Document Control for Calibration Laboratories — Atlantis NDT ERP

Controlled procedure and report management with revision traceability for ISO 9001/17020

Overview

Odoo Documents configured for NDT firms manages the full document lifecycle for controlled inspection procedures, work instructions, calibration certificates, and finalized client reports. Every controlled document (a UT technique sheet, a PAUT procedure qualified per ASME Section V, a written practice for personnel certification) carries revision history, approval workflow (draft, technical review, QA approval, release), and automatic supersession of prior revisions with old-revision access restricted to read-only/historical reference. Distribution control ensures only the current approved revision is accessible to field technicians via mobile, eliminating the classic audit finding of an obsolete procedure copy in a field folder. Client inspection reports, once approved, are stored immutably with full metadata (asset ID, method, technician, reviewer, date, applicable code) making retrieval for audits or repeat-client history instant. Retention schedules enforce record-keeping periods per code requirement (API 510 requires inspection records retained for the life of the vessel). Access permissions separate internal working documents from client-facing deliverables, and a client portal can expose only finalized, approved reports.

Why inspection and testing businesses run it differently

An ISO 17020 or ISO 9712-audited firm lives or dies on document control discipline — the single most common finding in NDT quality audits is a technician working from an uncontrolled or superseded procedure copy. This module makes that structurally impossible by tying field access to current-revision-only distribution, with old revisions locked from active use the moment a new one is approved. It also solves the practical problem of report retrieval: when a client calls asking for a UT report from three inspection cycles ago on a specific vessel, the answer is a search by asset ID, not a dig through email archives — critical for API 510/570/653 fitness-for-service and corrosion-trending work that depends on historical thickness data.

Capabilities

Draft to technical review to QA approval to release workflow with audit trail
Automatic supersession and lockout of prior procedure revisions on approval
Field mobile access restricted to current-approved-revision documents only
Immutable finalized report storage with full searchable metadata (asset, method, code)
Retention schedule enforcement per code requirement (life-of-asset for API 510)
Client portal exposing only approved, finalized deliverables (no internal drafts visible)
Full revision-change audit trail (who changed what, when, why) for accreditation review
Cross-linking of reports to source calibration certificates and technician qualifications

How the workflow runs

A new or revised procedure is drafted, routed for technical review (typically by a Level III), then formal QA approval before release. On release, the system automatically flags all prior revisions as superseded and removes them from active field-access lists — technicians pulling up procedures via mobile always see only the current revision. Completed inspection reports move through the same review structure (technician draft, Level III/QA review, client-approved release) before being locked as immutable records with full metadata tagging. Records are retained per the applicable code's required retention period, with disposal/archive schedules flagged for review rather than automatic deletion. During an accreditation audit or client due-diligence request, auditors or account managers search by asset, date range, method, or technician and retrieve the exact controlled document instantly, with the full revision-approval audit trail attached.

Standards and compliance covered

ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.5 (documented information control)
ISO/IEC 17020:2012
ISO/IEC 17025:2017
ASNT SNT-TC-1A (written practice document control)
API 510/570/653 (record retention requirements)
ASME BPVC Section V (procedure qualification record retention)

Integrations

Quality Management (version-linked quality checks)
Project Management (work-order document attachment)
CMMS (calibration certificate archive)
CRM/client portal (approved deliverable access)
E-signature tools for approval workflow

Measured impact

Structured revision control has eliminated technician-working-from-superseded-procedure as an audit finding across firms that implemented hard field-access restriction to current revisions. Report retrieval time for historical audit or client requests dropped from hours of manual archive searching to under a minute via metadata search. Retention-schedule automation has prevented at least one documented instance of premature record disposal ahead of an API 510 fitness-for-service review that required 15-year-old baseline thickness data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can field technicians accidentally access an old revision of a procedure on their tablet?

No. Mobile access pulls only the current approved revision by design; superseded revisions are locked from the active distribution list the moment a new one releases.

How long are inspection reports retained, and does the system enforce that automatically?

Retention periods are configured per applicable code, such as life-of-vessel for API 510 records; the system flags records for review at the retention milestone rather than auto-deleting, keeping a human decision in the loop.

Can we give a client read-only access to their historical reports without exposing our internal procedures?

Yes. The client portal permission scope exposes only approved, finalized client-facing reports; internal procedures, drafts, and QA review notes stay behind internal access controls.