14.1 CP-105 Purpose and Topical Outlines

14.1 CP-105 Purpose and Topical Outlines

Quick Answer: ANSI/ASNT CP-105 provides standard topical outlines for training NDT personnel by method and level. It is the usual curriculum backbone when SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 programs require structured training content. CP-105 does not replace the employer’s Written Practice, set certification authority, or list every local procedure step. Level III uses the outlines to ensure training is complete, method-relevant, and level-appropriate.

Chapters 12 and 13 covered how SNT-TC-1A and CP-189 define qualification and certification frameworks. Those documents tell an employer how to run a program—Written Practice or mandatory standard, training hours, experience, examinations, recertification. This chapter answers a different question: what topics should training cover so hours and exams mean something? That is the role of CP-105.

What CP-105 Is (and Is Not)

CP-105 is an ANSI/ASNT standard that publishes topical outlines for the qualification of nondestructive testing personnel. Think of it as a body-of-knowledge map organized primarily by:

• NDT method (for example ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing, magnetic particle testing, liquid penetrant testing, visual testing, electromagnetic testing, and other recognized methods in the document’s scope)
• Level (typically Level I, Level II, and Level III content depth appropriate to that method’s outline structure)

What CP-105 is:

• A standard topical outline resource for designing formal NDT training
• A way to align classroom, laboratory, and self-study content with industry-recognized topic coverage
• A reference Level III personnel and training organizations use when building or approving syllabi
• A support document for programs that invoke SNT-TC-1A guidelines or CP-189 requirements and need a defensible training content structure

What CP-105 is not:

• A full turnkey course with lesson plans, slides, and quizzes already written
• A substitute for the employer Written Practice or CP-189 quality program rules
• An automatic grant of certification hours without documented instruction and assessment
• A catalog of every customer procedure, acceptance criterion, or plant-specific work instruction
• A license for inventing “training” that never addresses the method’s physics, equipment, technique, evaluation, and safety topics the outline expects at that level

On the Basic exam, if a question asks what CP-105 provides, the high-yield answer is standard topical outlines for training NDT personnel—not “certification certificates,” “hour tables only,” or “mandatory federal law for every shop.”

How CP-105 Fits with SNT-TC-1A and CP-189

Hold three documents in separate mental bins:

Interaction pattern:

1. The employer’s program (SNT-TC-1A Written Practice or CP-189-based system) requires formal training of a defined duration and purpose.
2. Training designers need to know which topics fill those hours so instruction is not random or incomplete.
3. CP-105 supplies the standard topical outlines used to structure that content.
4. Examinations and OJT then build on the knowledge and skills those topics support.

A Level III who confuses the documents will fail practical program design:

• Using only hour tables without topic coverage produces “seat time” without competence.
• Using only outlines without hour/experience/exam rules produces a syllabus with no program scaffolding.
• Claiming CP-105 “certifies” personnel confuses curriculum structure with certification authority.

Structure of Topical Outlines (Conceptual, Not a Line-Item Dump)

You do not need to memorize every bullet under every method for the Basic exam. You do need to understand how outlines are organized and used.

Typical outline logic (conceptual model):

• Method identity and applicability — what the method detects, where it applies, major limitations
• Physical principles — the science that makes indications possible (for example elastic waves for UT, radiation attenuation for RT, magnetic flux leakage phenomena for MT/MFL family thinking)
• Equipment and materials — instrumentation, media, sources, accessories, safety-related hardware
• Techniques and procedures — setup, calibration/standardization concepts, process steps, technique variables
• Interpretation and evaluation — indications vs discontinuities, relevant/non-relevant thinking at the appropriate level, reporting concepts
• Codes, standards, and procedures interface — how industry documents and employer procedures constrain the work (depth scales with level)
• Safety and environment — method-specific hazards (radiation, chemicals, electrical, confined space interfaces as applicable)
• Level scaling — Level I emphasizes performing under procedure/supervision; Level II deepens technique selection, calibration, interpretation, and supervision of Level I; Level III expands to procedure development, training design, examination design, and program-level judgment

For Basic exam method overview study, the CP-105 idea reinforces Chapters 7–11: the Level III candidate is expected to know what each method is for, not only how to run one shop procedure. Outlines map that method overview to training design for the people you will later qualify.

Level III Use Cases: Designing and Auditing Training Content

Domain 3 on the Basic blueprint expects Level III competence to develop and approve NDT training programs. CP-105 is a primary tool for that job.

Design scenario: Management asks you to stand up a Level II ultrasonic training course. A competent Level III approach:

1. Confirm the method/level and program basis (SNT-TC-1A Written Practice vs CP-189).
2. Pull the applicable CP-105 topical outline for UT Level II as the content checklist.
3. Allocate classroom theory vs laboratory practice so principles, equipment, calibration, techniques, evaluation, and safety all appear.
4. Write learning objectives that map to outline topics (not vague “learn UT”).
5. Align any company procedures and product forms as local application layers on top of the standard outline—not instead of it.
6. Define how completion is documented and how the course feeds examination eligibility under the Written Practice.

Audit scenario: An outside vendor delivers a “40-hour PT Level II” course. Before approving credit, the Level III reviews the syllabus against CP-105 topical coverage for PT at that level. Red flags include missing principles, missing evaluation, missing safety/materials handling, or a course that is only product sales demos. Hours without topic integrity are weak evidence of qualification readiness.

Exam-development link: Training outlines and examination content should be coherent. If the outline expects evaluation skills at Level II, the general/specific exams should not ignore evaluation. CP-105 does not write the exam questions for you, but it helps ensure the training–testing chain covers the same body of knowledge.

Supporting Exam Development and Training Design Together

Basic exam candidates should connect three quality controls:

1. Topical completeness (CP-105) — did we teach the right subjects?
2. Program rules (SNT-TC-1A / CP-189) — did we meet hour, experience, exam, and documentation requirements?
3. Local procedures and product knowledge — can the person apply the method to the employer’s work?

Fail any one link and certification becomes paper-thin. Auditors and customers often probe exactly this chain: show me the outline basis, show me attendance and content, show me exams, show me experience records.

High-Yield Traps for This Section

• Saying CP-105 is the Written Practice or is certification
• Treating topical outlines as optional fluff when the program invokes them or industry practice expects them as the training backbone
• Believing Level III must memorize every outline line item for every method on the Basic exam
• Approving training that only covers equipment operation and skips principles, evaluation, or safety topics
• Confusing CP-105 topic structure with SNT-TC-1A recommended hour tables
• Using a generic multi-method overview as if it satisfied a method-specific Level II outline

Practical Memory Hook

SNT-TC-1A / CP-189 = program rules. CP-105 = topic map. Written Practice / local procedures = how this employer implements both. Certification = documented outcome after training, experience, exams, and vision as required.

Next section turns the outline idea into an operating process: how a Level III develops and approves NDT training programs, sets learning objectives, balances classroom and lab, and identifies refresher needs.