Test Inspect Group has started putting a scannable verification code on every non-destructive testing (NDT) procedure its Level 3s write, review or approve, so anyone holding a copy can confirm in about a minute that it is genuine, unaltered and still the issue in force.
Written procedures set the technique, sensitivity, extent of testing and acceptance criteria that an inspection is carried out to. Their authority comes from the Level 3 who approves them, and that is the weak point: a real Level 3’s signature and PCN certificate number can be lifted from one document and pasted onto another. To an auditor, main contractor or end client the result looks exactly like the real thing, and until now the only reliable check has been to phone the Level 3.
"Forged procedures with a Level 3's signature pasted on are more common than people think," said Lee Grears, PCN Level 3 at Test Inspect Group. "A signature on its own proves nothing. Now anyone holding one of our procedures can check it is real, without having to take our word for it."
Since October 2026, each approved issue carries a QR code in the header of every page and a code in the footer. Scanning it, or entering the code here, starts a check. The holder must type in the reference and issue from their own copy, so a genuine code copied onto a different document fails, and a one-time code sent by email makes each check traceable.
The result comes from the group's live records rather than the document itself: title, issue date, author and approver with their qualifications as they appear on their certificates, and the issued page count, so pages added or removed show up straight away. It also shows whether that issue is still current. Superseded, draft and withdrawn procedures say so on every copy in circulation.
The same check applies to procedures the group's Level 3s prepare for clients on the client's own template, so their auditors and contractors can confirm them independently.
Image: A procedure review at Test Inspect Group.
