Quality Management for Calibration Laboratories — Atlantis NDT ERP

QMS workflows for report review, NCR, and CAPA — built for ISO 9001/17020

Overview

Odoo Quality configured for NDT firms manages the quality-control layer that sits on top of every inspection deliverable: non-conformance reports (NCRs) for procedure deviations or report errors, corrective and preventive action (CAPA) tracking, internal audit scheduling, and control-plan-driven quality checks embedded directly into inspection work orders. Quality control points can be defined per method (a mandatory pre-job equipment verification check, a post-job calibration drift check) and triggered automatically at the relevant work-order stage, capturing pass/fail data and photo evidence. NCRs raised on a report finding (wrong technique reference, missed indication, incorrect acceptance criteria applied) route through a structured investigation-root-cause-corrective-action workflow with owner assignment and due dates, and are trended by method, technician, and client to surface systemic issues rather than one-off errors. Internal audit module schedules and tracks findings against ISO 9001, ISO 17020, and client-specific QA programs, feeding a management review dashboard. Document-controlled procedures are version-linked to quality checks, so a check always references the current-revision procedure, closing a common audit gap where field checklists drift out of sync with controlled documents.

Why inspection and testing businesses run it differently

In an ISO 17020-accredited inspection body, quality management isn't administrative overhead — it's the accreditation-defining function. Every NCR (a missed weld indication caught on client re-inspection, a report issued against a superseded procedure revision) must be investigated, root-caused, and closed with objective evidence for the accreditation body's annual surveillance audit. Trending NCRs by technician surfaces retraining needs before they become repeat findings; trending by method (recurring PAUT sizing discrepancies) flags procedure or equipment issues. Quality checks embedded at work-order stages create the objective evidence auditors look for instead of relying on technician self-certification.

Capabilities

Method-specific quality control points auto-triggered at work-order stages
NCR workflow: raise, investigate, root cause, CAPA, verify closure
Trending dashboards by technician, method, client, and root-cause category
Internal audit scheduling and finding tracking against ISO 9001/17020 clauses
Version-linked procedure references on every quality check (no stale-revision checks)
Photo/evidence capture attached directly to quality checks and NCRs
Management review dashboard aggregating NCR trends, audit findings, KPIs
Client complaint intake routed through the same NCR/CAPA structure

How the workflow runs

Quality control points are configured per method and inserted into the relevant Project work-order stage, such as a mandatory pre-shift calibration verification check before UT data capture begins. Technicians complete checks via mobile, logging pass/fail and photo evidence. If a check fails or a report review flags an error, an NCR is auto-created or manually raised, assigned an owner, and routed through investigation with a documented root cause (procedure gap, training gap, equipment fault) and corrective action with a due date. Closure requires verification evidence, not just a status change. Quarterly, NCR and audit-finding trends feed a management review meeting, surfacing whether specific technicians, methods, or clients show elevated non-conformance rates — driving targeted retraining or procedure revision decisions ahead of the annual accreditation surveillance audit.

Standards and compliance covered

ISO 9001:2015
ISO/IEC 17020:2012 (inspection body requirements)
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (where lab/calibration functions apply)
ASNT SNT-TC-1A / ISO 9712
API RP 578 (quality for welding/NDT programs)
NADCAP AC7114 (for aerospace NDT programs)

Integrations

Document Control (version-linked procedures on quality checks)
Project Management (embedded check triggers)
Audit Management (shared finding/CAPA workflow)
HR/certification records (technician retraining trigger from NCR trends)
Client complaint portals

Measured impact

Firms report accreditation surveillance audit findings dropping 40-60% within two cycles of implementing structured NCR/CAPA trending, because systemic issues get corrected before the auditor finds them. Version-linked procedure checks have eliminated checked-against-superseded-revision as an audit finding entirely. NCR trending by technician has cut repeat-error rates by roughly a third by targeting retraining precisely instead of blanket refresher training.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can quality checks be configured differently per inspection method?

Yes. Control points are defined per method/work-order template, so PAUT jobs trigger different checks than MPI jobs, each referencing the correct current-revision procedure.

How does the system prevent a technician from using an outdated inspection procedure?

Quality checks are version-linked to Document Control; if a procedure is revised, checks referencing it automatically point to the current revision, and superseded copies are flagged out of active use.

Does NCR trending help during our ISO 17020 surveillance audit?

Yes. Trend dashboards by root cause, technician, and method give auditors objective evidence of a functioning corrective-action system, which is a core requirement of ISO 17020.