Personnel Competence Assessment & Evaluation

A certificate proves someone attended a course. It does not prove they can do the job. Personnel assessment establishes competence directly — by testing what an individual actually produces, knows and does, against a defined standard, with a result you can put in front of a client or an auditor.

What we assess

• Welder qualification testingWelders and welding operators tested to the procedure and position range required, with test coupons subjected to the examinations the code specifies. Qualification is issued against a defined range of approval covering process, material group, thickness, diameter and position.
• NDT technician qualificationAssessment of NDT personnel against the qualification scheme in force, covering general and specific theory and practical examination on representative specimens with known defects.
• Plant and crane operator competencePractical assessment on the machine the operator will use, covering pre-use inspection, load chart interpretation where applicable, operation within limits, and response to abnormal conditions.
• Client-specific role competenceAssessment against a competence standard you define — for a role, a task or a permit-to-work authority level — where no external scheme exists but the requirement is contractual or safety-critical.

How assessment is carried out

• Practical assessment — observed performance of the actual task, on the actual equipment, under the conditions the work is done in. Nothing else establishes competence reliably.
• Written and theory examination — underpinning knowledge tested where the scheme or role requires it, including code interpretation, calculation and hazard recognition.
• Credential verification — existing certificates checked back to the issuing body rather than accepted at face value, with validity, scope and range of approval confirmed.
• Records review — continuity of employment in the discipline, and any period of interruption that affects the validity of an existing qualification.

Why credential verification matters

Forged and expired certificates are a persistent problem in this region, and a certificate that looks correct frequently is not: issued by a body that no longer exists, outside its stated range of approval, lapsed through interruption of work in the discipline, or simply fabricated. Verification back to the issuing body is a small piece of work that prevents an unqualified person carrying out safety-critical work on your site — and prevents you discovering it after an incident.

Standards applied

Assessment is carried out to the standard your contract or the governing code specifies. For welder qualification those are commonly ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX, AWS D1.1 for structural welding, and the ISO 9606 series. NDT personnel are assessed against ISO 9712 or ASNT SNT-TC-1A as applicable. Operator and role competence is assessed against the manufacturer's requirements, the applicable equipment standard, or your own documented competence criteria.

Where this is used

• Qualifying welders before fabrication begins on a contract
• Verifying contractor personnel before mobilisation to site
• Meeting a client requirement for independently assessed competence
• Checking the credentials of an incoming or agency workforce
• Re-assessing personnel after an interruption in work in the discipline
• Following an incident where competence is in question
• Establishing a competence baseline across a workforce

Independence

ITMAD is an accredited inspection and certification body and assesses personnel independently of any training they may have received. Where an individual has been trained elsewhere, that has no bearing on the assessment; where they have been trained by ITMAD, the assessment is conducted and recorded separately. An assessment that a training provider cannot fail is not an assessment.

What you receive

• An assessment record for each individual, identifying what was assessed and against which standard
• Clear competent or not-yet-competent result, with the specific gaps recorded where not met
• Range of approval where a qualification is issued, stating exactly what it covers
• Test results and examination records supporting the outcome
• Verification findings on existing credentials, including any that could not be substantiated
• Expiry or revalidation date where the qualification is time-limited
• Consolidated register of assessed personnel, where we hold it for you

ITMAD Academy — self-paced online courses

Where classroom scheduling does not suit, ITMAD Academy delivers self-paced online courses across management system and accreditation standards, Exemplar Global recognised, with certificates issued on completion and online verification.

Browse courses at ITMAD Academy