API ICP Inspector Training Solutions

Training and Inspection Services (TIS)is a global leader in providing preparatory courses for API Individual Certification Program in:

    • API 510 Pressure Vessel
    • API 571 Corrosion & Materials 
    • API 570 Piping Inspector
    • API 577 Welding Inspection & Metallurgy
    • API 580 Risk Based Inspection
    • API 653 Storage Tank Inspector
    • API 1169 Pipeline Construction Inspector
    • API SIFE Source Inspector Fixed Equipment
    • API SIRE Source Inspector Rotating Equipment

Operating globally – we have developed, expanded and adapted to remain at the forefront of global e-learning and training delivery.

We support and empower our clients by making a positive impact on their knowhow, certification and carer progression, enabling plants to run smoothly and efficiently across the energy industry.

We provide 120 days 24/7 course access & online support

Pass first time or take the course again for free

We also provide blended E-learning plus classroom/webinar or 121 sessions as extra support for candidates who wish to further their chances of passing the exam. Look out for our training calendar or write to us.

Our Expertise

Training and Inspection Services is focussed on:

  • API and NDT e-learning & blended courses, and bespoke courses for companies,
  • Providing API Authorised Inspection to operating companies during turnaround
  • Providing NDT Level III consultancy to small and medium sized manufacturing companies
  • Auditing & Vendor Inspection on behalf of client.

Our team deliver and manage dozens of projects every year, providing specialist services on the retainer basis to supply our clients with the skills, knowledge and manpower they require to support and ensure projects run in budget, and on time.

Our Journey

Training and Inspection Services was established in 2018 by a technical team of seasoned chartered engineers, API Inspector, NDT Level III specialists, mechanical, welding and coating inspectors with a combined experience of over 200 years.

Our technical team is supported by IT engineers, web designers, graphic designers, digital marketing specialists, education specialists, Quality Engineers, coordinators, and project Managers as single point of contact with our clients.

Our head office is located in London, United Kingdom, with supporting office in USA and branches in Qatar and Kuwait with further growth plans on the horizon.

Founded on the vision to create a business we could all still be proud of in 50 years –this is still evident and at the heart of everything we do.  A collective team vision drives Training and Inspection Services forward, transforming global training solutions through innovative mediums preserving and sharing expertise and knowledge.

As a multi-award winning business, and a recognised worldwide leader in energy industry, we have the industry expertise and global reach to support you in achieving your company or individual goals by helping your most important asset (your human resources) to be the best in the industry in terms of knowledge, expertise and certification.

Our Team

We are a team of consultants, engineers, specialists and authorized inspectors with a combined technical experience of over 200 years in the maintenance, operation, fabrication, installation and commissioning fields both in offshore, onshore, Greenfield and brown fields. This includes oil and gas terminals, petrochemical plants, offshore processing platforms, FPSO, etc.

Our technical and engineering team includes: Level III NDT consultants in all the popular methods (both ASNT and ISO 9712); NDE examiners,  API Inspectors (API 510, 570, 571, 577, 580, 653, 936, 1166, SIFE, SIRE), Chartered Engineers in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, welding & Naval Architecture, Painting Inspectors (BGAS, NACE), Welding Inspectors (CSWIP, AWS), Chartered Quality Professionals, and API Q1 Lead Audit Practitioner, Lead Auditor (ISO 9001, ISO 14001,  ISO 45001).

Our team work collaboratively across Training and Inspection Services with one shared business vision – to do the very best for our clients and candidates.

Thought leaders and experts within our market disciplines – our team’s deep-rooted project experience means we can quickly define tasks and issues and our talented consultants and back office support teams work together to ensure project requirements are fully met.

Our Free Career advice

Our teams of course editors, instructors and authorized API Inspectors shall be happy to review your CV and offer you career advice as well as help you plan your midterm and long term career goals.

Simply write to us : help@inspector-training.com; use our chat line or simply call us on whatsup and we shall schedule a 121 telecom with one of our sunject matter experts (SME).

Our Offices

United Kingdom

163 Robin Hood Way

London,

SW15 3QG

United States Of America

2702 Lighthouse point east,

Baltimore MD

21224

Training and Inspection Services is formed by a group of API Inspectors; Professional and chartered engineers; assisted by a team of IT engineers, website designers, graphic designers, digital marketing specialists, coordinators and project managers.

We provide e-learning courses for the most popular API ICP certifications:

  • API 510 Pressure Vessel Inspector
  • API 570 Piping Inspector
  • API 577 Welding Inspection & Metallurgy
  • API 580 Risk Based Inspection
  • API 653 Storage Tank Inspector
  • API 1169 Pipeline Construction Inspector
  • API SIFE Source Inspector Fixed Equipment
  • API SIRE Source Inspector Rotating Equipment

All our courses include 4 months 24/7 access and offered with a 48 hour money back guarantee.

In extremely rare cases of exam failure, simply send us your score sheet and we shall give you a further 4 months subscription, free of charge.

We also provide blended E-learning plus classroom/webinar or 121 sessions for less experienced candidates or those who wish to further their chances of passing the exam.

I am sure; you would agree that human resources are the most important asset of any company and should be at their best if the company wants to remain competitive.

Here, at Training and Inspection Services, we provide API Individual Certification Program (ICP) e-learning and blended courses.

We also offer bespoke courses tailor made to suit your company needs such as NDT, package management and many more.

We shall be glad to help you with issues that need highly specialized know how or simply because it is not economical to employ a full time consultant due to length and size of your work. For example, , we provide NDT level III consultancy to many small size companies, loan API Authorized Inspectors for turnaround assignments and audit vendors on behalf of clients.

I am enclosing a brochure of our API courses. Alternatively, you can visit our website: www.inspector-training.com; or write to us for any query: help@inspector-training.com

We are happy to answer your questions over the phone and even meet with yourself and your colleagues to present our services without any obligation.

How to get certified

Certification is like a brand. It increases your confidence; brings you more professional respect; opens up a whole new set of job satisfaction; ensures that you are dealing with day to day activities in a systematic, logical and time tested manner and gives you a wider career opportunities, better job security with higher income.

Taking your Certification exam is a big commitment of time and money.  The stakes are simply too high to fail.

Even if you fail; at least, you deserve to know what areas you were below the bar rather than being miles off the mark with all the frustration and disappointment that it may entail.

The current training prospectus explains the most valuable and recognized certifications in a comprehensive yet easy to understand format so you have all the facts and figures on the table before planning your future career.

Based on your academic background and job experience, you need to decide which certification you need to go for.

At www.qualityinspector.co.uk academy, we offer stand alone e-learning courses that could be combined by classroom trainings held in Europe, Middle East, Far East, Australia and live webinar.

Our advisors are always happy to help. Simply tell us your career plan and enclose a copy of your CV to: info@qualityinspector.co.uk Please note that this service is available to individuals who have bought at least one e-learning or  a blended course.

Getting certified is a scary business for many people and rightly so. It not only needs dedication, time and money but also ensuring that you are on the right track to pass the exam hopefully on your first attempt.

Even failure in exam should be a step forward towards your certification in the sense that it should show your week areas, despite your best effort rather than leave you confused and frustrated.

You might want to consult with colleagues, check professional forums, think of buying a book, an e-learning course or attend classroom training.

Fortunately, there are quite a few solid facts to help you understand what to expect at exam day such as reference documents, body of knowledge (what they expect you to know) and exam score report showing the area you were being scored . Regardless of which route you want to take or which e-learning or classroom training you opt for; these bench marks shall help you select the right path.

So, it should make sense that you may plan your short and long term career growth considering your circumstances and get some professional advice combined by solid facts.

Obviously, you need to be aware of the job market in your geographical area and consider your own passion and interest when deciding which career path to pursue.

Remember, it needs patience, dedication and shall cost you time and money to achieve your dream job, but after all, your competency (knowledge, experience, and certification) is by far, your single most valuable asset. So, invest in yourself for a brighter future that you deserve.

Certification is a written testimony of your qualification. It is a brand. It precedes your reputation.

The codes and standards are the bible in any job and project. Certification is simply a verification scheme demonstrating that you can interpret and apply them correctly.

The objective of any course shall be clear and objective, that is, it shall explicitly say what you will be learning at the end of the course rather than churning out some vague general statements and numbers. It shall be transparent and integrated rather than a jargon of information without any coherency.

Once you know what you should avoid, it is a good start to use it as bench mark for what you need to know.

Preparing for exam is nothing complicated; every certification body outlines the topics you need to cover and the reference material you may use to master the body of the knowledge. Using this information as a stepping stone, you can either start collecting the reference material; highlight the relevant section and start cracking or you can choose our E-Learning course or our Blended package.

 

1- Understand the theory and principles

API, ASNT, AWS, NACE, CSWIP, BGAS and practically every recognized certification body design their course syllabus and subsequent examinations based on a set of expected competencies.

For example, an ASNT NDT Level III (any method) shall be able to interpret the codes and specifications; have a basic knowledge of material and their fabrication processes such as casting, forging, welding  (in order to guess the expected defects), be familiar with equipment and their calibration, to choose the most suitable technique for NDE examination considering the circumstances, to be able to write and interpret a procedure against  applicable standard, to be able to interpret and evaluate the NDE records and reports, and finally have sufficient safety awareness.

The certification bodies’ topical outline and the subsequent examination questions are exactly aimed at verifying those competencies. The Examinations are not aimed at verifying whether you can memorize the numbers and formulas. After all, what is the point of memorizing when you can easily find them in the relevant documents? Exceptions, would be important everyday knowledge.

On the contrary, you are expected to understand the correlation between parameters within a formula; understand which formula should be used for which calculation; be able to read charts and figures; be able to extract the relevant date and should be able to interpret the data against a code or standard.

For example, we know that the velocity of sound is always a constant in any specific material. We also know that, Velocity is the product of wavelength and frequency (V= f X ÊŽ). Now, when the wave length increases, the frequency need to decrease in order to keep the velocity constant and vice versa. This is evident from the formula.

Therefore, whichever way, ASNT rephrases the question involving the sound velocity, frequency and wavelength; you are still able to answer it correctly because you understand the correlation between these parameters within the formula. You don’t even have to memorize this formula because it shall be available as part of the booklet given during the UT examination.

On the other hand, if you just memorize the above answer without understanding it, there is a high chance of getting the question wrong because ASNT exam questions are often rephrased when comparing them with their own officially published ASNT level III review questions.

Please note that all the formula, charts and figures that are required answering the ASNT exam questions, are given in the form of a booklet during the level III examination. There is hardly any number to memorize except those that have everyday use in industry. For example, chlorine and fluoride content of PT consumables shall be less than 1% for austenitic materials. The same is more or less true for API, BGAS and CSWIP exams.

2- Reference Materials

Each certification covers a set of reference material for study and in preparation for the examination.

Some of the reference materials such as ASNT book of Materials and Processes for NDT Technology seem lengthy, too academic and at times confusing. We have simplified such topic to make your life easier.

 

Most of the ASNT level III study guides for various methods are too concise because ASNT assumes that you are already a seasoned level II with a strong background and knowledge; so, we have explained these topics more elaborately to make sure you have a complete understanding of principles, theory, equipment, material, techniques, calibration, interpretation, evaluation and safety topics.

API reference materials solely consist of Codes and recommended practices (RP). These Codes and RP are the result of combined experience of the some of the best professionals in their respective fields improved and revised over half a century. So, it is very important that you interrogate them to understand the underlying reason behind each statement. We have explained, simplified and cascaded them in our e-learning course modules.

For example, as per ASME code Sec VIII, the maximum undercut for a circumferential weld in a pressure vessel is 0.8mm while it is more onerous (only 0.4mm) for longitudinal welds. The reason being that longitudinal weld undergoes a hoop stress as well. This means that the combined stress for a longitudinal weld is almost twice that of a circumferential weld. Similarly, you may appreciate that the percentage of NDE (radiography) is comparatively higher for more critical welds as it is directly related to the joint efficiency. So, a longitudinal weld shall have a higher percentage of radiography than a circumferential weld if not equal.

Once you understand the reason behind each important prime statement within a Code; you are able to answer any question about that topic no matter what the scenario is or how twisted the questions may look like.

In API examinations, the ‘’search word’’ capability for PDF files of codes and Recommended Practices is disabled, so, during API open book examinations, you also need to know how to navigate through documents. You should know which chapter from which reference code or RP to look for each topic. If you cannot find them quickly enough, check the list of tables or figures which are numbered section – wise or look at the table of contents. Also practice perusing the PDF copies of Codes and RPs get used to them. We have brought such tips and many more in our training courses.

3- Our courses

Our courses are focussed on explaining on principles and theory complete with illustrations and review questions for each topic. The correct and wrong answers are explained to avoid making silly mistakes during the exam. Depth of each topic and reference material is based on expected percentage of questions. We also tried to complement our courses with everyday knowledge that is expected from hands on inspectors and examiners. There shall also be selective videos, plus exam tips, time management, document navigation and many more.

As part of our continuous improvement campaign, we pay special attention to candidate’s feedback and questions, as these queries would highlight whether we could explain ourselves well enough on a topic or not. The objective is to have the least queries as a good indication for the clarity and transparency of our courses. We welcome challenges and hence, offer free courses when our student’s comments lead to improvement of our course work or teaching methods or when they flag off an important deficiency.

We are transparent about our course objectives so you know exactly what you shall expect from our trainings and what you shall learn from each module.

At the end of each module, review questions are designed to verify your comprehension of the course material. Each multi choice answer is explained as why it is the right or the wrong answer.

The course syllabus and instructor’s manual is revised annually based on trainees and instructor’s’ feedback and recent developments on reference materials and examinations.

All our courses are based on ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 29990:2010 Learning services for non-formal education and training — Basic requirements for service providers.

4- Our Instructors

Our instructors and course editors are qualified mechanical or metallurgical engineers with years of hands on experience in the industry. All instructors are also certified API Inspectors and/or ASNT level III if they are teaching such courses. Classroom instructors undergo screening test, are interviewed and then shall pass the induction and course instructor’s course. Their performance is gauged upon our trainee’s feedback and pass rate.

All instructors have a Development Action Plan as per UK-SPEC guidelines.


Why us?!


FAQs

Choosing the most suitable training route

Our E-Learning course

If you are an experienced professional that has the basic knowledge but need that extra little help to succeed in ASNT NDT Level III examinations (Basic, VT, MT, PT, UT, RT, LT, ET) or API Certified Inspectors (API 510, 570, 653, 571, 577, 580, 936, TES, 1169, SIFE, SIRE), then, the best and cheapest option would be an e-learning course to refresh your mind and strengthen your weak areas. These courses would give you the necessary competency to get that extra 20% of the marks you desperately need to pass the exam.

It is also a convenient way to have all the course material plus the sample review questions gathered in one set rather than spending considerable time looking for relevant and sometimes irrelevant documents, sort them out and then try to find out which parts you should study more intensely, which parts you should just peruse and which parts you could skip. This is only possible if you compare them to the topical outlines, exam syllabus, body of knowledge, publication effectively sheet, reference material, codes, standards, and recommended practices.

On top of that, our courses are designed by a group of experienced course editors and instructors who are also qualified academically as well as certificated. So, you are hearing from people who have actually been there and watched the movie rather than listening to hearsay and gossips.

For ASNT level III, our E-learning course would ensure that you have comprehended the five basic areas ASNT would test you during examination, that is, Principles; Theory; Equipment; Materials; Techniques; Calibration; Interpretation & Procedure.

Our E-learning course materials review questions and mock exams are aimed at testing your comprehension of topics; the same way API and ASNT questions during exam.

Remember:  the trick is to understand rather than to memorize.

We shall explain through review questions as why a particular answer is right and the rest are not, even though they may be a valid statement.  We shall also provide you with an online support if you have a particular query or need further explanation.

Answering your query and clearing your ambiguity also helps us to constantly review and improve our course material to ensure that the topics are adequately covered and easy to understand. The limited number of queries asked by our candidates, shows how clear and ‘’easy to understand’’ our courses are. After all, as the number of queries and questions decreases, it is a good indication that our courses are more self explanatory and less ambiguous.

We are so confident of our approach verified by many successful stories of our trainees that we offer to give you an additional free access to our e- learning course for those individuals who failed the examination in rare cases or your money back (less charges). It would also help us understand the root cause of such failures and double check whether the course material itself was partly responsible for your failure or whether it was due to your sheer unfortunate circumstances. After all, our repeated business is mostly due to recommendations made by our successful trainees or spread by word of mouth within the industry.

If you have purchased our E-Learning package and later on decide to opt for the Blended package (e-learning plus classroom training), we shall deduct the e-learning fees as a goodwill gesture.

Our Blended Packages (Classroom + E-Learning)

If you are a professional who needs Blended training to significantly increase your chances of passing a particular exam, then, we offer a package that comes with e-learning course combined with classroom training.

You can have access our e-learning up to 6 Months before the classroom training. We shall also help you register for examination, if needed.

The classroom training consists of covering the syllabus or body of knowledge; clarifying any confusion or ambiguity the trainees may have and solve selective review questions.  You also have a chance to discuss any areas with our expert instructors during classroom. It also involves the transfer of knowledge that is not possible by e-learning alone. One of our course instructors may be assigned to you, so you can also avail our personalized one to one services for an additional fee.

For trainees opting for the Blended course, our pass rate is 89% for most of API courses and 82% for NDT Level III courses.

Our Bespoke Courses

We also offer bespoke courses that are not leading to certifications, but are equally important for career growth. This is mostly aimed at companies to upgrade their most valuable front line asset, that is, their managers, engineers and inspectors.

Our most popular bespoke courses

  • Blended package quality management,
  • Blended inspection management,
  • Awareness programmes for ASME codes Sections II, III, V, VIII, IX, B31.1, B 31.3, B31.8, and B16.5
  • AWS D.1.1; QA QC Codes and Standards,
  • PED and CE Marking
  • NDE for managers, designers and engineers
  • ISO 9712 Level II & III (UT,RT, MT, PT, VT)
  • CSWIP 3.1, 3.2.1 & 3.2.2 Welding Inspector
  • CSWIP BGAS Grade 2 Painting Inspector
  • NACE level I & II Painting Inspector

We also offer tailor made courses to best suit your company or project specific needs.

Please contact us at help@inspector-training.com and let us know what you need.

We shall carry a gap analysis and then present you with our list of recommended course outlines by mix and match of our available course modules

Write your own future yourself or others will do it for you

What’s your plan for your future?

Do you have a short and long term plan for your career?

Do you have a long term plan for your single most important asset, that is, your employees?

Where do you want to be in the next 2-5 years?

Have there been times when you wished you were certified because you missed a lucrative job opportunity even though you were more competent than the guy who got the job simply because he/she had the required certificate?

Taking your Certification exam is a big commitment of time and resources.  The stakes to obtain your credentials are too high to waste valuable time and money.

The current prospectus aims to explain the most valuable and recognized certifications in API, NDT, Welding and Coating Certifications in the most comprehensive yet easy to understand format so you can plan your future career with all the facts and figures on the table.

At inspector-training.com , we offer e-learning courses combined by classroom training in Europe, Middle East, Far East, Australia and also live webinar for those who cannot physically attend.

How difficult it is to get certified?

Getting certified is a scary business for many people and rightly so. It not only needs dedication, time and money but also ensuring that you are at the right track to pass the exam by first attempt.

You might encounter some negative people that try to dissuade and scare you or on the contrary, give you false confidence and by the time you register, pay and attend the examination; only then, you realize that you are miles away from passing the exam despite all the effort, time and money you have put in. So, it stands to reason that you plan your short and long term career growth considering your circumstance and get some professional advice. At inspector-training.com ;  we are always happy to help and advise you free of charge. Simply send us a copy of your resume and we shall recommend you the most suitable certifications based on your education and experience. Obviously, you need to be aware of the job market in your geographical area and consider your own interest when finally deciding which career path to pursue.

Remember, it needs patience, dedication and shall cost you money to achieve your dream job but after all, you are the most valuable asset to yourself. So, invest in yourself for a bright future.

Your knowledge and qualifications are the most important assets that shall be the deciding factors for a faster career growth and also better income. Certification is like a brand. It increases your confidence, ensures that you are dealing with day to day activities in a systematic, logical and time tested manner and a much wider option of working for the best companies in the world who can pay you for what you are worth and more importantly retain you.

Benefits of Certification

 Confidence, respect, career growth, higher income

All the successful and globally dominating companies have at least one thing in common: They employ the most competent people because they truly understand that human resources are their single most important asset. It is the company’s human resources that make them competitive, enable them to realize their objective and to continue dominating the market.

These companies invariably have also a high employee retention rate because they can afford to pay top price and invest in their employees.

There are other companies who look for cheapest work force and the adage ‘’ you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’’ is the epitome of such companies. These companies repeatedly pay a heavy price for wastage of resources and typically have low personnel retention rate.

Invest in yourself, it will repay you more than tenfold over the time plus you shall have the job satisfaction, being an invaluable asset of any company you work for. You shall also have a much wider option pursuing your dream job while having an unfair advantage over other job applicants with similar experience.

Certification is a written testimony of your qualification. It is a brand. It precedes your reputation.

Remember, Certification is a privilege not a right, although some certified individuals think so. For example, simply because you are a certified API inspector or an NDT level III, does not gives one the right to dismiss a comment or opinion made by others who do not possess such qualification.

The codes and standards are the bible in any job and project.

Certification is simply a verification scheme that you can interpret them correctly.

How to start? Which Training course is good enough?

There are several private training centres and e-learning courses across the globe. Unfortunately, until you don’t purchase the e-learning package or attend their classes, you have little idea how good they are. Even if their testimonials are true, it is not conclusive.

So, there is a high risk of paying the money for an e-learning course or a classroom training and on top of that receive a bunch of misleading information that on most cases, add little value to your knowledge or towards your preparation for the exam.

Duration of being in business; their claimed pass rate or number of people they have trained seems to be good indications, but quite a few of these training providers seem to be frozen in time. The most common indications of such training providers being: information provided are outdated; their review questions are claimed to be the actual API or ASNT questions that they have gathered which often turns out to be untrue. You will find this out when you appear for the examination and by that time, it is too late. You wished, you had spent the time reading the reference study materials rather than memorizing their review questions, leading to a total waste of time and money.

Please note that, it is illegal and a criminal offence to disclose ASNT, API and other certification bodies’ exam questions.

Often, there is no correlation between the course syllabus or the body of knowledge and the course provider’s syllabus or course outline. Their Instructor’s academic and professional background has little to do with a particular certification (no industry experience). Often, such training providers present a copy and paste of reference materials, a classical case of lost objective. They often completely miss the real objective of certification and the associated examination.

The objective of any course shall be realistic, that is, it shall explicitly say what you will be learning at the end of the course rather than churning out some vague general statements. It shall be very transparent and integrated and based on some concrete assumptions.

How to plan and get certified

1- Understand the theory and principles

API, ASNT, CSWIP, BGAS and practically every recognized certification body design their course syllabus and subsequent examinations based on a set of expected competencies.

For example, an ASNT NDT Level III (in any method) shall be able to interpret the codes and specifications; have a basic knowledge of material and their fabrication processes (casting, forging, welding), be familiar with equipment and their calibration, choose the most suitable technique for NDE examination, be able to write a procedure compliant with applicable standard, be able to interpret and evaluate result, and finally have sufficient safety awareness. The topical outline and the examination questions are exactly aimed at verifying those competencies. It is not aimed at finding out whether you have memorized the numbers and formulae. On the contrary, you are expected to understand the correlation between parameters within the formula; understand which formula is used for which calculation; able to read charts and figures and extract relevant date and able to interpret the data within a given procedure.

For example, the velocity of sound is a constant in a particular material. Velocity is the product of wavelength and frequency (V= f X ÊŽ). Now, when the wave length increases, the frequency need to decrease in order to keep the velocity constant and vice versa. This is evident from the formulae.

Therefore, whichever way, ASNT rephrases this question during examination; you are still able to answer it correctly because you understand the correlation between the parameters within the formula. You don’t even have to memorize this formulae as it is given to your as part of the booklet given during the UT examination.

On the other hand, if you just memorize the above answer without understanding it, there is a high chance of getting the question wrong because ASNT exam questions are often rephrased when comparing them with their own officially published ASNT level III review questions.

Please note that all the formula, chars and figures required answering the ASNT exam questions, are given in the form of a booklet during the level III examination. There is hardly any number to memorize except those that have everyday use in industry. For example, chlorine and fluoride content of PT consumables shall be less than 1% for austenitic materials.

Please note that there are hardly a few questions from ASNT published review questions booklet and even those questions are not word for word, that is, these questions are rephrased to verify your understanding of the subject.

2- Reference Materials

Each certification covers a set of reference material for study and preparation for examination.

I found some of the ASNT materials such as Materials and Processes for NDT Technology quite academic and difficult to understand. We have simplified this topic complete with illustrations to make your life easier.

 

On the other hand, most of the ASNT level III study guides for various methods are too concise because ASNT assumes you are already a level II with strong background and knowledge; so, we have explained these topics more elaborately to make sure you have a complete understanding of principles, theory, equipment, material, techniques, calibration, interpretation, evaluation and safety.

API reference materials solely consist of codes and recommended practices. These reference materials are the result of combined experience of the some of the best professionals in their respective fields improved and revised over half a century. So, it is very important that you interrogate them to understand the reason behind each critical statement. For example, as per ASME code Sec VIII, the maximum undercut for a circumferential weld in a pressure vessel is 0.8mm while it is more onerous (only 0.4mm) for longitudinal welds in a pressure vessel. The reason being that longitudinal weld undergoes a hoop stress as well and it’s combined stress is almost twice that of a circumferential weld. In another example, you can see that the percentage of NDE (radiography) is comparatively higher for more critical welds and it is directly related to the joint efficiency.

Once you understand the reason behind each prime statement within each Code and Recommended Practice; you are able to answer any question about that topic no matter what the scenario is or how twisted the questions may look like.

The search word on pdf files of codes and RP is locked, so, during API open book examinations, you also need to know how to navigate through documents, that is, you should know which chapter to look for each topic. If you cannot find them quickly enough, check the list of tables or figures which are numbered section- wise.

For ASNT level III examinations, the reference booklet provided is word searchable although the whole ASNT booklet is hardly 30 pages long including the procedure but still a great help considering that the time allowed by ASNT is almost half of the time allowed by API per question.

3- Percentage of Examination Questions for each reference material

Some reference documents carry more weight that others in terms of importance and share of questions.

For example, for API 510- Pressure Vessel Inspector, the whole RP 510 and some sections of ASME Sec VIII are the most important study material making up to 50% of questions while for API 653-Aboveground storage tank inspector, RP 653 and 650 are the prime documents.

When solving the sample questions, your attitude shall be to understand as why a particular answer is right while the other three given answers are wrong rather than memorizing the right answer. This helps you greatly when the same question is rephrased or question and answer are swapped in the examination.

Please note that sometimes the wrong answer is quite a valid statement but is the wrong answer simply because it is either not relevant to the question or the question asked is in negative form (NOT), Hence, it is very important that you carefully read and understand the question, another case example why memorizing answers shall be of little help during the exam.

In some exam question for ASNT, API and CSWIP, irrelevant information is also given. This is not to confuse you but to verify whether you can differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information in an actual scenario. This scenario is more pronounced in calculation type of questions.

All certifications require experience in addition to education. If you look at the pre qualification route, you will notice that it has a trend, that is, the more education you have, the less minimum experience you need. Although education can offset for less experience, you should note that unless one does not have real hands on experience in the field, it would be difficult to ‘’FEEL’ the underlying reasons behind the codes, standards and recommended practices. Most of failures in the field occur simply because the code, standard or recommended practices were ignored.

We try to complement our e-learning and classroom courses with enough illustrations and video clips in order to enhance your field experience so you may understand the underlying reasons behind the statements made within the codes, standards and recommended practices. On the other hand, observe what happens when you ignore a relevant part of code and recommended practice.

You also need to understand the red lines that are an absolute must and the areas that what you can live with, that is, situations that although not ideal but it does not challenge the integrity of your inspection and examination.

4- Check your Course editors and Course Instructors Credentials

I have seen quite a few courses materials that were a mere copy and paste of reference material combined with few hundred of questions that are asking for some numbers to memorize.

On quite a few occasions, the course editor or instructor’s credentials seems either to be lacking the relevant education or lacks enough actual field experience. For example, the instructor is an automobile or agricultural engineer or without academic qualification teaching API courses. This suggests that the basic education in design, fracture mechanics; theory of elasticity and plasticity is either missing or at least not up to the bar.

I would naturally be cautious of such class room training or e-learning courses because I cannot understand how somebody could comprehend the basis of codes and recommended practices without a sound knowledge in physics, design, mechanical behaviour of material and corrosion, let alone transfer such knowledge to the candidates.

Our instructors and course editors are qualified mechanical or metallurgical engineers with years of hands on experience in the industry. All instructors are also certified API Inspectors and/or ASNT level III. They keep themselves updated and are evaluated periodically.

We also pay special attention to candidate’s feedback and questions, as a part of our continuous improvement campaign. We offer free courses when our student’s comment leads to improvement of course work or teaching methods or when they flag off an important flaw.

We are transparent about our course objectives and verify their comprehension by candidates through review questions for each module. So you know exactly what you shall expect from our trainings.

Meet Our Team

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Siavash Asadnia

Ali

Ali Rafieeye

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Parsa Pordel

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Mehran Farrokhrouz

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Mali Sadat

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Masoud

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Afshin Maaf