NDT Inventory Management for Equipment and Consumables
Stock of consumables, sources and equipment across sites. Request a demo. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.
Where is the flaw detector?
Ask that question in most NDT companies and you get a round of phone calls. Someone thinks it went to the refinery job. Someone else thinks it came back and is in the van. The technician who had it last is on leave. Meanwhile a crew is mobilising tomorrow and the job needs two UT sets, a PAUT unit and a yoke, and nobody is sure which of them are in calibration.
Equipment is one of the largest investments an inspection company makes, and it spends most of its life away from the office: on sites, in vehicles, at calibration labs, in repair, or lent to another crew. Consumables are scattered even more widely: couplant, penetrant, developer, cleaner, magnetic particle inks, PPE and stationery in the store, in site boxes and in vans.
Spreadsheets and whiteboards cannot keep up with that. They go stale the moment someone forgets to update them, and they cannot stop two supervisors promising the same instrument to two different jobs.
The Inventory app in Atlantis NDT ERP, working together with the Asset Management app, gives you one place where every instrument is tracked by serial number and every consumable has a stock level. It is built on the standard Atlantis ERP inventory app and configured for the way NDT companies actually move kit around.
What the Inventory app does for an NDT company
Inventory and Asset Management split the work between them. Inventory holds stock: what you have and where it is. Asset Management holds the detail and the rules around each piece of equipment.
- Equipment by serial number. Every instrument, probe and related item is tracked individually, with equipment type, assigned person, condition, asset tag, firmware and accessories.
- Lifecycle status. Each item is new, active, in calibration, in repair, rented out, retired or disposed, so you can see at a glance what is available.
- Issue and return. Equipment goes out and comes back through a workflow with supervisor and manager approval, and its condition is recorded at both ends.
- Reservations. Kit can be reserved for upcoming jobs, with clash prevention so the same item cannot be promised twice.
- Movement records. Inbound and outbound movements are logged.
- Consumables. Chemicals, PPE, stationery, couplant and similar items have a reorder level, a low-stock flag and a movement ledger.
- Stock locations. Standard Atlantis ERP stock locations can represent your main store, branch offices, vans or site containers, set up during implementation.
Tracking instruments by serial through their whole life
An ultrasonic flaw detector is not interchangeable with another one of the same model. It has its own calibration history, its own firmware, its own accessories and its own repair record. Clients and auditors care which specific unit was used. That is why Atlantis NDT ERP tracks equipment by serial number rather than as a quantity on a shelf.
For each item you can see:
- What it is. Equipment type, asset tag, firmware version and the accessories that belong with it, such as cables, wedges and batteries.
- Who has it. The assigned person and its current condition.
- Where it is in its life. New, active, in calibration, in repair, rented out, retired or disposed.
- Calibration. Calibration frequency and status, with calibration records holding provider, certificate number, standard, range, uncertainty, accredited-lab flag, result and next due date.
- Maintenance. A log of preventive, corrective, repair, cleaning, firmware update and probe replacement work, with condition before and after.
- Rental. Rental rates can be recorded for items you rent out to other companies.
When an instrument is in calibration or repair, it shows as such, so nobody plans a job around a unit that is sitting at a lab. When it is retired, it stays on record with its history rather than disappearing from a spreadsheet.
Issuing and returning equipment with approvals
Most equipment disputes come down to one question: what condition was it in when it left, and what condition was it in when it came back? The issue and return workflow answers that.
- Request. A technician or site supervisor requests the equipment needed for a job.
- Approval. The request is approved by a supervisor and a manager, following the approval chain set for your company.
- Issue. The item is issued, its condition is recorded, and it is now assigned to that person.
- On site. The instrument is shown as issued. Dashboards can flag issued equipment that is overdue for return.
- Return. The item comes back, its condition is recorded again, and it is available for the next job.
If a probe comes back with a damaged face or a cable is missing, the difference between the issue and return records shows it straight away. A maintenance entry can then be logged, and a repair or replacement can be bought through the Purchase app with the order line linked to that serial number.
For technicians in the field, the ERP's REST API for field devices includes a view of equipment issued to them, so they know exactly which serials they are responsible for. Over time, the record also shows patterns: which kit gets damaged most often, and on which kinds of work.
No more double-booked equipment
Double-booking is one of the most common and most avoidable problems in inspection operations. Two supervisors plan two jobs for the same week, both assume the PAUT unit is free, and one crew finds out at the store the morning they are due to leave.
Atlantis NDT ERP blocks this in two places.
Reservations in Asset Management. Equipment can be reserved against an upcoming need, and clash prevention stops a second reservation for the same item over the same period.
Team Assignments. When a job is planned as a team assignment, double-booking of equipment serial numbers is blocked, just as double-booking of technicians is. The assignment also warns when an item assigned to the job is out of calibration, so a unit that missed its calibration date does not go to site by accident.
Together, these mean the operations manager can plan the week knowing the kit on the plan actually exists, is free and is fit to use. When there really are not enough instruments to cover the work, you find out while there is still time to rent, borrow or reschedule, and the record of rentals helps you judge whether buying another unit makes sense.
Because Timesheets and Invoicing lines can also carry an equipment serial, the instrument that was reserved and issued is the same one that is booked to the job and billed to the client.
Consumables that do not run out on the night shift
Consumables are cheap individually and painful when missing. A crew on a night shift with no developer, no couplant or the wrong batch of MT ink loses hours. Inventory and Asset Management keep consumables under control without making anyone count cans every day.
- Reorder level. Each consumable has a reorder level. When stock drops to that level, the item is flagged as low.
- Movement ledger. Every issue to a job and every receipt from a supplier is written to a ledger, so you can see where stock went.
- Locations. Stock held in the main store, a branch or a site container can be kept apart, so a shortage at one location is visible even when the total looks fine.
- Replenishment. Low-stock items become purchase requests in the Purchase app, and receipts update stock when goods arrive.
- Billing. Consumables have their own subtotal on invoices, so material used on a job can be recovered where the contract allows it.
The detail you track is up to you. Some companies track every aerosol can; others track consumables by the box and only watch the fast movers closely. That level is agreed during implementation.
How inventory runs day to day
Here is a normal week for the stores or equipment coordinator once the system is in place.
- Monday planning. Team Assignments shows the week's jobs, with equipment reserved against each one. Any calibration warnings on assigned kit are dealt with first.
- Kit preparation. Equipment for the next mobilisations is issued through the approval workflow, with condition recorded. Consumables for each job are issued from stock.
- Check the dashboards. The NDT KPI dashboard shows equipment calibration due and overdue, and issued equipment overdue for return.
- Replenish. Low-stock consumables are ordered through Purchase. Instruments due for calibration are sent to the lab, and their status changes to in calibration.
- Returns. Kit coming back from site is returned, condition is recorded, and any damage leads to a maintenance entry.
- Receipts. Supplier deliveries and returning calibrated instruments are booked in. Calibration records and certificates are added in Asset Management.
The coordinator is no longer the only person who knows where everything is. The system knows, and anyone with access can check.
Who uses Inventory
| Role | How they use Inventory and Asset Management |
|---|---|
| Stores / equipment coordinator | Issues and receives equipment and consumables, records condition, manages locations and replenishment. |
| Operations manager | Reserves kit for jobs, approves issues, checks availability before accepting new work. |
| Site supervisor | Requests kit for the crew, returns it at demobilisation and reports damage. |
| Technicians | See the equipment issued to them and return it at the end of the job. |
| QA/QC manager or Level III | Checks calibration status and records before equipment is released to site. |
| Finance | Sees equipment and consumables charges on invoices and costs on the financial dashboard. |
User rights and the approval chain for issuing equipment are set up during implementation to match your organisation.
How Inventory connects to the rest of the ERP
Inventory is the physical side of the ERP. It links to:
- Asset Management for serial-level equipment detail, calibration, maintenance, reservations and consumables rules.
- Purchase for buying equipment, consumables and calibration services, with order lines tied to serial numbers and accredited-lab details on vendors.
- Team Assignments for blocking double-booking of equipment and warning about out-of-calibration items.
- Timesheets and Invoicing for equipment serials on time entries and invoice lines, and equipment subtotals on invoices.
- Fleet for vehicles used to carry kit, including whether a vehicle can carry radioactive sources and its transport licence number and expiry.
- NDT Reports for the instruments and calibration details referenced on method reports.
For asset owners who want inspection results shown on a 3D model of their plant, Atlantis offers Digital Twin Reporting Software, a companion product that works alongside the ERP's NDT Reports app. If you train technicians, enrolled learners in the ERP's eLearning portal can open Practical NDT, our 3D practice platform, and try UT, PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT, ET and TOFD on virtual welds, pipes, vessels and castings before they handle your real instruments.
See every module on the ERP apps overview or read about the full system on the Atlantis NDT ERP page.
Setup and implementation
Atlantis NDT deploys and configures the ERP for you. For Inventory, setup usually includes:
- Equipment register. Loading your instruments, probes and accessories by serial number, with type, asset tag, firmware, lifecycle status and calibration frequency.
- Calibration history. Entering current calibration records and certificates so due dates and alerts are right from day one.
- Locations. Setting up stock locations for your store, branches, vans or site containers.
- Consumables. Creating consumable products with reorder levels.
- Approval chain. Configuring who approves equipment issues.
- Dashboards. Setting up the NDT KPI views your operations team will check each day.
Anything beyond this becomes part of the customization scope agreed with you. The ERP is affordable, accessible and fully customizable, with pricing quote on request. Book an Inventory demo and bring your current equipment list; we will show you how it would look in the system.
Frequently asked questions
Can we track each instrument individually?
Yes. Equipment is tracked by serial number, with type, assigned person, condition, asset tag, firmware, accessories, lifecycle status and calibration status.
Does the system stop two jobs booking the same instrument?
Yes. Reservations have clash prevention, and Team Assignments blocks double-booking of equipment serial numbers.
Will it warn us about equipment that is out of calibration?
Yes. Team Assignments warns when assigned equipment is out of calibration, and dashboards show calibration due and overdue.
How do we control equipment going to site?
Through the issue and return workflow, with supervisor and manager approval and condition recorded at issue and return.
Can we manage consumables like couplant and penetrant?
Yes. Consumables have a reorder level, a low-stock flag and a movement ledger, and replenishment runs through the Purchase app.
Can we see what an instrument has cost to keep in service?
Yes. Purchase order lines can be linked to an equipment serial, and the maintenance log records repairs, firmware updates and probe replacements against the same item.
How is it priced?
Inventory is part of Atlantis NDT ERP, configured for your company. Pricing is quote on request.
Know where your kit is, every day
Your equipment earns money only when it is on site, calibrated and in the right hands. Inventory and Asset Management make sure you know where every serial is and what state it is in, and that consumables are there when the crew needs them. Request a quote for Atlantis NDT ERP and stop running your equipment from a whiteboard.
Works with
- Invoicing: Invoices from timesheets and completed jobs, with payments and reminders.
- Purchase: Purchase orders for consumables, film, couplant and equipment.
- Expenses: Field expenses and per diems, approved and rebilled to jobs.
Send an enquiry about Inventory · All ERP apps · Atlantis NDT ERP
Built for any business that runs on operations
Most companies do not fail at their craft. They lose time, margin and goodwill in the gaps between the tools they use to run the place — a quoting spreadsheet that does not talk to the job sheet, a job sheet that does not reach accounts, and a compliance folder nobody can search when a client asks. Atlantis closes those gaps by putting the whole operation on one platform, so information is entered once and everything downstream stays in step.
What you can run on it
- Sales and CRM — leads, quotes, follow-ups and the pipeline that tells you what next month looks like.
- Projects and job costing — plan the work, track the hours and materials against it, and see the margin while the job is still live rather than at final account.
- Field and service teams — dispatch, schedules, mobile capture that works with no signal, and sign-off from site.
- Inventory and purchasing — stock, suppliers, reorder points and goods receipt, joined to the jobs that consume them.
- People — records, qualifications and licences with renewal reminders, timesheets, leave and payroll.
- Quality and documents — procedures and forms under revision control, with the audit trail an inspection or accreditation body actually asks for.
- Accounts — invoicing, expenses, multi-currency and the reporting your accountant stops chasing you for.
Affordable, accessible, fully customizable — and we mean each word
Affordable because the whole suite is included rather than sold to you a module at a time, and because implementation is done by people who have run operations rather than by a chain of subcontractors. Accessible because it runs in a browser and on a phone, works for a small team on day one, and does not need a specialist on staff to keep it alive. Fully customizable because your process is the thing that makes you competitive — the software should bend to it, not the other way round.
Industries we configure for
Service businesses and contractors, manufacturing and fabrication, trading and distribution, laboratories and testing houses, engineering consultancies, construction and facilities, and asset owners across energy, marine, aerospace and infrastructure. Inspection and testing is where we started, and it remains the sector we go deepest in — but the platform underneath is general-purpose, and most of what it does has nothing to do with inspection at all.
What happens when you get in touch
A short conversation, not a sales sequence. We ask how the business runs today and where it hurts, show you the platform doing that work, and send a written quote shaped to your region, your team size and the scope you actually need. No obligation, nothing to install first, and no pressure to decide on the call. Reach out and tell us what you are trying to fix.
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Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III
Atlantis NDT provides ASNT Level III consulting, NDT training to ASNT SNT-TC-1A, inspection management software and independent report validation. Request a free consultation and we will return a tailored quote — affordable, accessible and fully customizable to your programme.