NDT Basic (NDT OR ACCP)

 ASNT Level III Study Guide: Basic, 4th edition (2251-e)

 ASNT Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A (2016 Edition) (2072-e)
 Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A (2020 Edition) (2073-e)
 Supplement to Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A: Complete Set of Supplements, Plus
Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A (2011 edition) (2192)
 Materials and Processes for NDT Technology (2nd edition) (2250-e)
 ANSI/ASNT CP-189: ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification of Nondestructive
Testing Personnel (2020 edition) (2511-e)
 ANSI/ASNT CP-105: ASNT Standard Topical Outlines for Qualification of Nondestructive
Testing Personnel (2020 edition) (2823-e)
 NDT Handbook: Volume 10, NDT Overview (3rd edition) (0140-e)
 ASM Handbook Vol. 17, NDE and QC (0105)

1. Administration of NDT personnel certification programs

o SNT-TC-1A, 2020 edition
o ASNT CP-189, 2020 edition
2. General familiarity with other NDT methods
o Radiography (safety, X-ray, and isotope methods)
o Neutron radiography
o Ultrasonic testing
o Electromagnetic testing and flux leakage testing
o Liquid penetrant testing
o Magnetic particle testing
o Leak testing
o Acoustic emission testing
o Visual testing
o Thermal/infrared
3. Training
o Develop training materials (e.g., study guides, worksheets, quizzes, test samples,
manuals, etc.)
o Instruct trainees, Level I and Level II on theory of test method and practical
application of test method
o Evaluate training procedures
o Materials echnology
o Fabrication and product

The Level 3 Basic exam will include questions from 11 different NDT methods:

1. RT
 2. NR
3. IR
4. ET
5. AE
6. MT
7. MFL
8. PT
9. VT
10. UT
11. LT

Start preparing for Basic method. It goes something like this:

1. 45-50 questions on ASNT Codes: a total of about 30 pages. Understand it

thoroughly. You can score 100% here.
2. 45–50 question on material science: there is one book published by ASNT.
Take it as a reference for the topics you need to cover. This is the hard part
of the exam but having knwldge of certain mechanical processes will help
you clear this.. you can expect approx 10 questions which will be out of
your domain. Forget about them and prepare for 35–40 questions.
3. 35-40 question on all NDT methods: level II knwldge of RT,UT,MT,PT,UT,VT
will get you about 25 questions right. Spend some time on ET, LT and AE
you are good for 30 questions.
So now you have approx 110 questions right and that is just above the passing grade for
ASNT

As someone who self studied and passed (with 90%+) the ASNT NDT Level III UT exam the
first time, I can offer a few suggestions.

First, lets assume you mean only to “crack” the test, in that you want to have the
skills/ability/knowledge set to be able to sit and pass with reasonable confidence. If you
mean the higher question of “how can I be/become a great NDT Level III? that is a far
different question, and I’ll admit I don’t quite have the tenure to offer something wise yet.

OK, pass the exam. Fundamentals and mastery of the basic (by basic I mean any Level II
concept) are key. That gives you the tools to tackle most questions without undue
memorization. For example, if you truly understand the triangle, there is no need to
memorize things like SOHCAHTOA and all that.

I should remind that the ASNT NDT Level III exam is (for your 1st method) 2 exams, the
Basic and the Method exam. The Method covers details of that particular method (MT, PT
UT, RT, etc) and the Basic covers materials processing (at first glance an enormous amount
of raw information) and the standards, practices, and codes, the more law type things.

I suggest taking the Method 1st, you can look up on the ASNT website the Body of
Knowledge, this shows all the topics that questions can be made from.

Get the ASNT Level III Study Guide for sure, and best to get all the recommended material
to have anyways. My method, that works for me, is this:

Do all the Level I questions, this should not be challenging.

Do all the Level II questions, for the ones you miss, find out why, brain fart, typo, flaw in
understanding etc. You are testing your actual understanding/mastery of the subject
material. To really crack it, you have to know it, not just have a good test taking toolbox
(sure it helps, but the end customer wants results, not a score, they could care less).

Once you have gone over the (hopefully) few trouble spots, redo all the questions and don’t
worry, unless you are truly photographic, you wont be cheating yourself too bad. To help
that, when you go to answer, ask yourself “why?” If you know the answer, but you don’t
know why, that’s Jeopardy not mastery.

Do the Level III questions the same way. Wait a week, go back do all the Level II and III
questions again. You are looking to get at least 90% right.

Yes, more than a few questions will be frustrating, little grammar oddities, wording, and
often the feeling of 2 “right” answers. When you genuinely know and could argue why
either one could be right, go with the highest level, Occam’s razor type approach. When you
see what the “correct” answer is, ask yourself why the committee agreed on that one over
the other “right” answer. You will tend to see the paradigms and ethos of why. But, yes it
still can be frustrating, and its ok to just give up on one or two (over the few hundred).

[when i took the UT Method, there was 1 question in particular, I could not understand, the
grammar was so odd, but you are allowed to comment on questions, and they will take that
into consideration. But don’t waste a lot of time here, there will be maybe 0, 1 or 2 like this;
spend your time on other questions, only at the end with extra time should you worry about
commenting]

For the Basic, I would recommend reading the Material and Processing book, just about
cover to cover, except you can skip most of the charts, you dont need to memorize those
things. For example, you need to know what makes stainless steel, stainless, not the exact
alloy compositions, things like that. You will get a sense of what you need to know if you
tackle the questions first, to see what areas you are weak in, then focus there.
Know the current SNT-TC-1A very well, its good to know as a Level III anyways. Know the
few differences between it and the CP-189. (pro tip, if any answer is “as written in the
employers Written Practice”, you can just about take that to the bank, lol)

As far as the actual test, employ typical multiple choice test tactics. All the questions count
the same, do the ones you know first, go back to the other ones later, this maximizes your
time. For the Method test, save the procedure ones till the end, they take the most time,
since you have to read provided material. For methods with math, like UT, RT, be quick with
formula selection/generation (i don’t often memorize equations, but build them on the spot,
for example, for any time,distance,rate type question, I always just start d=rt (just stuck from
my physics class days), then mentally rearrange to v=d/t or whatever). You need to be fast
and accurate with the math, know what you need to be using at first glance. If you feel you
are not fast enough or struggle with knowing which formula to use, etc, find extra problem
sets, make up your own problems, practice and accurate repetition help build confidence
that is clutch when you are testing with butterflies in the stomach.

Good luck! (but remember you wont need luck, that’s where that 90% comes in, you wont
need the “easy” problem lottery draw, you will have the mastery and true understanding of
the subject material, the test will be your little b**ch)

Now, let's get into the gist of preparing for the Level 3 exam:

1. There is no real way to prepare for this exam. Some pass on their first try
without a hiccup and others struggle to pass, either the Basic or Method.

2. I would venture to say that 90% + of all Level 3's took either a Level 3 refresher
course from ASNT, training center, or consultant. I would highly recommend this as
they have the most experience when dealing with the test. The cost will be from
$800 - $1300 for a 40 hours course and there is no guarantee from any
organization that you will pass.

3. You could also just pay to take the exam, see where you struggle, and then
study up and retake it.

What is covered on the Basic Exam?:

Manufacturing: machining, passivation, shot peening, dimensional inspection,

plating, welding, mechanical testing, castings, forgings, heat treating, and very
basic metallurgy.
Basic NDT: I would say you need Level 2 knowledge for MT, PT, UT, RT, and ET in
aerospace and refinery environments.

Documents: Just go ahead and memorize SNT-TC-1A and CP-189, ASTM E1417 and
ASTM E1444.

Defects: classification, interpretation, causes, and prevention.

How to apply?

Go here to ASNT: https://www.asnt.org/MajorSiteSections/Certification/AppStart?

pt=n3&st=new

To take the Level 3 exam you will need to have a STEM degree and 1 year
experience, an AS degree and 2 years experience, or a high school diploma and 4
years experience.

The cost is about $150 to ASNT and another $150 to the exam center.

On a personal note, I failed the Basic once, passed the MT on the first try, and the
PT took me 3 tries. It is what it is, it's a very challenging journey and for that
reason there are only about 7,000 Level 3's in the world and 19,000 ASNT
certifications. I'm not ashamed to have failed, it made me recognize areas of
weakness and encouraged me to help others to pass. You can do it!