NS-2™ Accreditation

The NS-2™ Accreditation Programme was introduced to support both the end user and the Inspection service companies within the Oil & Gas Industry.

Within it are set the requirements that inspectors and inspection companies need to meet in order to obtain Approval Certification for their Inspection Facilities and Certificates of Examination for their inspectors. Companies’ personnel who manage, supervise, administer or sub-contract inspectors can also attend these courses in order to maintain a quality approach throughout their company.

Drilling equipment is being used for longer hours in more diverse conditions. In addition, equipment and drilling products are required to cope with tougher environments and additional operational stresses, so the inspection of used equipment or equipment after receipt and transport, is more important than ever before.

Likewise with the range of drilling environments in operation within companies meaning that equipment can easily be moved from one environment to another, consistency in inspection is also important.

This is one of the reasons that we only have one inspection standard.

The adoption of the NS-2™ standard operationally means that:

• All equipment is inspected to the same level – reducing the opportunity of equipment being used in inappropriate conditions.
• All inspectors are trained in the same standard – preventing inexperienced or unqualified inspectors performing inspections.
• NS-2™ Certificates of Approval for inspection companies, awarded under the NS Accreditation Programme, provide end users with the confidence that inspection facilities have been independently assessed to one standard for their capacity to inspect equipment to NS-2™.
• NS-2™ Certificates of Examination are held by inspectors who have attended courses on the interpretation and application of the NS-2™ Standards, and have achieved the required pass mark for the Examination in the industry inspection standards.

Certificates are also provided for those supporting inspectors who attend the Drillstring Awareness courses.

Fearnley Procter, authors and developers of the NS-2™ Standard, have over the last 25 years developed the standard using their Equipment Failure Investigation History and QA/QC experience to keep the NS-2™ standard relevant to the needs of the industry. The NS-2™ Accreditation Programme is built on this platform to provide a mark of quality and competence; that suppliers can use to support their inspection credentials; and that end users can rely on.

NS-2™ Accreditation Levels

There are two Levels of Approval

Level 1 – Process Approval

Organisation and management structure.

• QHSE management systems
• Supply history/experience
• Industry approvals/licenses
• Planning, work instruction and operations control
• Quality control

Level 2 – Product Inspection Approval

Achievement of Level 2 includes the requirements of Level 1 plus an assessment of:

• Facilities and resources
• Measuring and test equipment control
• Inspection team to hold Certificates in the Theory of Inspection to the NS-2™ Standard
• Supply chain management
• Competence assurance program
• Plant maintenance program 
• Practical Assessment on the inspection to the NS-2™ Standard on specified drilling equipment.

On successful completion of the programme the facility will be awarded a certificate of approval.