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Guides·7 min read·

Quick Start: Process High-Volume MTC Intake and Retrieve Any Certificate in Seconds

This guide shows how a metal service centre uses TestCert to handle high-volume MTC intake efficiently — uploading batches, triaging by validation status, batch-approving clean certs, and retrieving any certificate on demand for a customer or auditor. No chasing paper. No manual data entry.

Time estimate: 15 minutes to process a batch of 10–20 certs end-to-end.

Prerequisites

Before you start, confirm the following:

  • You have a TestCert account with Inspector or Quality Manager role
  • You have your intake PDFs ready (one file per MTC, or multi-page PDFs for bundle certs)
  • At least one approver is configured in your organisation's QA workflow

Step 1: Upload Your Intake Batch

Drop the entire day's delivery MTCs in one go.

  1. From the left navigation, click Inbound MTCs.
  2. Click Upload Certificates (note the plural — this is the bulk upload entry point).
  3. Select all the PDFs for this intake batch. You can:
    • Drag a folder of PDFs onto the upload area.
    • Click Browse and multi-select files (Ctrl+click or Cmd+click).
    • Upload up to 50 PDFs per batch.
  4. Click Start Upload. TestCert queues all files for AI extraction simultaneously.
  5. Watch the batch progress bar. Each cert moves from Queued → Processing → Ready for Review as extraction completes. For 10–20 certs this typically takes 2–4 minutes in total.

Tip: You do not need to wait for the entire batch to finish processing before you start reviewing. Certs become available for review as each one completes.

Step 2: Work the Batch Review Queue — Start with Red

The traffic-light system tells you exactly where to focus first.

  1. In the Inbound MTCs list, your batch appears with colour-coded status badges:

    • Green — All fields extracted and validated within standard limits. Ready to approve.
    • Amber — One or more fields need attention (e.g., a partially legible value or a non-critical field that could not be read). Review required before approval.
    • Red — One or more field values fall outside the ASTM/ASME/EN limit for this grade. Action required.

  2. Start with Red. Click the Filter dropdown and select Failed Validation to surface all red certs first.

    • For each red cert, click the row to open the split view (PDF on the left, extracted fields on the right).
    • Check whether the failure is a real out-of-spec value or an extraction error. If the AI mis-read a digit, correct the field value manually — validation updates immediately.
    • If the cert genuinely fails and you have authorisation to accept it anyway, click Override Accept and enter a mandatory comment explaining the engineering basis.
    • If the cert cannot be accepted, click Reject and record the reason. The supplier is automatically flagged for follow-up.

  3. Move to Amber. Apply the Needs Attention filter and review each cert the same way.

    • Most amber certs resolve quickly — a single field correction is usually all that is needed.

  4. Green certs require no field-level review — validation has already passed. Proceed to Step 3 to approve them in bulk.

Step 3: Batch Approve the Green Certs

Approve every clean cert in two clicks.

  1. Clear any active filters so all certs in the batch are visible.
  2. Click the checkbox in the table header to Select All. Then uncheck any amber or red certs that still need individual attention.
  3. Click Bulk Approve in the action bar at the top of the list.
  4. A confirmation dialogue shows the count of certs you are approving. Confirm.
    • If your workflow requires a second approval level, the certs advance to the next approver's queue. Notify them or proceed if you hold both levels of authority.
  5. After the final approval level, click Bulk Commit to Stock.
    • All selected certs are simultaneously written to the Stock Ledger with their heat numbers, grades, chemistry, and quantities.
    • Supplier snapshots are captured at commit time.

Tip: For service centres with a single approval level, Bulk Approve and Bulk Commit can be done in one pass — the entire green portion of your intake batch is processed in under a minute.

Step 4: Search Your Inventory by Grade or Heat Number

Find any cert in your ledger instantly.

Once certs are committed to stock, they are fully searchable in the Stock Ledger.

  1. From the left navigation, click Stock Ledger.
  2. Use the search bar at the top to query by:
    • Heat Number — type the heat number exactly or partially; TestCert returns all matching committed certs.
    • Grade — type the grade designation (e.g., A36, 316L, S355J2) to see all stock of that grade.
    • Supplier — filter by supplier name to see what you have on hand from a specific mill.
    • Date Range — filter by commitment date to pull certs received in a specific period.
  3. Click any row to open the full cert detail: extracted data, original PDF, validation results, approver names, and commit timestamp.
  4. Use the Advanced Filter panel for compound queries — for example, all A572 Grade 50 stock received in the last 30 days with carbon content below 0.23%.

Step 5: Retrieve a Cert for an Auditor or Customer

Produce the right cert in seconds, with a complete audit trail.

When a customer calls asking for their cert, or an auditor walks in requesting traceability documentation, TestCert gives you two retrieval methods:

Option A — Secure Review Link (for customers and external reviewers)

  1. From the Stock Ledger or Inbound MTCs list, locate the cert.
  2. Click the cert row to open the detail view, then click Share.
  3. TestCert generates a secure review token — a unique, time-limited URL for this certificate only.
  4. Click Copy Link and send it to the customer or auditor by email or messaging. They open it in any browser — no TestCert login required.
  5. The share event is recorded in the Audit Trail with a timestamp and recipient identifier.

Option B — PDF Download (for physical records or formal submission)

  1. Locate the cert using the search in Step 4.
  2. Click Download PDF. TestCert renders the original mill cert PDF together with the validation summary and approval chain appended as a cover sheet.
  3. The download event is logged in the Audit Trail.

Option C — Audit Trail Export (for ISO audits and regulatory inspections)

  1. Go to Audit Trail in the left navigation.
  2. Filter by date range, cert ID, or user to scope the export.
  3. Click Export to CSV or Export to PDF. The export includes every edit, approval decision, override comment, and share event — fully timestamped and user-attributed.
  4. Hand the export to your auditor as evidence of your quality management process.

What's Next

You have completed the end-to-end service centre workflow. To go deeper on each stage:

  • Quality Certificate Management — Organise, tag, and retain certificates across your full inventory, including retention policy configuration.
  • Incoming Material Inspection — Set up grade-level validation rules, custom standard limits, and override accept policies for your QA team.
  • Certificate Retention Rules — Configure retention schedules by grade, customer, or standard to comply with ISO 9001, AS9100, and customer contract requirements.
  • Certificate Approval Workflow — Configure multi-level approval chains, delegate approvers, and set escalation rules for high-volume intake periods.

Related pages

Quality Certificate Management: The Complete Guide for Metals & FabricationIncoming Material Inspection: Process, Checklist, and Best PracticesDocument Retention Rules for Quality Certificates: What to Keep and for How Long