The Certification You Can’t Take Back: What NDT Level III, NDT Trainer, and Employer Must Remember

By Edward Korkowski - eddycurrent.com

In April 1994, an ASNT article titled “Every Level III’s Responsibility” delivered a powerful message to the nondestructive testing (NDT) community – a message just as critical today as it was then. It reminded NDT trainers, Level III certifiers, and employers that certifying NDT personnel is not a mere administrative task. When you sign off on someone’s qualifications, you are vouching for their competence to ensure the integrity of bridges, airplanes, pipelines, and power plants. This is a profound ethical responsibility with life-and-death implications. Decades have passed since that 1994 article, but its core warning bears repeating: the moment we compromise on qualification standards, we compromise on safety and ethics. In this post, we revisit and expand on that timeless message – urging every NDT Level III and every employer to embrace their duty as gatekeepers of public safety.

A Special Duty: The Level III as Gatekeeper

Any Level III examiner or NDT trainer knows that certifying someone isn’t just checking a box – it’s shouldering a special duty and burden every time you declare a technician “qualified.” As the 1994 article pointed out, a certifier’s role is comparable to that of an FAA flight examiner who issues pilot licenses. Like an FAA examiner signing off an unprepared pilot, a Level III who certifies an operator that is incompetent, forgetful, or slipshod is at least as responsible as that operator – perhaps even more so – if a bridge fails or a plane crashes due to that technician’s weaknesses. In other words, when something goes catastrophically wrong because an NDT inspector missed a flaw, the person who qualified that inspector shares the blame. This gatekeeping role is sacred: you are the last line of defense against unqualified personnel slipping through and potentially endangering lives.

Let’s put this in perspective. Imagine a flight examiner knowingly passing a trainee pilot who struggles to land a plane safely – the idea is horrifying. We’d intuitively hold that examiner accountable if an accident occurred. Yet the same principle applies in NDT. A Level III’s signature on a certification attests that “I have verified this person can reliably find critical defects.” If you haven’t truly verified that, or if you yielded to pressure to certify someone who isn’t ready, you have essentially given an unfit individual the keys to safety-critical machinery. When you certify, you’re saying “I’m confident this person will catch the crack in the airplane wing, the flaw in the weld, or the void in the pipeline.” Failing to ensure that competence means accepting the risk that something important will be missed – with potentially devastating consequences.

When Lives Depend on Your Signature

Nothing drives home the seriousness of certification more than imagining the worst-case scenario. The 1994 article posed a chilling rhetorical question: “If the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 had been caused by error on the part of an NDT operator you had qualified, could you really convince yourself that you were not at least partially responsible? What if one of your loved ones had been among the victims?”. This scenario is deliberately stark to jolt us into recognizing the stakes. (Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie in 1988, killed 270 people – a tragedy in which NDT played no part, but the question forces us to imagine if it had.)

The message is clear: when lives could be on the line, “good enough” is never good enough. As a Level III examiner, you must be able to look yourself in the mirror and know that every person you certify is truly qualified – that if tomorrow there’s an accident in their vicinity, you have zero doubt about the integrity of the tests they performed. Anything less is a recipe for guilt and regret. It only takes one undetected crack in an airframe or one missed flaw in a critical component for disaster to strike. If you signed off on the technician who let it slip, how would you feel facing the aftermath? This isn’t an abstract point – it’s a profoundly human issue of accountability and conscience. The people who use airplanes, drive over bridges, or live near industrial plants have unknowingly entrusted their lives to you as a certifier. We must never betray that trust.

(Consider the gravity of what’s at stake: military and aerospace NDT specialists, like the one pictured below, work under immense pressure to find even the tiniest defects. They know that missing a crack or flaw could lead to catastrophe. Level III examiners carry the responsibility of ensuring these technicians are up to the task before they ever touch real hardware.)

 An NDT technician (USAF) performing a fluorescent magnetic particle inspection on an aircraft component under ultraviolet light. Level III certifiers must ensure technicians like these are thoroughly qualified – lives may depend on their skill and attention to detail.

US Air Force NDI Inspector

No Shortcuts Under Pressure: Ethics Over Convenience

Realistically, we know pressures abound in the field. Projects fall behind schedule, unfilled positions need bodies on the line, clients or higher-ups breathe down our necks, and sometimes a candidate is “almost” good enough and really needs to pass for any number of convenient reasons. But none of these pressures can justify cutting corners on certification. The 1994 article made this point unequivocally: those who qualify NDT personnel have a special duty to do so “completely in accordance with the established rules and requirements, no matter what the pressures”. The only ethically correct course is strict adherence to the standards – especially when it’s hard. Because the moment we let convenience override competence, we become part of the problem.

It may help to remember a simple logic: if an NDT practitioner cannot even follow the rules and meet the requirements during their own qualification exam (when their own job, ego, or pride is on the line), it is totally illogical to assume they’ll meet the requirements in their daily work when no one is directly supervising them. In other words, if someone struggles to demonstrate proper technique or cheats on a test or barely squeaks by with subpar performance, why would we expect them to magically perform better under real-world conditions? Passing an underqualified person doesn’t do them a favor – it sets them up to fail later, and puts others at risk in the process.

Never succumb to the fallacy that “almost qualified” is close enough. Would you fly in a plane whose pilot “almost” passed their flight test? Would you let a surgeon operate on you who “almost” completed their medical boards? Of course not. Similarly, there is no such thing as almost competent when it comes to NDT in safety-critical applications. Either the individual demonstrably meets the standard, or they don’t – and if they don’t, they must not be signed off. Period.

To uphold this principle, Level III examiners and the organizations they work for should actively guard against common pressures that can tempt us to lower the bar. Some examples of pressures – and how to counter them – include:

• Time Pressure: Perhaps a project is behind schedule and management is eager to get a new inspector on the floor quickly. In these cases, remember that an accident due to an unqualified inspector will cause far worse delays (and damages) later on. Stick to your testing rigor – if a candidate isn’t ready, delaying the project to train them properly (or find someone else) is the far lesser evil than risking a serious failure.

• Workforce Shortage: In today’s market, good NDT personnel can be hard to find, and you might feel pressure to certify someone almost good just to fill a vacancy. Here especially, resist the urge. An unqualified person in that role could miss a critical defect. It’s better to carry a vacancy or redistribute work temporarily than to sign off on incompetence. The short-term inconvenience is nothing compared to the long-term consequences of a catastrophic failure.

• Personal Bias or Favors: Maybe the trainee is a friend, or a relative of a colleague, or a well-liked team member who just isn’t testing well. It can be emotionally difficult to fail someone you know or someone who really wants to pass. But as a Level III, you must remain objective and hold everyone to the same standard. The rules exist to protect people’s lives – they apply equally to all, regardless of personal circumstances. If someone doesn’t meet the bar today, do them a real favor: give them the feedback and opportunity to improve, rather than a hollow certification that could come back to haunt you both.

• Management Pressure or Corporate Culture: In some unfortunate cases, a company’s culture might prioritize production metrics or “good news” over brutal honesty in qualification. You might hear hints like “We really need him certified on this method ASAP” or feel that failing candidates is frowned upon. Overcome this by educating your management about the risks and liabilities – remind them (and yourself) that certifying an unfit technician can lead not just to safety disasters but also legal and reputation disasters for the company. No manager wants to explain to investigators or the press why an unqualified inspector was clearing parts that later failed. Upholding standards protects the company as much as it protects everyone else.

In all these scenarios, integrity must trump convenience. Yes, it takes courage to stand firm – especially if you face pushback – but that is exactly why the job of certifying comes with such a heavy ethical weight. As the article said bluntly, to do otherwise (to yield to pressure or cut corners) is to become part of the problem and potentially “a party to a nightmare.” None of us want to be party to that phone call in the middle of the night that something we allowed to happen has led to an accident.

Fostering a Culture of Competence (The Employer’s Role)

While much of this responsibility falls on the individual Level III examiner, employers and NDT program managers play a pivotal role in upholding certification integrity. Management must create an environment where doing the right thing is supported, even if it’s not the easy thing. If you’re an employer, supervisor, or Level III in charge of an NDT program, ask yourself: Does our culture reinforce that competence is the top priority? Or do we, even unintentionally, send mixed signals that passing people to meet scheduling or client demands is acceptable? It is every Level III’s responsibility to refuse to certify an unqualified person – but it is every employer’s responsibility to empower and back up their Level IIIs in that refusal.

To foster a culture of competence and ethics:

• Support Your Examiners: Let your Level III staff know that you expect them to hold the line on standards. If they report a trainee isn’t ready, respect their professional judgment. Never punish or pressure an examiner for failing a candidate who didn’t meet the criteria. Instead, thank them for doing their duty. This encourages honesty and rigor.

• Provide Training and Resources: Often, candidates fall short because they lacked adequate preparation or experience. Employers should invest in proper training programs, mentoring, and on-the-job experience before individuals go for certification exams. By the time someone sits for a test, there should be little doubt of their ability to pass. Cutting corners on training is just as bad as cutting corners on testing – both can lead to unqualified people in the field.

• Communicate the “Why”: Make sure everyone in the organization, from executives to freshly hired trainees, understands why NDT certification is rigorous. Share stories (like the FAA examiner analogy or hypothetical disaster scenarios) in safety meetings or training sessions. When people truly grasp that lives are at stake, they are more likely to commit to the process wholeheartedly, rather than viewing cert exams as bureaucratic hurdles to rush through.

• Lead by Example: If you’re a Level III or manager, demonstrate ethical behavior in your own decisions. For instance, if a production deadline threatens to slip because an inspector isn’t available, do not solve it by bypassing qualification protocols. Find another solution – even if it means personally stepping in or hiring outside help temporarily. Your team will take cues from what you prioritize: if you always prioritize safety and quality, they will too.

Finally, remember that accountability goes both ways. If (heaven forbid) an incident ever does occur under your watch, being able to truthfully say “We did everything by the book and ensured everyone was qualified” is crucial. It will focus the investigation on what went wrong in spite of proper certification, rather than shining a light on certification as the weak link. As an employer or certifier, you never want to be in the position of explaining why an unqualified person was doing critical inspections. In short: support and enforce a zero-compromise policy on NDT certification. In the long run, it protects your employees, your customers, and your business.

Resources for Ethical NDT Certification and Training

No one in the NDT community has to go it alone when navigating these ethical and training challenges. There are resources and support networks dedicated to helping examiners and employers do the right thing. For example, EddyCurrent.com (a one-stop resource for eddy current and other NDT methods) offers a wealth of information and professional support. It provides guidance on best practices, training courses, and a community forum for NDT professionals to share experiences. Such platforms can help Level IIIs stay current on techniques and ethical expectations, and help companies find training solutions that ensure their staff truly meet competency requirements. Whether you need a refresher on a specific NDT method, advice on implementing an ethical certification program, or assistance with additional training for borderline candidates, don’t hesitate to leverage industry resources like EddyCurrent.com.

Reaching out for guidance is far better than risking a bad call on a certification decision. By continuously educating ourselves and seeking expert support, we reinforce the culture of quality and integrity in our NDT programs.

NDT Technician Performing UT Inspection on a Pipe Weld

(Above: In critical industries like oil & gas, NDT technicians meticulously inspect components to prevent disasters. In the image below, a trained technician uses an ultrasonic phased-array scanner to test a pipeline weld for defects. This level of rigor and skill is non-negotiable – and it starts with Level III examiners certifying only those technicians who can perform such tasks competently.)

 An NDT inspector tests a pipeline weld using an ultrasonic testing scanner. High-stakes inspections demand fully competent personnel – a Level III’s ethical duty is to ensure every certified tech can execute tests like this correctly. Missing a flaw in a pipeline, pressure vessel, or structural weld could lead to catastrophic failures, which is why there is no room for “almost qualified” in NDT.

Competence Over Convenience – A Call to Action

To all the NDT Level III examiners, trainers, and hiring managers reading this: the next time you are faced with a tough decision about certifying someone, remember the fundamental principle – never let convenience or pressure override competence when it comes to certification. The integrity of our infrastructure, the safety of the public, and the lives of our loved ones may well depend on the choices you make. It takes courage and professionalism to uphold the highest standards at all times, but that is every Level III’s responsibility. Be the gatekeeper our industry needs you to be. Insist on doing things the right way, every time. If you ever feel conflicted, recall the FAA examiner analogy, or ask yourself that Pan Am 103 question – and let those guide you back to the path of accountability.

In the end, a certification is more than a piece of paper; it’s a promise. It’s a promise that the individual holding it can be trusted to perform their NDT duties with competence and care. Do not sign that promise lightly. Uphold it with honor, and encourage your peers to do the same. By fostering a culture where ethics and safety trump all other considerations, we ensure that NDT remains the robust safety net it’s meant to be. The cost of complacency is simply too high. So stand firm, stay true to your principles, and utilize resources (like EddyCurrent.com and professional societies) to support you in making the right calls. Together, let’s keep our industry worthy of the trust that society places in us. Never compromise on competence – lives depend on it.