FAQ

Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about personnel certification with SECTOR Cert – including qualification and certification according to DIN EN ISO 9712 (non-destructive testing / NDT) and DIN ISO 18436 (condition monitoring), accreditation under ISO/IEC 17024, and how examinations work.

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A SECTOR Cert examination officer is typically certified at Level 3 or Category III in the method and sector in which he or she conducts the examination, and has the necessary interpersonal and organisational skills.

Examination officers usually receive induction from the certification body, complete supervised sittings (hospitations) and take part in regular supervision or experience exchange.

Personnel certification is the independent confirmation that a person has demonstrated the necessary competence and meets other requirements of the certification programme – typically training, examination, physical fitness and industrial experience according to the applicable certification programme.

SECTOR Cert certifies personnel under schemes including DIN EN ISO 9712 (non-destructive testing) and DIN ISO 18436 (condition monitoring) and issues certificates as documents and/or ID cards. To help prevent forgery, validity and status can be checked online via the SECTOR Cert Check.

Individual adaptations of examinations are only possible to the extent provided for a restricted examination in the certification programme – for example in the case of automated testing.

An adjustment of the organisational framework – e.g. examination times – may be approved by the certification body upon individual application for reasonable accommodation, for example in the case of a learning difficulty.

Outside these regulated restrictions, the uniform requirements of the respective certification programme apply.

Yes – you can trust an accredited certification body. Independent accredited bodies must meet high requirements for impartiality, evidence and documentation, and quality management.

Recognised qualifications follow the state of the art; examinations are intended to demonstrate a comparable assessment of competence. Accreditation confirms that this is done fairly, impartially and at a consistently high level. Information on SECTOR Cert’s impartiality is available under Impartiality.

Qualification examinations with SECTOR Cert follow a clear, documented process:

1. Welcome by the examination officer and the examination team
2. Handing out of the examination regulations – these must be understood and signed
3. Identity check (please bring an official ID; without proof of identity you may be excluded from the examination) and collection of prohibited items
4. Explanation of the answer sheet documentation and announcement of examination times
5. Distribution of question papers and collection after the allotted time
6. As a rule, the examination officer evaluates the examination promptly and informs you of a provisional result

General information is available under General information on examinations.

Standards such as DIN EN ISO 9712 or DIN ISO 18436 define minimum training durations. In practice, these times are not sufficient in every application to qualify personnel appropriately. Requirements for higher training times in SECTOR Cert’s certification programmes are decided by the respective scheme committee. In these scheme committees, all parties interested in the certifications meet in a balanced composition.

Higher training times may, however, also be required by commissioning organisations of their service providers, for example when specific additional knowledge is needed to fulfil an assignment. This takes place in the direct relationship between client and contractor.

Certification programmes or commissioning organisations may therefore require longer training times than the minima of the respective standard or directive – always with the aim of ensuring the necessary competence in the relevant method and sector.

Not every body that certifies persons is automatically an accredited certification body for non-destructive testing under DIN EN ISO 9712 or for condition monitoring under DIN ISO 18436. Among the many accredited personnel certification bodies there are very different areas of certification.

What matters is whether a body is accredited specifically for the scheme you need – in particular DIN EN ISO 9712 or DIN ISO 18436. You will find this information on the accreditation certificate of the respective body.

SECTOR Cert is monitored by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) for compliance with the requirements of DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024 in its programmes according to DIN EN ISO 9712 or DIN ISO 18436; current scopes and evidence are listed under Accreditations.

Accreditation is the objective assessment that a certification body meets the defined minimum requirements.

In Germany this is primarily the responsibility of DAkkS (German Accreditation Body) and – depending on the scope – ZLS (Central Authority of the Federal States for Safety Technology). DAkkS confirms, among other things, compliance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024 (bodies certifying persons) and the technical requirements of the relevant schemes – at SECTOR Cert in particular the certification programmes SQMV02 and SQMV06 based on the international standards DIN EN ISO 9712 (NDT) and DIN ISO 18436 (condition monitoring). ZLS assesses requirements linked to the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED).

SECTOR Cert’s current evidence is published under Accreditations.

Qualification and subsequent certification follow comparable core requirements depending on the scheme. For non-destructive testing (NDT) according to DIN EN ISO 9712 and for condition monitoring according to DIN ISO 18436, the essential requirements are:

• Evidence of physical fitness, e.g. a vision certificate (near vision and colour vision) as required by the programme
• Training in line with the applicable programme
• Examination in theory or practice
• Documented industrial experience / minimum experience time

Details on methods, levels and applications are available under DIN EN ISO 9712, DIN ISO 18436 and Applications.

In Germany, accreditation is based on the rules framework of the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS). Personnel certification bodies are monitored in audits with regard to the implementation of the minimum requirements according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024 and the technical standards of the relevant certification schemes – at SECTOR Cert in particular DIN EN ISO 9712 and DIN ISO 18436. In addition, the accreditation body’s rules apply, e.g. R-17024 as a concretisation of the requirements of DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024 or DIN EN ISO/IEC 17021.

Nein. Die BASIC-Prüfung buchen und ablegen Sie über ein autorisiertes Prüfungszentrum (Prüfungsanmeldung). Einen Zertifikatsantrag stellen Sie später, wenn Sie die Zertifizierung in Stufe 3 in einem Hauptverfahren beantragen — die bestandene BASIC-Prüfung ist dafür eine Voraussetzung, kein Vorbedingung für die Prüfungsbuchung.

Weiteres: BASIC · Prüfungszentren

BASIC ist die Grundlagenprüfung für Stufe 3 nach DIN EN ISO 9712 (Teile A, B und C). Sie bestätigt die Grundlagenkenntnisse und ist Voraussetzung für die Erst-Zertifizierung in Stufe 3 in einem Hauptverfahren. BASIC selbst ist kein Verfahrenszertifikat wie UT oder RT.

Weiteres: BASIC

Nein. Die Teilnahme an der Grundlagenschulung ist empfohlen, aber nicht verpflichtend. Voraussetzung für die Stufe-3-Zertifizierung ist die bestandene BASIC-Prüfung. Schulungsangebote und Syllabus finden Sie auf der BASIC-Seite bzw. bei autorisierten Schulungszentren.

Weiteres: BASIC

Ihr Zertifikat wird auf gesonderten Zertifizierungsantrag ausgestellt, sobald die Voraussetzungen erfüllt sind (u. a. anerkannte Schulung, bestandene Qualifizierungsprüfung, Erfahrungszeit, Sehvermögen). Im Kundenportal können Sie Anträge online stellen und den Status verfolgen. Die Qualifizierungsprüfung selbst melden Sie über das Prüfungszentrum an.

Weiteres: Weg zum Zertifikat

Im Kundenportal öffnen Sie den Bereich „Hilfe“. Dort sehen Sie kuratierte Antworten zu häufigen Themen und einen Link zur vollständigen FAQ auf der Website. Für Einzelfälle wenden Sie sich an SECTOR Cert (info@sector-cert.com).

Weiteres: Vollständige FAQ