If you perform nondestructive testing (NDT) on Navy ships, submarines or their components, sooner or later a contract will invoke NAVSEA T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, usually just called “the 271”. It is a Naval Sea Systems Command technical publication, and it governs how the inspection is done and who is allowed to do it. It does not tell you whether the weld passes. That split, between the method document, the acceptance document and the fabrication document, is the first thing to understand about Navy NDT.
This guide covers what the 271 contains, how it sits beside MIL-STD-2035 and MIL-STD-1689, and what its first chapter asks of personnel. It is based on Revision 1, dated 11 September 2014, which is approved for public release.
What the 271 is
The full title is Requirements for Nondestructive Testing Methods. Revision 1 replaced the original of 30 April 1997 and its 1999 change notice. The Chief Engineer's cover note says the aim of the revision was to reduce inspection cost without reducing quality, citing changes such as local approvals at Regional Maintenance Centers, delegation of some Examiner duties, selenium-75 as a gamma source option, computed radiography for pipe erosion and corrosion, and dropping DC yokes for magnetic particle work.
Its scope, from Chapter 1:
- Six methods (1.2): radiographic, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, ultrasonic, eddy current and visual, each with a chapter of its own (Chapters 3 to 8).
- Performance and qualification (1.1): how to conduct the tests on metals, and the minimum requirements to qualify NDT personnel, procedures and equipment.
- No acceptance criteria (1.1, 1.3). The standards for acceptance come from the drawing, specification, contract or order.
- Not underwater work (1.1), which it sends to the Underwater Ship Husbandry Manual, S0600-AA-PRO-070.
- Final condition (1.4): acceptance inspection is done on the item in its final surface and heat-treated condition, with stated exceptions.
- Its own calibration rules (1.1.2). The instruments and standards it covers are calibrated to its own requirements rather than an ANSI/NCSL Z540.3 program, but ancillary measuring tools such as scales, calipers, light meters, thermometers, densitometers and ammeters are not exempt from calibration.
Two appendices extend it: Appendix A covers computed radiography for detecting and measuring pipe corrosion and erosion, and Appendix B covers ultrasonic characterization and sizing of embedded and surface-connected discontinuities.
How it relates to MIL-STD-271, MIL-STD-2035 and MIL-STD-1689
MIL-STD-271
The number is not a coincidence. The 271 technical publication took over the job of the older military standard MIL-STD-271, and its Notes chapter still carries a supersedure table (9.1) that maps the penetrant material groups of MIL-STD-271F onto the type, method and form designations the technical publication uses. If a legacy drawing or procedure still cites MIL-STD-271F, that table is where the translation starts. Confirm with the contract which document actually governs.
MIL-STD-2035: what is acceptable
MIL-STD-2035A, Nondestructive Testing Acceptance Criteria, dated 15 May 1995, is the acceptance half. The 271 tells the technician how to find and size an indication; MIL-STD-2035A, or whatever the drawing names instead, says whether it is rejectable. Its criteria are arranged by class, and the drawing or contract says which class applies. The 271 itself leans on it in Appendix A: welds that turn up incidentally in a corrosion image are evaluated, for one pipe class, to MIL-STD-2035 Class 1 weld requirements, with an Engineering Evaluation as MIL-STD-2035 defines it in certain cases (A.6).
MIL-STD-1689 and the fabrication documents
The third leg is the fabrication document, which says what gets inspected, by which method, and to which acceptance class. MIL-STD-1689A covers fabrication, welding and inspection of ships structure. For machinery, piping and pressure vessels the corresponding NAVSEA document is S9074-AR-GIB-010/278, which the 271 lists among its references. Revision 1 of the 271 does not itself cite MIL-STD-1689; the link is made by the fabrication document and the contract, not by the method document.
Personnel: what Chapter 1 requires
Paragraph 1.6 does something important in its first sentence. It requires a written practice developed as ASNT's SNT-TC-1A describes, and then makes SNT-TC-1A, as modified by the 271, mandatory minimum requirements: hours, experience and examinations stop being recommendations. A copy of the written practice goes to the Government inspector on request. The rest of the chapter is the modifications.
The three roles
The 271 uses its own names (1.5.5 to 1.5.7). The Level I NDT Operator and Level II NDT Inspector are equivalent to SNT-TC-1A's Level I and Level II. The Level III NDT Examiner is equivalent to Level III and is the person the activity delegates to examine and certify NDT personnel and to approve procedures and workmanship standards. The Examiner may delegate administering and grading exams to a representative, as long as it is recorded.
Training, exams and limited certification
- Training and experience hours follow SNT-TC-1A (1.6.1). Limited certifications for a single operation or limited scope may use fewer hours and questions if the written practice and the certification record say so, but never fewer than 15 general and 10 specific questions (1.6.1.1).
- Examiners may be examined by their employer, ASNT or another outside agency (1.6.2), but the specific exam, covering the employer's specifications, equipment, procedures and written practice, is prepared and given by the employing activity, independently of the Examiner being tested (1.6.2.1).
- The employing activity is responsible for its NDT program and certifies all levels (1.6.3).
Recertification and oversight
This is where the 271 departs furthest from general-industry practice. Recertification is by examination as comprehensive as the initial one, and neither a record of satisfactory work nor an ASNT certificate granted without examination counts (1.6.4). Operators and Inspectors are recertified at least every three years, Examiners at least every five.
Between recertifications, the Examiner or a designee must evaluate each person at least once every 12 months by witnessing work in progress, reinspecting product, or running a technical performance evaluation (1.6.10.1). Anyone who performs acceptance inspections also needs a technical performance evaluation, on production hardware or specimens with discontinuities, before the end of the second year of the certification cycle (1.6.10.2). An Operator or Inspector who misses the annual oversight must be re-examined, though a practical exam given by the Examiner is enough (1.6.4.1).
Vision
The near-vision standard is J1 on a Jaeger chart, or equivalent, at 12 to 16 inches, with one or both eyes, natural or corrected (1.6.7.1). That is a finer line than the Jaeger 2 SNT-TC-1A uses. The test is annual, or sooner after something like eye surgery, and expires at the end of the month. Color discrimination is tested at initial certification where the work needs it. Whatever corrective lenses were used for the test must be used for the exams and every inspection after (1.6.7.2).
Records, transfers and alternates
- Personnel records (1.6.8) include training and experience before initial certification, current exam results with a master copy of each exam, vision records for the current and previous period, and a certification statement signed by the Examiner (for an Examiner, by the employer's representative).
- Certifications cannot be transferred to another activity without NAVSEA authorisation (1.6.9).
- Personnel certified under programs meeting MIL-STD-2132 or NAVSEA 250-1500-1 may work to the 271 under conditions (1.6.5), naval personnel may be certified to the Navy's own technical manual (1.6.5.1), and any other certification program needs NAVSEA approval (1.6.5.2).
- The Government inspector can ask for a practical or written exam if there is reason to doubt someone's competence (1.6.6).
| Item | Revision 1 requirement | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Operator and Inspector recertification | At least every 3 years | 1.6.4 |
| Examiner recertification | At least every 5 years | 1.6.4 |
| Oversight evaluation | At least every 12 months | 1.6.10.1 |
| Technical performance evaluation | Before the end of year 2 of the cycle, for acceptance inspectors | 1.6.10.2 |
| Near-vision test | Yearly; J1 at 12 to 16 inches | 1.6.7.1 |
| Limited certification exams | At least 15 general and 10 specific questions | 1.6.1.1 |
Our own summary of T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 Revision 1. Every expiry falls on the last day of the month. Check your own copy and your contract.
Procedures and inspection records
Every method is performed to a written procedure (1.7). The activity writes one per method, and the cognizant Examiner signs a statement in it certifying it meets the 271. Each procedure is qualified by showing it reliably detects known discontinuities near the accept-reject threshold, approved by the Examiner, and shown to the Government inspector on request. Procedures do not move between activities without NAVSEA approval.
Inspection records follow the method chapter unless the controlling specification says otherwise (1.8.1). One point to raise before you change systems: where the 271 calls for a signature, it means a written one, and a system that does not use written signatures needs NAVSEA approval (1.8.3).
For how the 271 compares with the other personnel schemes, see NDT personnel standards compared and the vision exam guide.
How TRACE handles it
TRACE keeps the records; it is not NAVSEA approval of anything. A written practice can be marked as NAVSEA in TRACE, with its own pass marks, hours and proficiency interval, and a separate performance-evaluation interval where the practice has one, so the two clocks are reminded separately. Certifications, vision exams and their due dates sit on each technician's record.
Certification Tests runs your general, specific and practical exams, and the NDT Question Bank adds original question sets under the NAVSEA scheme, keyed to NAVSEA and MIL-STD documents including T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, MIL-STD-2035A and MIL-STD-1689A. Code Watch tracks the NAVSEA technical publications by hand, since most have no public page to check, and flags any entry not confirmed within 90 days.
Frequently asked questions
Does T9074-AS-GIB-010/271 contain acceptance criteria?
No. It says so in its foreword and in paragraph 1.1: it covers how to perform the tests and how to qualify personnel, procedures and equipment, and the acceptance standards come from the applicable drawing, specification, contract or order (paragraph 1.3). For much Navy work that points to MIL-STD-2035A, which is titled Nondestructive Testing Acceptance Criteria.
How often are NDT personnel recertified under the NAVSEA 271?
Revision 1, paragraph 1.6.4, sets a maximum of three years for Operators and Inspectors and five years for Examiners, with each certification expiring on the last day of the month it falls due. Recertification must be by examination; continuing satisfactory performance, or an ASNT certificate granted without examination, does not count.
What vision standard does the NAVSEA 271 require?
An annual near-vision test, or sooner after something like eye surgery, reading J1 on a Jaeger chart or an equivalent at not less than 12 and not more than 16 inches, with one or both eyes, natural or corrected (paragraph 1.6.7.1). Color discrimination is tested for initial certification when the work needs it. Whatever corrective lenses were worn for the test must be worn for the exams and every inspection afterwards.
Is the NAVSEA 271 the same as SNT-TC-1A?
No, but it is built on it. Paragraph 1.6 requires a written practice developed as SNT-TC-1A describes, and makes SNT-TC-1A, as modified by the document, mandatory minimum requirements rather than recommendations. The modifications add shorter recertification intervals for Operators and Inspectors, annual oversight, technical performance evaluations, a stricter vision chart and limits on transferring certifications.
Checked against
- NAVSEA T9074-AS-GIB-010/271, Requirements for Nondestructive Testing Methods, Revision 1, 11 September 2014 (Distribution Statement A), Chapters 1, 2 and 9 and Appendix A
- MIL-STD-2035A(SH), Nondestructive Testing Acceptance Criteria, 15 May 1995: cover page only (the library copy is a scan without a text layer)
- MIL-STD-1689A(SH), Fabrication, Welding, and Inspection of Ships Structure, Revision A, 23 November 1990: title and date only (scanned copy, not reviewed in detail)
This guide summarises the documents above in our own words to help you find your way around them. It is not a substitute for them: requirements change between editions and contracts add their own, so check every figure against your own licensed copy and your written practice before you rely on it.
Named for reference only. TRACE is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or accredited by NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command), ASNT (publisher of SNT-TC-1A), the US Department of Defense (publisher of the MIL-STDs) or NCSL International (publisher of ANSI/NCSL Z540.3), or by any other organization whose standards or programs it describes. Their names and marks are their own.