COFREND: Certification of nondestructive testing personnel

In the beginning of the seventies there arose a need for industry to acquire a certification system because of the requirement, in nuclear industry construction codes, that testing should be carried out by certified personnel. To avoid having several different certification systems in response to customers' requirements, it was decided to set in place a national certification system, under the auspices of the COFREND - the French committee for nondestructive testing. The application of thi certification system began in 1978. This paper reviews the current situation of COFREND, a federation of 42 nonprofit-making associations, organizations and establishments interested in NDT problems.