1. Energy careers
  2. Environmental, Regulatory and Stakeholder Engagement
  3. Quality Control and Inspection Professional

Quality Control and Inspection Professional

NOC #22230, #22231

  • Environment Indoor/office and Outdoor work
  • Education Post-secondary diploma
  • Average salary $55,000 to $117,000

Career profile

Quality control and inspection professionals implement a wide variety of inspection, repair, risk assessment and corrosion management tools and technologies. They inspect, review, evaluate and analyze work environments, products or procedures and monitor new equipment installations. They also assist maintenance departments in developing preventative and repair strategies by assessing the condition of the equipment. Their goal is to control equipment and facility integrity in order to ensure safe and reliable performance and to prevent injury to personnel or defects in products or project works.

There are several areas in which quality control and inspection professionals can specialize including:

  • Regulatory inspectors conduct inspections of oil or natural gas drilling sites, well servicing, well abandonment operations, enhanced oil recovery production operations and pipelines to ensure compliance with regulations.
  • Asset integrity inspectors provide technical support in developing corrosion prevention techniques that meet codes and standards, reduce failures, minimize operating costs and extend the life of the company’s assets.
  • Electrical and instrumentation specialists ensure that electrical and instrumentation equipment meets applicable regulations, codes, standards and specifications.
  • Quality control inspectors design, implement and maintain the company’s quality program for large, multi-disciplinary projects.
  • Subsea inspectors provide specialized services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry such as subsea inspection techniques, corrosion assessment, pipeline engineering and pipeline integrity management systems.
Exploration and production, Oil and gas services, Pipelines, Offshore, Oil sands, Contracted and turnaround maintenance, Modular fabrication, Construction, Start-up and commissioning, Engineering, design and procurement, Geothermal, Solar, Wind

In this occupation activities may include:

  • Reviewing engineering packages for material selection, weld-procedure acceptance and specification, as well as regulatory compliance
  • Examining permits, licences, applications and records to ensure compliance with licensing requirements
  • Developing, maintaining and controlling quality records (e.g., engineering packages, inspection reports, integrity assessments, non-conformance reports and other required documentation) for pressure equipment
  • Investigating incidents, events and complaints to ensure public safety, environmental protection and resource conservation
  • Conducting inspections to assess compliance with the applicable regulations, codes and standards

Education

  • A post-secondary diploma or degree or trades certification in a relevant field, along with significant technical knowledge and experience, is required for most roles. Depending on the focus, the required education could include petroleum, chemical, mechanical and materials/metallurgical engineering, welding, electrical/instrumentation, power engineering or non-destructive testing.

Certifications

  • Standard and emergency first aid
  • H2S Alive®
  • Fall protection
  • Confined space entry
  • Specific health and safety certifications will be determined by job requirements

Licensing

  • Certifications are available through the American Petroleum Institute (API), Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB), American Welding Society (AWS) and National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)
  • Certificates of competency for in-service boiler and pressure vessel inspector Non-destructive testing certification Welding inspector certification Coating inspector certification

  • Travel likely required
  • Indoor/office and outdoor work
  • Work away from home/in camps

Communication is key. Your job is to help others change their practices and processes, even if under time constraints.

  • Information and documentation
  • Production and processing
  • Works safely
  • Quality control analysis
  • Systems evaluation and analysis
  • Complex problem solving
  • Professional judgement and decision making
  • Persuasion
  • Collaborative