Certifications & Compliance

Northern Manufacturing holds ASME Certificates of Authorization #63199 (U stamp, manufacture of pressure vessels) and #63198 (PP stamp, fabrication and assembly of pressure piping), both issued May 7, 2026 for our Oak Harbor, Ohio shop. The quality system behind them is certified to ISO 9001:2015 by AVU Registrations, Inc. (certificate #00157-4, IAS accredited), with welding procedures and welders qualified per AWS D1.1, AWS D1.6, and ASME BPVC Section IX. A Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) oversees the welding program, and an ASNT SNT-TC-1A Level III governs nondestructive examination. This page covers what each credential means, what an auditor sees on our floor, and what ships with your parts.

ASME U and PP Stamps: Code Vessels and Pressure Piping

The U stamp authorizes Northern to manufacture ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 1 pressure vessels carrying the ASME Single Certification Mark: fabrication to the code, hold points witnessed by our Authorized Inspector from Hartford Steam Boiler, hydrostatic testing, and a signed Manufacturer’s Data Report with every code vessel. The PP stamp covers shop fabrication and assembly of pressure piping under the same program.

Both certificates apply to our Oak Harbor location only, so field code fabrication is outside their scope. Northern does not hold the R stamp (repairs and alterations) or the S stamp (power boilers). If your job needs a code vessel or a code piping spool built and documented in one shop, send the spec and we will quote it under the stamp.

ISO 9001:2015: Audited Process Control

An ISO 9001:2015 certificate is maintained through recurring third-party surveillance audits, not a one-time award. For your supplier qualification process, that means:

• Fewer deviations from spec, which reduces your receiving-inspection burden
• A registrar-verified audit trail your quality team can check directly with AVU Registrations
• Controlled work instructions, weld procedures, and inspection plans, current at every workstation
• A formal nonconformance and corrective action process with root cause analysis when something does go wrong

Northern is also registered in SAM for federally funded work (CAGE code 137T8).

Welding Codes: AWS D1.1, AWS D1.6, and ASME Section IX

Weld procedure specifications (WPS) and procedure qualification records (PQR) are tested and qualified to AWS D1.1 (Structural Welding, Steel), AWS D1.6 (Structural Welding, Stainless Steel), and ASME BPVC Section IX, with our Section IX file current to the 2025 code edition. AWS D1.6 is the primary code for our stainless fabrication.

Procedures are only half of it. Our 60+ AWS-certified welders are performance-qualified to the specific procedures they run, with continuity logs tracked so qualifications stay current. When your spec calls out a code weld, the welder holding the torch is qualified to that procedure and we can document it.

Section IX groups base metals by P-number so one procedure qualification covers a family of alloys. Our qualified range runs from P1 carbon steel through P8 austenitic stainless, P10H duplex, and the P43 and P45 nickel alloy families, plus qualified dissimilar-metal combinations. The full table is on our welding services page.

Section IX is the welding qualification backbone behind our code work. Since May 2026 Northern also holds the ASME U and PP stamps (Certificates #63199 and #63198, detailed above), so pressure vessels and pressure piping carry the Code mark out of our shop. We still claim only what we hold: no R stamp, no S stamp, and no field code fabrication.

Inspection Expertise: CWI and ASNT Level III

A Certified Welding Inspector (AWS CWI) on staff oversees the welding program: reviewing procedures, monitoring in-process work, and inspecting welds against AWS D1.6 and ASME Section IX acceptance criteria before release. That oversight catches problems at fit-up, when they are cheap to fix, instead of at your receiving dock.

Nondestructive examination runs under an ASNT SNT-TC-1A Level III, who develops and qualifies our NDT procedures and certifies our Level II inspection personnel. Visual (VT), dye penetrant (PT), radiographic (RT), ultrasonic (UT), and magnetic particle (MT) examination are performed in-house per the method your drawing calls out.

Material verification starts at receiving. Handheld XRF analyzers confirm alloy composition through positive material identification (PMI), and heat numbers are tracked from mill test report through cutting and welding to the finished assembly.

What an Audit Sees

Customer auditors and our registrar walk the same floor. What they find:

• Controlled documents at the workstation, with revision status matching the Quality Department master
• Calibration records for the measurement and inspection equipment in use
• Welder continuity logs and current WPS/PQR files
• Material traceability from MTR through cut plan to weld map
• A live nonconformance log with root cause and corrective action records, not an empty binder

What Ships With Your Parts

A certificate matters because of the records it stands behind. A typical documentation package includes:

• Mill test reports (MTRs) and PMI results for alloy verification
• Weld maps identifying the welder and procedure for each joint
• Inspection records built to your inspection test plan (ITP), including hold and witness points
• Dimensional reports, including 3D laser scan data on assemblies that warrant it

If your project needs proof before you commit, request a redacted sample dossier: real excerpts from project records showing the objective quality evidence (OQE) we deliver with the work. Prefer to talk it through first? Call an engineer at (419) 898-2821.