7.3 Documentation, Reporting & Acceptance Criteria

Reports and Documentation

The purpose of an NDT report is traceability — the ability to reconstruct exactly what was done, support a technical review or audit, and stand up to legal scrutiny years later. A Level III designs report forms so that no critical detail depends on memory. A complete examination report normally captures:

• Part/component identification — serial, heat, weld, or joint number and location.
• Procedure number and revision used.
• Method and technique with the actual parameters.
• Equipment identification and its calibration/verification status.
• Reference standards / Image Quality Indicator (IQI) used.
• Results — indications recorded by location, size/length, and type.
• Acceptance criteria basis — the code, specification, or drawing applied.
• Disposition — accept, reject, or referred for engineering evaluation.
• Examiner name, certification level, and date, plus Level III review/approval where required.

The reason each of these matters is a common exam theme: part ID, procedure revision, and equipment/calibration status exist so the examination can be reconstructed and audited, not merely filed.

Records Retention

How long records are kept is set by the governing code, the contract, and the employer written practice — there is no single universal number, and a Level III must cite the applicable source rather than guess. In practice:

Acceptance Criteria — Where They Come From

Acceptance criteria are not invented by the technician or the Level III. They come only from the applicable code, standard, specification, drawing, or contract requirement. When a purchase order requires an examination but neither the PO nor the local procedure states limits, the correct Level III action is to obtain the controlling acceptance criteria from the governing code/specification or from documented customer/engineering direction before any accept or reject decision is made. Codes express these limits quantitatively — for surface methods, a linear indication is one whose length is at least three times its width, while a rounded indication is shorter than that; radiographic and ultrasonic codes set porosity charts, slag-length limits, and amplitude/length limits keyed to material thickness.

Indication, Relevant Indication, and Defect

The most tested vocabulary ladder in this domain separates four terms. Confusing them is the classic trap, because a technician who calls every discontinuity a "defect" over-rejects good hardware.

The rule to memorize: every defect is a discontinuity, but not every discontinuity is a defect. A discontinuity only becomes a defect once it fails the governing acceptance criteria. Likewise, an indication is only relevant once it is shown to arise from a discontinuity that the code says must be evaluated.

Disposition of Indications

After evaluation, a relevant indication is dispositioned three ways: accept (within criteria), reject/repair (a defect, removed or repaired then re-inspected), or referred for engineering evaluation — a fitness-for-service or use-as-is judgment made by engineering when the code allows it. The Level III owns the traceable trail from indication to disposition and never dispositions without a documented acceptance basis.

Worked Example: From Signal to Disposition

An angle-beam ultrasonic scan of a groove weld produces a reflector at 40 percent of the distance-amplitude-correction (DAC) curve. Walk the ladder. The response on the screen is an indication. The inspector confirms it does not come from the weld root geometry or a mode-converted signal, so it is a relevant indication — a real discontinuity that must be evaluated. The Level III then compares its amplitude and length against the invoked code's limits. If it stays within the amplitude and length allowed for that thickness, the discontinuity is acceptable and the weld is accepted; if it exceeds the limit, that discontinuity is now a defect and the weld is rejected for repair and re-inspection, or referred to engineering for a documented use-as-is evaluation where the code permits it. Every step is written down with the code basis, so an auditor can reconstruct the call.

Auditability and Calibration Traceability

Audit-readiness is why calibration and verification records ride along with the report. Current calibration status shows that measurements and indications are supported by controlled equipment, and the IQI or reference standard proves the technique achieved the required sensitivity that day. The best audit evidence that certification and examination records are controlled is a sampling of traceable files — training, experience, vision, examinations, procedure revisions, and current status — that hang together and reconstruct what was done.

Common Traps

• Calling every discontinuity a defect and over-rejecting acceptable hardware.
• Dispositioning before securing a documented acceptance basis.
• Filing a report with no procedure revision, equipment ID, or calibration status, breaking traceability.
• Assuming one universal retention period instead of citing the code, contract, and written practice.