Document control
When the crew is working to a superseded procedure
Superseded procedures reach the field when revisions live in shared drives, email and printed binders with no single register that says which revision is current. Hold each procedure as a controlled record, route every revision through review and Level III approval, lock what is approved, publish only the current revision, and keep earlier ones as snapshots for audit.
Each report moves from field data to Level II draft, Level III review and issue. Select a report and advance it.
- Field data: Module B butt welds (RT, ASME Section V).
- Level II draft: Tank floor screening (MFL, API 653); Exchanger bundle (ECT, ASME Section V).
- Level III review: Crude unit piping (UT thickness, API 570); Sphere shell nozzles (MT, ASME Section V).
- Issued: Pipe rack welds (VT, AWS D1.1).
Panels in the preview: Certifications, Calibration, Reports, Jobs, Sales & cash. Names and statuses are sample data.
How old revisions keep turning up on site
A client issues a revised specification, your Level III updates the UT procedure for butt welds, and the new revision goes into the shared drive. Meanwhile a printed copy of the previous revision is in the site cabin, another sits on a technician's tablet, and the report template still quotes the old number. Nobody chose to ignore the change. The old copies simply never learned they had been replaced.
Procedures change constantly in an inspection company: a new code edition, a client specification, a new phased array unit with a different setup, a scan plan that did not work on an awkward nozzle. Each change should produce a reviewed and approved revision. In practice, a few revisions later there are several near-identical files and nobody is certain which one the client accepted or who signed the cover page.
The confusion often runs wider than procedures. The written practice governs people, procedures govern how a method is applied, and technique sheets apply a procedure to a specific component. When all three are called procedures and filed together, a revision to one is easily mistaken for a revision to another.
Revisions that disagree
The report quotes one revision, the cabin binder holds another and the shared drive a third.
Missing approval evidence
An auditor asks who approved the current PAUT procedure and the signed cover page cannot be found.
Silent edits
Approved documents are quietly corrected in place, so the version the client accepted no longer exists.
Stalled approvals
Revisions wait for weeks because the Level III is travelling and nothing reminds them.
Change by corridor
Rejections and comments are given verbally, so the author never sees a clear reason for the change.
Why an outdated procedure is expensive
Work done to the wrong requirement
Inspection performed to a superseded scanning sensitivity or acceptance reference may need repeating once the client spots it.
Reports that cannot be defended
A report quoting a procedure number that no longer exists invites the question of what was really applied.
Document control findings
Uncontrolled copies and missing approval records are standard findings in client audits and ISO 9001 surveillance visits.
Client approval delays
Clients who approve procedures before work starts lose confidence when the revision they approved is not the one on site.
A register that says which revision is current
The Procedures app holds each procedure as a record with its document number, revision, method, scope, material, applicable standard such as ASME Section V or a client specification, and acceptance criteria, with the body written in the record or the controlled file attached. Written practices, procedures and technique sheets can share the register, separated by a numbering convention agreed at setup, so the relationship between them stays visible to your Level III.
Each revision moves through draft, submitted, reviewed, approved and published, with rejected and archived states for real life. The record captures who prepared, reviewed and approved it and on which dates, and email notifications and reminders keep pending approvals in front of the approver. Approved revisions are locked; a change means a new revision through the same workflow, and every earlier revision is kept as a snapshot.
Field access is configured to match how you issue procedures, so technicians see published revisions while drafts and archived ones stay out of their way. Paper is a discipline the software cannot police: if you still print, mark printed copies as uncontrolled. A read-and-acknowledge step can be added as customization, and Surveys can run a read-and-understood check once a revision is published.
Inventory the library
List every procedure with its current revision, method, standard and approver, which usually exposes duplicates and gaps.
Agree the rules
Numbering, revision convention and who reviews and approves for each method are set to match your quality manual.
Run a real revision
Take a procedure that is due for update from draft to published with your own team to test the settings.
Link to jobs and reports
Project tasks and NDT reports reference procedures from the register, so the crew works to what the job was planned against.
Confirm understanding
After publication, send a short Surveys questionnaire so there is a record of who has read the change.
Before and after
| Without a system | With Atlantis NDT |
|---|---|
| A shared-drive folder of near-identical files. | One register that shows the published revision plainly. |
| Approved documents edited in place. | Approved revisions locked, with changes made by new revision. |
| Approvals waiting on a travelling Level III. | Email reminders keep the pending queue in view. |
| No proof of what was in force last year. | A snapshot of every revision with author, reviewer and approver. |
The modules doing the work
Each module is part of the same platform, so a certification, an instrument, a job and a report are linked records rather than files in different places.
- Procedures
Controlled register with an approval workflow, locked revisions, snapshots and email reminders to approvers.
- Surveys
Read-and-understood checks after a revision is published, recorded per technician.
- NDT Reports
Captures procedure and standard references on every report, so the client sees the revision actually used.
- Project
Carries procedure and WPS references on each inspection task.
Questions owners ask
How do we stop technicians using an old procedure revision?
Keep one register in which only the published revision is the working document, lock approved revisions, and configure field access so technicians see what is current. Paper copies need their own control, so mark printed copies as uncontrolled.
Can the AI write our procedures?
It can produce a first draft from the method, scope, material, standard and acceptance criteria you enter, with a built-in template if the AI service is unavailable. A qualified author edits it and a Level III reviews and approves it before publication.
Can we show an auditor what changed between revisions?
Yes. Every revision is kept as a snapshot with who prepared, reviewed and approved it, so the old and new versions can be compared directly.
We have no Level III in-house. Who approves?
Approval should sit with a qualified Level III for the method. Atlantis offers procedure writing and review by ASNT Level III personnel through its consulting service, and the results can then be controlled in the register.
Can we load our existing procedures?
Yes. Loading your current library is part of implementation, so you start with your real register. Bring one of your procedures to a demo, available on request.
See it on your own records
Bring a sample of your certifications, equipment list or reports and we will show the workflow configured to how your company runs. Demo on request.
Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III
Discuss your inspection requirements with Atlantis NDT. Include the asset, method, location and documents you need reviewed.