NDT Technician Certification Tracking in the UK and Europe

Technician certifications, eye tests and expiry tracking against your written practice. Request a demo. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.

Certification under EN ISO 9712: the certificate is not the whole story

Across the UK and Europe, NDT personnel are certified centrally under EN ISO 9712 by accredited certification bodies: PCN, run by BINDT, in the UK, and national schemes elsewhere, such as those operated through DGZfP in Germany and COFREND in France. The certificate belongs to the technician, is issued by method, level and sector, and moves with them between employers.

But ISO 9712 is clear that certification is a statement of general competence, not permission to work. The employer is responsible for authorising the individual to operate, for job-specific training, and for making sure the technician’s eyesight is checked every year. So a European NDT company has to track two things: the third-party certificate, and its own evidence that it has authorised that person for the work.

Add PED requirements for pressure equipment, radiation protection rules for radiographers, offshore certificates for North Sea crews, and GDPR on top of all the health data, and it is easy to see why spreadsheets break down.

The Certificates app in Atlantis NDT ERP keeps every certification, vision test and exam record on the technician’s employee record, computes status every day, raises a warning task 90 days before anything expires, and sends daily email alerts to the people you choose. Atlantis NDT does not train or certify for EN ISO 9712, PCN or CSWIP; the app records the certificates your people hold from those bodies.

Recording EN ISO 9712 and PCN certificates

Each certificate is its own record: scheme (ISO 9712, PCN or CSWIP, with SNT-TC-1A, CP-189 and other available), level, method, certifying body, issue, expiry and renewal dates, industry sector, OJT hours, training hours, exam passed and attachments.

The industry sector field matters under ISO 9712 and PCN, where certificates are issued for product or industry sectors, for example welds, castings, forgings, tubes or aerospace. A UT Level 2 on welds is not the same as a UT Level 2 on castings, and your records should say which.

The validity cycle is built around dates. An ISO 9712 certificate is typically valid for five years, renewed on evidence of continued satisfactory work activity without significant interruption, and recertified at ten years. PCN follows that structure, with recertification by examination or, where eligible, a structured credit system. Issue, expiry and renewal dates on each record, and a template per scheme holding validity in months, show where each technician sits in the cycle.

Continuity of work is worth watching. A technician who has been away from a method for a long stretch may struggle to renew, and a company that can show documented, continuous work in the method makes renewal simpler. Attach the evidence your certification body asks for to the certificate record as you go, rather than hunting for it in year five.

The certifying body field separates PCN certificates from those issued by other European bodies, or from ASNT-based certificates held by technicians who have worked for US or Middle East clients.

CSWIP and weld inspection certificates

Many UK and European NDT companies also employ welding inspectors certified under CSWIP, run by TWI, at grades such as 3.1 Welding Inspector and 3.2 Senior Welding Inspector, and some technicians hold CSWIP certificates in NDT methods. CSWIP has its own validity and renewal rules, which differ from PCN.

In the app, CSWIP is a scheme in its own right, so these certificates get their own template, dates and status alongside a technician’s PCN certificates. A planner looking for someone who can cover both visual weld inspection and UT on a fabrication job sees both qualifications on one record, with the status of each.

Employer authorisation and internal assessments

Because ISO 9712 places authorisation to operate with the employer, many European companies run internal checks before a newly hired technician works unsupervised: a practical on the company’s procedures, a review by the Level 3, and sometimes a written test on client specifications.

The app’s examination sheets fit this well. They record general, specific and practical scores, a passing score (70% by default, adjustable), and the exam files. Used for internal authorisation assessments, they give you a documented trail: which procedures the technician was assessed on, the scores and the date.

A written authorisation itself can be attached to the certificate record. If you want authorisation to be its own record type with dates and scope, that can be set up as part of the customization scope agreed with you.

Where a technician’s status changes, for example after a failed practical or a Level 3 decision, the certificate can be marked revoked. The history stays intact, which an auditor from your certification body or a client will want to see.

Annual vision tests

ISO 9712 requires near-vision testing at least every twelve months, Jaeger 1 or Times Roman N4.6 or equivalent at not less than 30 cm, and colour vision sufficient for the method. PCN and other schemes apply the same annual rhythm, and the employer is responsible for making sure it happens.

Vision tests are separate records in the app: near vision (J1 or J2), far vision, colour perception, contrast, examiner, clinic, certificate file and expiry. The daily check creates a warning task 90 days before each test expires. In the UK many companies use occupational health providers or optometrists, and recording the examiner and clinic keeps each test traceable.

Colour perception results matter for PT and colour-contrast MT. Contrast results can matter for screen-based interpretation in PAUT, TOFD and digital radiography. Having both on record means the Level 3 knows about any restriction before scheduling, and a technician who also holds an ASNT-based certificate can see which vision requirement each test satisfies.

PED, UK PER and the codes behind the work

For pressure equipment placed on the EU market, the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU requires that NDT personnel on permanent joints of Category III and IV equipment are approved by a recognised third-party organisation or a user inspectorate. In Great Britain, the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 carry the same requirement for UKCA-marked equipment. Notified and approved bodies check this, usually by looking at certificates and records.

The Certificates app lets you hold that approval evidence where it belongs. The EN ISO 9712 certificate sits on the record; the third-party approval can be attached, or recorded as an other-scheme certificate with its own expiry so it gets the same warnings.

Method and acceptance standards then shape the work: EN ISO 17640 for UT of welds, EN ISO 17636 for radiography, EN ISO 17638 for MT, EN ISO 3452 for PT and EN ISO 17637 for visual testing, with quality levels to EN ISO 5817. Your procedures, written to these standards and approved by your Level 3, can be controlled in the Procedures app with revision history and an approval workflow. Aerospace work adds EN 4179 and customer requirements, and those certificates can be recorded under their own template.

Radiography: IRR17 and radiation protection records

In the UK, industrial radiography is regulated by the HSE under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017. Employers need HSE consent, a Radiation Protection Adviser and Radiation Protection Supervisors, and radiographers are typically designated classified persons, with dose records kept by an approved dosimetry service and medical surveillance by an appointed doctor. EU member states apply similar rules through their transposition of the Basic Safety Standards Directive 2013/59/Euratom.

The NDT profile in the Certificates app records radiation safety training, radiation badge number and medical fitness expiry, alongside highest level and methods certified. For classified radiographers, the medical fitness date can hold the review date from the appointed doctor, so it generates a warning before it lapses. RPS training certificates can be recorded as other-scheme certificates.

The Fleet app records whether a vehicle can carry radioactive sources and its transport licence number and expiry, which helps where ADR rules govern road transport of sources. The app does not replace your RPA’s records or regulator submissions; it keeps your people’s qualifications and radiation-related dates visible.

North Sea and offshore crews

Aberdeen-based inspection companies supporting North Sea operators, and those working in the Norwegian, Dutch and Danish sectors, face an extra stack of documents. Offshore workers need current survival training, such as OPITO BOSIET or FOET, and a valid offshore medical. Rope access technicians hold IRATA or equivalent levels. Operators and duty holders check all of it before anyone is booked on a helicopter.

In the app, the offshore medical expiry sits on the NDT profile as medical fitness expiry. Survival and rope access certificates can be recorded as other-scheme certificates with expiry dates and scans, so they get the same 90-day warning tasks and daily email alerts as the PCN certificate. Alternatively, dedicated fields can be added in your customization scope.

Offshore rotations make tracking harder. A technician on a two-weeks-on, three-weeks-off pattern can easily let a certificate lapse mid-rotation, and there is no quick fix once they are on the platform. Warnings well ahead of expiry let renewals, eye tests and medicals be planned for off-rotation weeks.

Duty holders also audit their contractors’ competence systems. A register where each certificate carries its scheme, certifying body, dates, status and scanned evidence, with a trail of warning tasks showing renewals were planned, makes that audit a short conversation.

GDPR and technician health data

Vision test results and medical fitness are health data, a special category under the GDPR and UK GDPR. You need a lawful basis to process them, you should keep access to those who need it, and you should not keep them longer than necessary.

In Atlantis NDT ERP, certificates, vision tests and NDT profiles sit on the employee record, and access rights apply. During implementation we agree who sees full vision and medical details, typically HR and the quality manager, and who only sees certification status, such as planners. Where your data is hosted is agreed as part of implementation. This supports your GDPR obligations; it does not replace your own data protection policies.

Who uses it day to day

• Quality manager: works the Expiring Soon and Expired lists, gathers renewal evidence for PCN and other certification bodies, and prepares qualification packs for notified bodies and clients.
• Level 3: maintains scheme templates, runs internal authorisation assessments on examination sheets, and revokes a certificate when needed.
• Radiation Protection Supervisor: checks radiation safety training, badge numbers and medical review dates before radiography work.
• Operations and offshore coordinators: check certificates, medicals and survival training before booking rotations.
• Managing director: follows the dashboard and company certification alerts.

Everyone works from the same record, entered once, so the register does not depend on one person’s spreadsheet.

How it connects and what setup looks like

Certificates links to the rest of Atlantis NDT ERP. Timesheets warn when a technician with an invalid certificate logs hours. Dashboards show certificates expiring and expired next to calibration due and overdue. Daily email alerts cover technician certificates, calibration certificates and company certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 45001 or other registrations your clients ask for, with look-ahead days and resend intervals you set. Calibration records themselves sit in the Asset Management app.

A typical European setup includes templates for EN ISO 9712, PCN and CSWIP, plus other-scheme templates for PED approvals and offshore and rope access certificates; import of your current register with scanned certificates; access rights for health data; alerts for quality, RPS and operations; and links to the apps you use. Reports signed in the NDT Reports app, and results placed on 3D asset models through Atlantis’s separate Digital Twin Reporting Software, rest on these qualification records.

To see your PCN roster in the app, book a Certificates demo.

Frequently asked questions

Does the app issue or renew PCN certificates?

No. PCN certificates are issued by BINDT, and other ISO 9712 certificates by their own certification bodies. The app records them and tracks their dates. Atlantis NDT’s own training is based on ASNT SNT-TC-1A and does not lead to ISO 9712, PCN or CSWIP certification.

Can we record the industry sector on a certificate?

Yes. Each certificate has an industry sector field, so a UT certificate on welds is distinguished from one on castings or forgings.

How do we record employer authorisation to operate?

Attach the authorisation to the certificate record and use examination sheets for internal assessments. A dedicated authorisation record can be added as part of your customization scope.

Can we track offshore medicals and survival certificates?

Yes. The medical fitness expiry is on the NDT profile. Survival and rope access certificates can be recorded as other-scheme certificates with expiry dates, so they get the same warnings.

Is vision and medical data protected?

Access rights limit who sees vision and medical details. They are agreed during implementation to fit your GDPR policies.

How early are expiry warnings?

Certificates show as expiring soon 90 days before expiry, and warning tasks are created at the same point for certificates and vision tests. Email alerts use look-ahead days and resend intervals you configure.

Put your certificate register in one place

Send us a sample of your current register and the schemes you work with, and we will show you how it looks in the Certificates app. Affordable, accessible and fully customizable. Request a quote for the UK or Europe and we will scope it with you.

Certificates by region

• Certificates global overview
• Certificates in United States
• Certificates in Canada
• Certificates in Middle East
• Certificates in India

Works with

• NDT Reports: Method-specific NDT inspection reports, captured in the field and issued from the ERP.
• Procedures: Controlled NDT procedures and techniques with revisions and approvals.
• Dashboards: KPI dashboards across jobs, reports, certifications and revenue.

Send an enquiry about Certificates · All ERP apps · Atlantis NDT ERP