Engineering Procedure

SAEP-1142 19 May 2009

Qualification of Non-Saudi
Aramco NDT Personnel
Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee Members
Qadeeb, Fathi Essa, Chairman
Subaii, Ghazzay Mohammed, Vice Chairman
Gahtani, Moraya Saif
Wescott, Edward Anthony
Perez, Jaime Paunlagui
Motairy, Motlaq Saleem
Carswell, Raymond J.
Scales, Thomas Edward

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Table of Contents

1 Scope............................................................. 2
2 Conflicts and Deviations................................ 2
3 References.................................................... 2
4 General.......................................................... 3
5 Training.......................................................... 3
6 Qualification of Examinations........................ 4
7 Certification.................................................... 5

Appendix I - Approved National Certification

Programs....................................................... 6
Appendix II - Individual Certification Techniques. 7
Appendix III Saudi Aramco Required Practical
Verification Examinations 8

Previous Issue: 29 February 2004 Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014

Revised paragraphs are indicated in the right margin Page 1 of 8
Primary contact: Fathi, Essa Al-Qadeeb on 966-3-8720262

CopyrightSaudi Aramco 2009. All rights reserved.

Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

1 Scope

This Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure (SAEP) establishes the minimum training,
examination, qualification, and certification requirements of contractor, subcontractor,
consultant, or other non-Saudi Aramco personnel performing, interpreting, or otherwise
affecting the results of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) operations during purchase,
construction, or maintenance of plant and equipment being purchased, constructed, or
operated for Saudi Aramco.

2 Conflicts and Deviations

2.1 Any conflicts between this procedure and other Saudi Aramco Engineering
Procedures (SAEP's), Engineering Standards (SAESs), Materials System
Specifications (SAMSS's), Standard Drawings (SASD's), or industry standards,
codes, and forms shall be resolved in writing by the Company or Buyer
Representative through the Manager, Inspection Department of Saudi Aramco,
Dhahran.

2.2 Direct all requests to deviate from this procedure in writing to the Company or
Buyer Representative, who shall follow internal company procedure SAEP-302
and forward such requests to the Manager, Inspection Department of Saudi
Aramco, Dhahran.

3 References

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure

SAEP-302 Instructions for Obtaining a Waiver of a
Mandatory Saudi Aramco Engineering
Requirement.

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

American National Standards Institute/The American Society For

Nondestructive Testing, Inc.
ANSI/ASNT CP-189 Qualification and Certification of NDT Personnel
(Latest Revision)
ASNT SNT-TC-1A Recommended Practice for Personnel
Qualifications and Certification

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Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

British Standards Institution

BS EN 473 Non-Destructive Testing Qualification and
Certification of NDT Personnel General
Principles

International Organization for Standardization

ISO 9712:2005 edition Non-Destructive Testing Qualification and
Certification of NDT Personnel

4 General

4.1 This procedure shall cover any and all NDT methods or operations and shall
include, but not be limited to, those listed in ANSI/ASNT CP-189.

4.2 Any organization supplying, employing or delegating NDT personnel shall have
a written practice or procedure covering NDT personnel training, experience,
qualification and certification. This written practice shall meet or exceed the
minimum requirements of ANSI/ASNT CP-189 (latest edition) plus the
additions and clarifications outlined in this SAEP. However, NDT personnel
performing NDT out of kingdom (OOK) as a result of procurement of materials
or equipment obtained from OOK vendors using Purchase Orders may be
certified to a nationally recognized program as listed in Appendix I. An updated
list of these programs is maintained by the Supervisor, NDT Unit, Saudi Aramco
Inspection Department, Dhahran. The organization's NDT personnel
qualification and certification procedure shall be submitted to the Saudi Aramco
Inspection Department, Dhahran, for review and approval prior to the
commencement of any NDT operations.

4.3 All documentation shall be prepared in the English language.

4.4 Personnel responsible for interpretation of or affecting the results of NDT

operations shall be certified to a minimum of Level II per the certifying
organization's written practice.

4.5 The written practice shall include and specify the qualification/certification
requirements for both conventional and advanced NDT methods.

5 Training

5.1 Training programs for any NDT method shall include at least the body of
knowledge shown in Appendix B of ANSI/ASNT CP-189 for the applicable
method and be of the minimum required hours shown in Appendix A of
ANSI/ASNT CP-189 in the NDT method being certified.

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Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

5.2 If the current employer has not administered the training being claimed for
qualification, or the experience being claimed for qualification was not gained
with the current employer, the current employer shall verify the claimed training
and/or experience in writing from the previous employer(s) and retain the
verification on file. Any claimed training or experience that cannot be verified
and documented shall be considered invalid.

5.3 Wet ink originals are the only acceptable documentation of previous training.
Photocopies may be made and kept on file. The responsible NDT Level III shall
verify the documentation and attest in writing to its validity.

5.4 Saudi Aramco shall have the right to request submission of, or be granted access
to, any and all training, experience, qualification, and certification records
pertaining to NDT personnel. This applies to any organization covered under
the scope of this document.

6 Qualification of Examinations

6.1 Access to qualification materials shall be limited and the qualification

examinations shall be maintained in secure files. Training course materials and
examinations shall be available for review or assessment by Saudi Aramco
Inspection Department.

6.1.1 Written qualification examinations shall contain questions covering at

least the body of knowledge listed in Appendix B of ANSI/ASNT CP-
189 in the method being examined.

6.1.2 Questions used in general examinations for Level I and Level II

personnel shall be similar in type and difficulty to those published by
ASNT. Questions shall not be used verbatim from the ASNT published
lists. Examinations shall be established from a database of questions that
ensures that no two candidates receive more that 25% of identical
questions during any individual examination session.

6.1.3 Specific examinations shall be tailored to NDT techniques listed in

Appendix II. The specific examination shall also cover experience and
knowledge of recognized standards and codes for the technique being
used.

6.2 Practical Examinations

6.2.1 In addition to the employer's practical examination requirements as per

ANSI/ASNT CP-189, Saudi Aramco may, at it's sole discretion, require
all NDT personnel, as well as any individuals interpreting or influencing

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Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

the interpretation of NDT results to take and pass a verification

examination administered by Saudi Aramco.

6.2.2 Verification examinations for personnel performing advanced NDT

methods as shown in Appendix III and personnel affecting the
interpretation thereof shall be administered by Saudi Aramco or an
approved independent test authority.

6.3 Visual Acuity Examinations

Vision examinations shall be performed annually. The examinations shall be

documented and retained in the individual files.

7 Certification

7.1 Individual NDT methods may be subdivided into specialized techniques as listed
in Appendix I; performance qualification may be required in each of the
applicable specialized techniques at the discretion of the Inspection Department
NDT Unit, Dhahran as listed in Appendix III. Limited certifications in NDT
methods are acceptable providing the training and education requirements are
reduced to not less than half for that particular method. For example: Level II
UT personnel are required to possess 1) a total of 80 hours training; 2) total of
800 hours experience in UT; and 3) a total of 1600 hours total NDT experience.
A level II UT Thickness Gauging certification would require at least half of
those same hours of training (40) and experience (400) with the bulk of the
training in thickness gauging operations.

7.2 Personnel performing or evaluating NDT results shall be certified in the NDT
method or specialized technique being used.

7.3 Recertification

7.3.1 Level I and II personnel shall be recertified by the employer.

Recertification by demonstration of experience is not permitted.

7.3.2 Level III personnel shall be recertified by verification of the individual's

ASNT Level III certificate in each method for which recertification is
sought. A practical examination may be required as well for level III
recertification as per 6.2.1 at the discretion of the Saudi Aramco Head
Level III.

Revision Summary
19 May 2009 Minor revision.

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Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

Appendix I - Approved National Certification Programs

The following Certification Programs for NDT personnel are acceptable:

PCN Scheme
AWS
CSWIP
Japanese Society of Nondestructive Testing (JSNDT)
Other National schemes meeting requirements of EN 473

For out of kingdom NDT performed as a result of purchase orders, ASNT SNT-TC-1A
(latest edition or that specified by governing code) is acceptable.
An updated list is held by:
Supervisor
NDT Unit
Operations Inspection Division
Inspection Department
Saudi Aramco
Dhahran
Tel: 966-3-874-6605
Fax 966-3-873-7903

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Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

Appendix II - Individual Certification Techniques

Training and Certification shall be required in the following methods and sub methods.
This list shall be subject to revision at any time and reference should be made to the
NDT Standards Committee for the latest revision:

Visual Testing
Magnetic Particle Testing
Liquid Penetrant Testing
Radiographic Testing (Manual & Automated)
Radiographic Film Interpretation
Ultrasonic Testing (Automated Corrosion Mapping)
Ultrasonic Testing (Automated Pipeline Girth Weld Inspection)
Ultrasonic Shear Wave Testing (Plate & Pipe - Manual)
Ultrasonic Shear Wave Testing (Branch Connection - Manual)
Ultrasonic Testing (Manual & Automated Phased Array)
Ultrasonic Testing (Time of Flight Diffraction (ToFD) examination)
Ultrasonic Thickness Testing (UTT)
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT)
Eddy Current Testing
Remote Field Eddy Current Testing
MFL Tubing Testing
MFL Tank Floor Testing
Infrared Testing
Acoustic Emission Testing (Tank Floors)
Acoustic Emission Testing (Pressure Retaining Systems)
Guided Wave Inspection
Leak Testing:

BT Bubble Test
PCT Pressure Change Test
HDLT Halogen Diode Leak Test
MSLT Mass Spectrometer Leak Test

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 Document Responsibility: Non-Destructive Testing Standards Committee SAEP-1142
Issue Date: 19 May 2009 Qualification of Non-Saudi
Next Planned Update: 19 May 2014 Aramco NDT Personnel

Appendix III - Saudi Aramco Required Practical Verification Examinations

Plate/ Branch General

Technique Pipe Nozzle
Shell Connection Application
Manual UT Shear Wave x x x x
Phased Array x x x x
ToFD x x x
Ultrasonic Testing Guided Wave x
Corrosion Mapping x
Pipeline Girth Weld Scanning x
UTDI x
ACFM x
Electromagnetic Testing ECT x
MFL Tank Floor x
AE x
ECT x
Acoustic Emission RFT x
Testing MFL x
IRIS x
LOTIS x
External Pipe Scanning EMAT x
System Digital RT Imaging x
SLOFEC x
Radiographic Testing film
RTFI x
Interpreter
ToFD Time of Flight Diffraction MFL Magnetic Flux Leakage
UTDI Ultrasonic Testing Data Interpreter IRIS Internal Rotary Inspection System
ACFM Alternating Current Field Measurement LOTIS Laser Optic Tube Inspection System
ECT Eddy Current Testing EMAT Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer
RFT Remote Field Testing SLOFEC Saturated Low Frequency Eddy Current
RTFI Radiographic Testing Film Interpreter

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