NDT receives ISO/IEC 17020 certificate

Business Reporters
NON-DESTRUCTIVE Testing Inspection Solutions, which specialises in the inspection of pressure equipment, last week became the first Zimbabwean company in its line of business to receive the ISO/IEC 17020 certificate that guides the operation of independent inspection authorities the world over.

The certificate, which is valid for five years, was issued by the Southern Africa Development Committee Accreditation Service on July 19, 2013 in Botswana.

The SADCAS chief executive Mrs Maureen Mutasa who was in Harare last week to officially hand over the certificate to the company said NDT had been accredited as a Type A (third party) inspection authority in the scope inspection of pressure equipment in accordance with ISO/IEC 17020:1998 and SADCAS TR 05:2012. “Through this accreditation NDT has been granted the unique accreditation number INSP-5 001 indicating that they are now accredited in the scope of inspecting vessels under pressure,” she said.

She noted that more and more companies were seeking accreditation as Governments are realising the merits of doing so.
“In many economies now accreditation is being embraced by Governments as a mandatory activity in many regulated areas because it helps Government to meet their responsibilities to ensure the safety of the public and the protection the environment,” she said.

Mrs Mutasa also urged inspection bodies to ensure that they have the right people, facilities, technical expertise and management in order to undertake inspections professionally and competently thus deliver technically accurate inspection results to the client as machines are known to cause accidents from time to time.

Speaking at the same occasion, managing director for NDT Inspection Solutions Mr Godwell Zimhondi said the certificate confirmed their quest for quality and excellence.

We need to maintain and improve our standards so as to keep ourselves up to date. We encourage other institutions to meet international standards and get accredited as it is a marketing tour on its own.

“We also urge our competitors to work hard in making sure that they implement this standard so that they can become internationally recognised,” he said.

Mr Zimhondi also applauded his staff for their commitment, which helped to make the certification a reality.
“We came across hurdles and I’m proud that we have become the trend-setters as small as we are to have achieved this certification.