditor traces back |
| Where it is checked | Close out all deficiencies identified during the audit; TSSA does not issue the Certificate of Authorization until they. | Usually against a sampled job, not in isolation |
| Common failure | Qualified personnel performing alternate piping inspections who are contractors rather than employees, contrary to clause 2.1 of Advisory BPV-001-23 which requires them to be an employee of the Certificate of Authorization holder. | The gap between the manual and the job file |
What must a personnel certification records contain under TSSA?
It has to satisfy TSSA as Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), Boilers and Pressure Vessels Safety Division, administering the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 and O. Reg. 220/01 enforces it: the file proving each technician is currently certified for the work they are doing. The test is not completeness on paper but traceability — an auditor picks a finished job and works backwards to this document, so anything it claims must be demonstrable on that job.
Who signs the personnel certification records for TSSA?
The QA manager. Because this regime accepts employer-based certification, that role can be filled by a contracted Level III rather than a staff appointment, provided they are qualified in the methods they sign for.
How does a TSSA auditor test this document?
By sampling. They take a completed job, find the technicians and equipment used, and trace each back through this document to the evidence behind it. A document that reads well but cannot survive that trace is the most common finding across every regime, not just this one.
How long must TSSA records be kept?
Certificates of Competency for boiler and pressure vessel inspectors renew annually and expire on March 1 each year; TSSA sends renewal invoices roughly 60 days before expiration and a late renewal fee applies after the deadline. Renewal requires a valid and current National Board In-Service Commission card verified against the listed employer. A certificate not renewed within 12 months of expiry must go through reinstatement. Certificates of Inspection for equipment run on 12, 24 or 36 month cycles depending on equipment classification. Retention is set by the regime and by the client contract above it, and the longer of the two governs. Firms that set one retention period for everything and document it fare better at audit than firms tracking different periods per record type and losing track.
Does a generic template satisfy TSSA?
No. A downloaded template describes a generic firm, and the first question an auditor asks is whether the document describes THIS firm — its methods, its equipment, its people, its actual workflow. Templates are a starting structure; the content has to be the firm's own or the trace fails immediately.
What happens if this document is missing at a TSSA audit?
It is a finding, and depending on the regime it can suspend the certificate rather than merely generate a corrective action. The related finding auditors record most often is: Qualified personnel performing alternate piping inspections who are contractors rather than employees, contrary to clause 2.1 of Advisory BPV-001-23 which requires them to be an employee of the Certificate of Authorization holder.
Where this sits in the TSSA evidence pack
- Quality Program Manual covering the activities claimed, with an organization chart showing the inspector-to-supervisor reporting hierarchy
- Completed owner/user self-inspection checklist cross-referencing each requirement to a QC Manual paragraph, submitted with one controlled copy of the manual at least one month before the implementation review
- Demonstration item or repair job package showing all elements of the program, including non-destructive examination and heat treatment
- NDE procedures and evidence that NDE personnel are qualified in accordance with the applicable code section and CAN/CGSB-48.9712
- Registered welding procedures (WPS/PQR) and welder performance qualification records reviewed annually
- Records of API 510 and/or API 570 certification, National Board In-Service, Authorized Inspector or Repair course completion, and TSSA Regulatory Requirements training Module 1
- Certificate of Inspection records for each device and evidence of design registration (CRN) for all equipment
- Quality program supplement where the alternate pressure piping inspection process is added to an existing Certificate of Authorization
- Calibration records for NDE equipment, and retained UT reports and RT films per the applicable code
Personnel certification context
For NDE technicians Ontario recognises both routes: TSSA states that non-destructive examination of alterations by qualified personnel according to CAN/CGSB-48.9712 or ASNT SNT-TC-1A may be required, so an employer written practice is accepted alongside central CGSB certification. The owner/user self-inspection checklist nonetheless requires the QC Manual to address CAN/CGSB-48.9712 to meet Canadian jurisdictional requirements. The constraint is on inspection personnel, not NDT: under Advisory BPV-001-23 a qualified person performing alternate piping inspections must be an employee of the Certificate of Authorization holder, which limits a purely contracted arrangement.
Related: the TSSA overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.