The Certification Scheme for Personnel (CSWIP) is a comprehensive scheme that provides for the examination and certification of individuals seeking to demonstrate their knowledge and/or competence in their field of operation. The scope of CSWIP includes Welding Inspectors, Welding Supervisors, Welding Instructors, Underwater Inspection Personnel, Plant Inspectors, Drillstem Inspectors, Cathodic Inspection Personnel and NDT personnel.
CSWIP is managed by the Certification Management Board, which acts as the Governing Board for Certification, in keeping with the requirements of the industries served by the scheme. The Certification Management Board, in turn, appoints specialist Management Committees to oversee parts of the scheme. All CSWIP Boards and Committees are comprised of member representatives from relevant industrial sectors and other interests.
ACCESS TO CERTIFICATION
Access to certification is not improperly restricted. The sole criteria for certification are given in this document (and any subsequent amendments) and no other criteria will be applied. Certification is not conditional on the candidate applying for other services or membership from TWI Certification Ltd, its parent, or any other groups or associations.
1. GENERAL 1.1 Scope
This document prescribes the requirements for the approval of non-destructive testing (NDT) (1) personnel for manufacturers seeking to comply with the Pressure Equipment Regulations or with any other relevant standard or client specification which require such approval.
1.2 Responsibilities
TWI Certification Ltd acts as the Certifying Body. It carries overall responsibility for ensuring that the requirements for approval are satisfied and that appropriate approval documentation is issued following successful evaluation.
There are different routes to achieve approval. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to select a suitable route, see Section 2.
It is also the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that the recognition and acceptance of approval documentation is appropriate to their requirements. Whilst TWI Certification makes every effort to ensure that its approval documentation carries appropriate accreditation, and that evaluation and certification activities are carried out in accordance with best practice, it can not guarantee acceptance by any particular customer or client. (1) In terms of compliance with the Pressure Equipment Regulations , TWI Certification Ltd is a Recognised Third Party Organisation for the approval of NDT personnel, and welding procedures and welders. It is not authorised or notified to assess or establish conformity with the whole of the Directive.
Evaluation activities are subcontracted by TWI Certification Ltd to one of its approved Examining Bodies, see section 7. These Bodies will act as the interface between TWI Certification and the manufacturer. TWI Certification Ltd rigorously controls the procedures and functions of Examining Bodies in the conduct of their work on behalf of TWI Certification Ltd.
Evaluation of the manufacturer’s system is arranged between the Examining Body and the manufacturer. The Examining Body is responsible for evaluation, witnessing and auditing as required by the selected route and for informing TWI Certification of the results.
2. ROUTES 2.1 Route 1 – ‘EN 473/ISO 9712 route’
In this situation, the manufacturer employs or engages the services of NDT personnel who (2) (4). are certified in accordance with EN473 /ISO 9712 The manufacturer is required to submit to the Examining Body details of the certificates held by the individuals concerned and a complete set of the NDT procedures they apply to fulfil the manufacturer’s NDT requirements.
In order to qualify for this route, the EN 473/ISO 9712 certificates must show the mark of a recognised accreditation body. Such accreditation must confirm that the certification body operates in accordance with ISO 17024 and the scope of accreditation must cover the activity for which the certificate was awarded.
The Examining Body is responsible for evaluating the certification and procedure documentation. If this provides sufficient evidence that the certification held by the NDT personnel is satisfactory for the implementation of the manufacturer’s NDT procedures, the Examining Body can recommend approval to TWI Certification Ltd. TWI Certification Ltd will then check that the correct procedures have been followed and issue appropriate approval documentation.
If the Examining Body finds that the NDT certification held is not sufficient to provide confidence that the manufacturer’s NDT procedures can be properly implemented, it will recommend appropriate corrective action. Such action may include further testing and examination of NDT personnel within the EN 473/ISO 9712 scheme applied, and/or the adoption of an ‘employer-based’ qualification scheme, see Route 2 below.
In order to follow this route, the manufacturer must have in place a company written practice for the qualification of the NDT personnel. Such a written practice would be expected to (3) comply with document SNT-TC-1A .
This route is also followed in cases where the applicable NDT personnel have undergone third party certification which does not comply with the requirements of Route 1, f In such cases the detail of the evaluation described below may be reduced.
The manufacturer must submit details of its scheme to the Examining Body together with a set of the applicable NDT procedures. The Examining Body will evaluate this documentation and then arrange for an audit of the operation of the employer based system in the manufacturer’s plant. Such an audit will include witnessing of a sample of the NDT work being carried out.
If this is successful, the Examining Body can recommend approval to TWI Certification Ltd. If the Examining Body finds shortcomings in the employer-based system, it will recommend appropriate corrective actions.
3. APPROVAL DOCUMENTATION For each person approved in accordance with one of the above routes, an approval certificate is issued. This certificate will be limited to the manufacturer and procedures which have formed part of the evaluation conducted by the Examining Body. Any changes will require re- evaluation in accordance with Section 2. Subject to the results of the re-evaluation being satisfactory, a new approval certificate will be issued.
Certificates are valid for a period of three years from the date of issue. Certificate validity is subject to satisfactory annual surveillance conducted by the Examining Body. This normally takes the form of a review of the manufacturer’s documentation covering the inspection activity of each certified operator. The production of such documentation requires the involvement of a qualified surveyor approved by the Examining Body.
In order for the certificate to be renewed after three years, a re-assessment as described in Section 2 will be required.
Two approval certificates are issued for each successful examination to the sponsoring organisation, usually the manufacturer. Duplicate certificates may be issued to the sponsoring organisation to replace any which are lost or destroyed. This will only be done after extensive enquiries by TWI Certification Ltd.
Certificates are only valid providing that:
a) they are within date
b) they are on standard cream CSWIP paper bearing the CSWIP logo in black on gold signed by an officer of CSWIP and embossed with the CSWIP stamp c) they have been signed by the individual to whom the certificate is awarded d) they are accompanied by a valid official CSWIP identity card e) relevant EN 473 or ISO 9712 certification is maintained where applicable f) annual surveillance has been satisfactorily completed.
Photocopies are unauthorised by TWI Certification Ltd and should only be used for internal administrative purposes.
4. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS
An aggrieved party in a dispute which considers itself to have reasonable grounds for questioning the competency of a CSWIP qualified person may petition the Governing Board for non-renewal of the certificate. Such a petition must be accompanied by all relevant facts, and if in the opinion of the Board an adequate case has been presented, a full investigation of the circumstances under dispute will be initiated. If the petition is substantiated to the satisfaction of the Board, the certificate will not be renewed without further test.
Appeals against failure to certify or against non-renewal of the certificate may be made by the candidate or the manufacturer upon application in writing to the Governing Board but must be within six months of the date of evaluation.
5. RECORDS Examining Bodies and TWI Certification Ltd maintain records of evaluations, witnessing and audits. Full records are held for a period of eight months from the date of the evaluation. Outline details of the evaluation and the results are maintained on file.
6. APPLICATION FOR TESTING AND FEES Manufactures will be required to submit completed application forms to the Examining Body. These forms are issued by the Examining Body and all the information required must be on these forms. In the event of a false statement being discovered in the information provided by the manufacturer, any evaluation undertaken will be declared null and void. Approval certificates are automatically invalidated if there are any outstanding fees.
7. ADDRESSES For further general information about the approval schemes covered in this document contact:
TWI Certification Ltd
Granta Park Great Abington Cambridge CB21 6AL United Kingdom
2 BS EN 473:2008: Non-Destructive Testing - Qualifications and Certification of NDT Personnel – General Principles 3 ISO/IEC 17024:2003 Conformity Assessment General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification of Personnel. 4 ISO 9712:2005: Non-destructive testing – Qualification and Certification of Personnel.
Guide: SOC 2 Reporting on an Examination of Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, or Privacy
Guide: SOC 2 Reporting on an Examination of Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, or Privacy
