NDT Procedure Management Software for the UK and Europe

Controlled NDT procedures and techniques with revisions and approvals. Request a demo. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.

Procedure control for UK and European NDT companies

NDT companies in the UK and Europe work under a dense layer of harmonised standards, third-party oversight and client technical authorities. A company in Aberdeen may be running inspection campaigns for North Sea duty holders one month and supporting a pressure vessel fabricator on Teesside the next. A Dutch or Belgian contractor may work in the Rotterdam and Antwerp petrochemical clusters for owners who expect procedures in English and the local language. A German shop may build equipment under the Pressure Equipment Directive with a notified body looking over its shoulder.

In every case the same questions come up. Which EN ISO standard does this procedure implement? Which acceptance level applies? Who approved it, and are they a certified Level 3 in that method? Is the written instruction the technician is holding derived from the current procedure revision? When the answers depend on searching network folders, audits get uncomfortable.

The Procedures app in the Atlantis NDT ERP gives you a single controlled register. Each procedure has a document number, revision, method, scope, material, applicable standard and acceptance criteria, with body text or an uploaded file. It moves through draft, submitted, reviewed, approved and published, with rejected and archived states; preparer, reviewer and approver names and dates are recorded; approved revisions are locked; and a snapshot of every revision is kept. Approvers receive email notifications and reminders for pending approvals.

This page looks at how that fits European practice: the EN ISO 9712 split between procedures and NDT instructions, the EN ISO technique and acceptance standards, the Pressure Equipment Directive, North Sea offshore work, UK radiation rules and GDPR.

Procedures and NDT instructions under EN ISO 9712

European certification under EN ISO 9712 — whether through a national scheme or PCN, run by BINDT in the UK — draws a clear line between two kinds of document. A Level 3 can establish and validate NDT procedures and interpret codes, standards and specifications. A Level 2 can translate those codes, standards, specifications and procedures into NDT instructions adapted to the actual working conditions. A Level 1 carries out work to written instructions under supervision.

That means a well-run European NDT library has two tiers. The procedure states how a method is applied to a class of work to meet a standard. The NDT instruction applies it to a specific component, weld or campaign: this probe, this scanning pattern, this exposure arrangement, these recording levels.

Auditors look at both, and at the link between them. An instruction derived from a superseded procedure is a finding even if the instruction itself looks fine.

The Procedures app holds both tiers in the same register, separated by a numbering convention agreed during setup so every instruction points to its parent procedure. Approval routes reflect the tier: procedures go to the Level 3 for the method; instructions follow the review and approval route you define for Level 2 authors.

The Certificates app records each person’s EN ISO 9712 or PCN certification by level, method, industry sector, certifying body and expiry, alongside any ASNT or CSWIP certificates. You can confirm the approver’s Level 3 is current before routing. Atlantis NDT does not provide EN ISO 9712 or PCN training or certification; the app records these certificates. Atlantis’s own training is based on ASNT SNT-TC-1A.

The EN ISO standards stack behind your procedures

European weld inspection procedures are built on a family of technique standards and a matching family of acceptance-level standards. Typical examples:

The link runs through EN ISO 5817 quality levels: the design specifies a quality level for the weld, and that decides which testing level and acceptance level apply. Get the pairing wrong in a procedure and every report written under it is open to challenge.

The Procedures app makes the pairing explicit. Each procedure record carries the applicable standard and the acceptance criteria as separate fields, so a reviewer sees at once that a UT procedure cites EN ISO 17640 with EN ISO 11666 acceptance, and at which level. You can filter the register by standard to answer questions like “which procedures still cite the superseded edition?” When ISO or CEN revise one of these standards, each affected procedure goes through a controlled revision and the previous revision is kept as a snapshot.

Pressure Equipment Directive and notified bodies

For companies supporting manufacturers of pressure equipment, the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU sets the frame. Its essential safety requirements expect non-destructive tests of permanent joints to be carried out by suitably qualified personnel, and for equipment in categories III and IV that personnel must be approved by a third-party organisation recognised by a member state. The harmonised product standards — EN 13445 for unfired pressure vessels and EN 13480 for metallic industrial piping, with their inspection and testing parts — specify the extent of NDT and point to the EN ISO technique and acceptance standards.

Notified bodies reviewing a manufacturer’s documentation, and witnessing tests, look at the NDT procedures used. They expect to see which standard each procedure implements, that it was approved by a competent Level 3, and that the version used on the equipment was the version approved.

In Great Britain the equivalent regime is the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 with UK approved bodies, while CE marking under the Directive continues to matter for equipment shipped into the EU and, under the Windsor Framework arrangements, Northern Ireland. Many UK companies therefore keep procedures that must satisfy both routes.

The Procedures app keeps that manageable. The applicable standard field tells you which regime and product standard a procedure serves, the approval record shows who signed it off and when, approved revisions cannot be quietly edited, and the snapshot of each revision lets you show a notified body or approved body exactly what was in force when the equipment was tested. Fields for a notified body’s review reference can be added as part of the customization scope agreed with you.

North Sea offshore and Aberdeen

Offshore inspection in the UK and Norwegian sectors runs through duty holders’ technical authorities. Before a campaign, the NDT contractor’s procedures are normally reviewed by the operator’s inspection or materials technical authority against the operator’s own specifications, and on the Norwegian side often against NORSOK standards such as M-601 for welding and inspection of piping. The operator’s verification scheme and the UK HSE’s offshore safety case regime sit in the background, and both expect contractors to work to controlled, approved documents.

Offshore work also brings practical constraints. Bed space is tight, so the technician offshore may be the only NDT person on the installation. Communication with the onshore Level 3 happens by email or a call on a fixed schedule. Campaigns run to fixed windows, and a procedure waiting for approval can cost a campaign slot.

The Procedures app helps with the parts it controls. Each operator’s procedure variant is its own record, numbered so the pairing with the operator specification is obvious. Technical authority comments are addressed in a new revision, internal rejections carry their reason on the record, and the snapshot of every revision shows how the procedure evolved to meet the operator’s requirements. Email reminders keep approvals moving when the Level 3 is travelling between Aberdeen, Stavanger and client offices. When the campaign ends, the reports written offshore reference a procedure revision you can produce exactly as approved.

UK radiography: IRR17 and local rules

Site radiography in the UK sits under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017. Employers working with ionising radiation must register with or obtain consent from HSE depending on the risk, take advice from a Radiation Protection Adviser, appoint Radiation Protection Supervisors and have written local rules for the work, plus contingency plans for foreseeable incidents. Similar requirements apply across the EU through national rules implementing the Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive.

Local rules and contingency plans are controlled documents in their own right. They change when the RPA advises, when a site’s arrangements change, or after an incident review, and inspectors will check that the version on site is current.

In the Procedures app, local rules and radiation contingency plans can sit in the same register as your RT and CR/DR technique procedures, with their own numbering and approval chain — typically the RPS, the RPA’s input and management approval — and the same locked revisions and history. Personnel records sit elsewhere: the employee NDT profile in the Certificates app records radiation safety training, radiation badge number and medical fitness expiry, and the Fleet app records which vehicles can carry radioactive sources, with transport licence number and expiry.

GDPR and approval records

Procedure control involves personal data, though less than people fear. The procedure record stores the names of the preparer, reviewer and approver and the dates they acted, which is exactly what your quality system requires you to keep. The heavier personal data — certificates, vision tests, medical fitness, radiation badge numbers — lives in the Certificates app and employee records, not in the procedure register.

GDPR still applies to both. During implementation we agree who can see what, so field technicians see published procedures without seeing colleagues’ certification or medical details, and we agree how long archived revisions and their approval records are kept, in line with your retention policy and client contract terms. Hosting arrangements for the ERP are also agreed as part of implementation. Your data protection responsibilities stay with you as controller; the setup is designed to support them.

Multilingual procedure sets

Across Europe, procedures often exist in more than one language: English for international operators and EPCs, plus German, Dutch, French, Norwegian or another language for local crews and national authorities. The classic failure is a revision made in one language and forgotten in the other.

In the Procedures app, each language version can be held as its own controlled record numbered to show the pairing, or attached as a controlled file to the same record. Either way it passes through review and approval, and the revision history makes a mismatch visible. The arrangement is agreed during implementation to fit how your clients and authorities want translated procedures handled.

Connected to the rest of the ERP

The Procedures app is part of the Atlantis NDT ERP. Project tasks carry procedure and WPS references. The NDT Reports app captures procedure and standard references on every report type, with inspector, reviewer and approver signatures and a field for the third-party inspector. In marine mode, reports can merge the classification society certificate, the inspector’s Level 2 certificate and the calibration certificate into the PDF. The full list of ERP apps shows how certificates, equipment, assignments and invoicing link in.

For owners and duty holders who want results in context, Atlantis offers Digital Twin Reporting Software, a separate companion product that places inspection results on a 3D model of the asset and works alongside the ERP’s NDT Reports app.

Implementation and Level 3 support

We start from your current library: procedures, NDT instructions, the EN ISO standards they cite, their revisions and approvers. We agree numbering, revision and approval rules that match your quality manual and your certification scheme, load the register, configure approvers and reminders, and run a live revision through the workflow with your team. The ERP is affordable, accessible and fully customizable, with pricing on request.

Where procedures need writing or review — a gap review against the current EN ISO editions, a new PAUT procedure for an operator, or a clean-up before a notified body visit — Atlantis NDT offers procedure writing and review by ASNT Level III personnel through its NDT consulting services. Where your client or scheme requires approval by an EN ISO 9712 or PCN Level 3, your certified Level 3 remains the approver. Book a Procedures demo for your UK or European team.

Frequently asked questions

Can we hold both procedures and NDT instructions?

Yes. Both sit in the same register, separated by a numbering convention that links each instruction to its parent procedure, with approval routes set per tier.

Does the app record PCN and EN ISO 9712 certificates?

Yes, in the Certificates app, with level, method, sector, certifying body and expiry. Atlantis records these certificates but does not train or certify for them.

Can we see which procedures cite a superseded standard?

Yes. The applicable standard is a field on every procedure, so you can filter the register and take each affected procedure through a controlled revision.

Where do IRR17 local rules go?

In the same register, with their own numbering, approval chain, locked approved revisions and revision history.

How is GDPR handled?

Access rights and retention periods are agreed during implementation so people see only what they need and approval records are kept only as long as your policy requires.

Is the AI draft a substitute for a Level 3?

No. It is a first draft, or a built-in template if the AI service is unavailable. A Level 3 reviews and approves before anything is published.

Talk to us

Tell us where you work — offshore, shop fabrication, petrochemical sites — which standards your clients specify and how many procedures and instructions you control. We will show you the register and workflow with examples that look like your own library. Request a quote for the Procedures app.

Procedures by region

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

Works with

• NDT Reports: Method-specific NDT inspection reports, captured in the field and issued from the ERP.
• Certificates: Technician certifications, eye tests and expiry tracking against your written practice.
• Dashboards: KPI dashboards across jobs, reports, certifications and revenue.

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