Acceptance Criteria, Reporting, and Documentation
Acceptance criteria translate requirements into pass/fail decisions. They come from the contract, code, standard, or drawing, and must be objective and measurable. Understand the difference between a discontinuity (any interruption in uniformity) and a defect (a discontinuity that exceeds acceptance criteria). Indications from NDE must be evaluated against criteria and then dispositioned (accept, reject, rework, repair, use-as-is with approval). Traps: rejecting on an indication without evaluating it against criteria; accepting on "it looks fine"; applying the wrong criteria edition; and confusing repair with rework.
Reports must be accurate, complete, timely, and traceable: identification of item, procedure/standard and edition, equipment and calibration, conditions, results (with uncertainty where relevant), acceptance decision, and the inspector's identity and date. Nonconformance reports (NCRs) document deviations and their disposition; corrective action addresses root cause. Understand record retention and that reports are legal/quality records - falsification is a serious ethics and legal breach.
Rule of thumb: every reported result should answer what, how, with what, by whom, when, and against which criteria. Worked example: an ultrasonic indication is 2 mm long; the applicable procedure sets rejection at >3 mm for that weld class. The indication is a discontinuity but not a defect - report it as an evaluated indication, accept, and record the size and location so future inspections can compare growth.