NDT documents made for the way your inspections actually run
Custom NDT documents are the forms, report templates, technique sheets, calibration logs, work instructions, quality-manual sections and client checklists a programme needs and no standard supplies finished. Atlantis drafts them to your written practice, procedures and client specifications, has an ASNT NDT Level III review the technical content, and delivers editable files for your document control.
Codes and standards say what an NDT record must contain; they rarely say how the form should look. The method articles of ASME Section V list what an examination record must include, SNT-TC-1A says what certification records should hold, and ISO 9001 requires documented information to be controlled, but turning those requirements into a report template a technician can complete at height, wearing gloves, is left to the employer. Generic templates fill that gap badly: a UT report with no field for coverage or limitations, a calibration log that cannot link a reference block's serial number to the instrument it checked, a technique sheet with no space for probe and wedge identity. Every field we draft traces to a requirement in a code, your procedure or a client specification, and nothing is asked that nobody uses. Free starting points include our written practice template; documents made to your programme are quoted on request.
Source: ASME BPVC Section V, documentation and examination record requirements in the method articles; ASNT SNT-TC-1A (2024, with Addendum); ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.5 (documented information); client specifications and report formats invoked by contract.
| Document | Built from | Fields generic versions leave out | Who keeps it current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultrasonic report template | Procedure, code record requirements, client specification | Coverage achieved, scan surfaces, limitations, reference block identity, calibration check times | Quality function; changes approved by the Level III |
| Radiographic report and interpretation sheet | Procedure, code, client specification | Image quality indicator identity and sensitivity achieved, film or detector identity, image quality checks, exposure geometry | Quality function and the RT Level III |
| MT and PT report templates | Procedure and client specification | Technique and consumable batch, white light or UV-A readings, surface temperature, indication sketch and disposition | Quality function and the Level III |
| Technique sheet | Procedure and component drawings | Probe and wedge serial numbers, angles or focal laws, index offsets, scan increments, the procedure ranges it sits within | Level III in the method |
| Calibration and verification log | Equipment list, procedure checks, manufacturer instructions | Instrument and reference standard serials linked, user, result, action on an out-of-tolerance check | Equipment custodian |
| Work instruction | One repetitive task under an approved procedure | Hold points, and the point at which to stop and call a Level II or III | Quality function |
| Quality-manual section for NDT | Your ISO 9001 system and written practice | The interface between the quality system and the written practice; control of outsourced NDT | Quality manager |
| Client-specific checklist | Client specification and audit questionnaire | Clause references, evidence location and an owner for each item | Project quality lead |
Where standard templates stop
Every NDT programme runs on documents no standard publishes in finished form. Codes state what a record must contain, written practices state what personnel files must hold, and quality systems state that documents must be controlled. Between those requirements and the form a technician actually completes sits a design job that companies tend to do once, quickly, and then live with for years, adding fields for each new client until the form makes sense to nobody.
Custom documents reverse that. They start from the requirements the document must satisfy: the procedure's reporting clause, the code's record requirements, the client specification and the written practice. Each field is traced to at least one of them, and each requirement to at least one field. The result is a form that is complete without being cluttered, and a record of why every field exists, which turns the next revision into a check rather than a guess.
Report templates: the document the client actually reads
Reports are the product most clients see, and a weak template shows up in every one. The template has to carry what the code requires an examination record to contain, what the procedure requires, and what the client specification adds, in an order a reader can follow. For ultrasonics that includes the procedure and revision, the instrument and probes, calibration and reference, scan surfaces, coverage achieved, limitations, and indications with their disposition against stated acceptance criteria.
Coverage and limitations deserve emphasis because templates leave them out more than anything else. A report listing no recordable indications, with no statement of what was and was not examined, leaves the owner assuming full coverage. A template with a mandatory coverage field and a limitations field, even when the answer is none, closes that gap on every report. Separate templates per method, rather than one form trying to serve them all, keep each one short enough to complete properly.
Technique sheets and calibration logs: the field-level records
Technique sheets sit between the procedure and the work, and their format decides whether they are useful. A good format captures the component or joint, the procedure and revision, the equipment by serial number, the settings, the scan or exposure plan and the coverage expected, and states the procedure ranges it relies on. For encoded and phased array work it should hold the scan plan and focal law details an auditor or client reviewer will ask to see.
Calibration and verification logs fail on linkage. A log that records a check without naming the reference standard used, or names a block without its serial number, cannot support the reports that follow. The format should link the instrument, probe or yoke to the standard used, record the result, the user and the date, and state what happens when a check fails, including how earlier work is assessed. Our free qualification and calibration register shows the register side of this.
Work instructions and quality-manual sections
Work instructions help with repetitive tasks, such as a pre-use instrument check or a standard thickness survey, where a short step list is more useful than a full procedure. They must sit under an approved procedure and never contradict it, and they should state the hold points where a technician stops and calls a Level II or Level III. When a work instruction starts repeating procedure content, the two drift apart, so the instruction should reference the procedure rather than copy it.
NDT sections of a quality manual connect the quality system to the NDT programme: how the written practice is controlled, how procedures are approved, how outsourced NDT is managed, how calibration is controlled and how NDT records are retained. ISO 9001 auditors read these sections to understand the system before sampling it. Drafting them to match the written practice exactly prevents the finding where the manual says one thing and the programme does another.
Client-specific checklists and forms
Some clients bring their own documents and expect contractors to use them; others publish specifications with more requirements than anyone can hold in their head. A client-specific checklist turns the specification into a list a project team can work through: each requirement, its clause reference, where the evidence will be, who is responsible and when it is due. It doubles as the index for a client audit and as the brief for the crew.
Where a client mandates its own forms, the job is mapping rather than design: matching each field to your procedure and code requirements, spotting fields your procedure cannot support, and adding the content needed. Where requirements conflict at a deeper level, on certification scheme or code edition, the checklist points to the bridging document that resolves them.
How a custom document is specified, drafted and approved
Each document starts with a short specification: what it is for, who completes it, where, on what medium, and which requirements it must satisfy. From that we draft the document and a trace table showing every field's source requirement. Drafts are reviewed against the procedure and written practice, and technical documents go to an ASNT NDT Level III for review within UT, RT, MT, PT and VT, or to a Level III in the method for anything else.
Before release, a trial on real or sample work catches fields that are awkward in practice: too small to write in, ambiguous, or in the wrong order for how the task is performed. The final version is issued under your document control with your branding and numbering, and the source files and trace table are handed over so your team can revise it later against the same requirements.
What Atlantis delivers on custom documents
Deliverables are the documents themselves in editable formats, the trace table for each, a field specification for any digital system that will host them, and a short note for document control on approval routes and revision triggers. Where you already have documents, we revise rather than replace, keeping your numbering and history where they still serve.
Tell us which documents you need, which procedures and clients they serve, and how your team will use them in the field. Request a quote for custom documents and we will scope each one from the requirements it has to meet.
What NDT documents can be made to order?
Report templates by method, interpretation sheets, technique sheets and scan plan formats, calibration and verification logs, equipment registers, work instructions, NDT sections of a quality manual, personnel record forms, client-specific checklists and audit indexes. If a document records or controls NDT work and needs to match your programme, it can be drafted to it.
Why not use free NDT report templates?
They are a fair starting point and a poor finishing one. A free template matches nobody's procedure exactly, so fields your procedure or client requires are missing and fields nobody needs are present. Use one to start the discussion, then adapt it so every field maps to your procedure, code and client, which is the work we do.
Do custom documents need Level III approval?
Technical documents do: report templates that carry acceptance criteria or calibration requirements, technique sheets, and anything that tells a technician how to perform or judge an examination. Administrative forms follow your document control approval route. The written practice and quality system should state which documents need which approval, and we draft to that.
Can documents be set up for a tablet app or inspection software?
Yes. We deliver editable word-processor and spreadsheet files, or a field specification your system administrator or software supplier can configure, giving each field's requirement, format and validation rule. Digital capture adds needs of its own, such as an audit trail and photo linking, which the specification covers.
How are custom documents controlled after delivery?
Under your document control, like any other controlled document: your numbering, revision status, approval signatures and distribution. We supply the source files and a record of what each field traces to, so later revisions can be checked against the same requirements rather than edited by guesswork.
Can you adapt our documents to a client's mandatory report format?
Yes. Clients frequently impose their own formats. We map each field of the client's format to your procedure and code requirements, identify fields your procedure does not support and add the content needed, so the technician completes one document that satisfies both rather than two that can disagree.
Frequently asked questions
How is a custom document request scoped?
By the list of documents, the requirements each must satisfy, the medium it will be used on and the approval route. A report template serving one method and one client is a smaller job than a template set serving several methods and clients, and the quote reflects the documents actually in scope.
Can you revise our existing documents instead of starting over?
Yes, and that is often the better route: technicians know the existing layout, and numbering and history are preserved. We trace the existing fields to requirements, remove what nothing requires, add what is missing and keep the familiar structure where it works.
Will the documents carry Atlantis branding?
No. They are your controlled documents, issued with your branding, numbering and approvals. Our review is recorded separately, so an auditor can see who drafted and who reviewed without our name appearing on every page your client receives.
Can one report template serve several clients?
Yes, with a common core and a client annex for requirements specific to each client. That keeps the core stable and puts client variation in one place. When a client's requirements change how the examination is reported throughout, a separate template is cleaner.