1. "Welder Certification"
The purpose of this presentation is to introduce you to the various aspects of welder certification. This is not intended to cover all of the requirements for certification but only introduce you to the basic concepts.
Prepared by Gerald Austin-Southwest Virginia Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence
Understand that the following is by no means an authority on all things “Certified Welder”.

2. Individual Company Requirements
Each individual company or organization that is dedicated to producing quality welds in a consistent manner should perform some type of welder performance qualification testing. However, a Qualified/Certified welder is not the only part of a quality system dedicated to controlling weld quality. A quality system that assures the proper materials, process variables, trained personnel, and product inspection is essential for assuring consistent weld quality.
Look at your organizations quality system, internal specifications, local jurisdictional laws, and end user requirements before assuming all you need is a “certified welder” to make things better.

3. Topics to Be Covered Certified-What Does it Mean
Specifications, Codes and Standards
Welder Performance Qualification Tests
3rd Party "Certification"
AWS Certified
YOUR quality program
There are wide ranging requirements for the wide ranging variety of products that are produced with welding. Not all of them require the same controls. Regardless, having a welder that has passed a test may or may not add to the value of your product if other aspects of manufacturing aren't controlled.

4. Certified- What does it Mean
This is from the American Welding Societies Document “Standard Welding Terms and Definition”.
Welder certification-Written verification that a welder has produced welds meeting a prescribed standard of welder performance.
Welder performance qualification-The demonstration of a welders or Welding Operators to produce welds meeting prescribed standards
The term “certified welder” can often times make one think of an individual with knowledge, skills, abilities, and credentials that far exceed the “normal welder”. That is not the case. Having an understanding of what it does and does not mean can help you better understand how it may or may not apply to the work you do.

5. Certified- What does it Mean Continued
Welder certification-Written verification that a welder has produced welds meeting a prescribed standard of welder performance.
The words to pay attention to in the above definition are “written verification” and “prescribed standard”.
A welder who is considered to be or previously had been “certified” would have some type of written documentation. This documentation would support having met some “prescribed standard”.
The term “certified” carries little meaning without an understanding of what is actually “certified”.
For example, an AWS Certified Welder who is tested at an AWS Accredited test facility often times takes the SAME test as an individual who is only testing in accordance with a specific code. Though the term “AWS Certified Welder” sounds great, as far as the requirements for the actual welding, they are covered by the applicable code or standard used during testing. In reality, when someone signs a document “certifying” that something has occurred, then that document is certified. Often times an individual who has documentation “certifying” they met some requirement is referred to as a “Certified xxxxxx”.

6. Certified- What does it Mean Continued
Welder performance qualification-The demonstration of a welders or Welding Operators to produce welds meeting prescribed standards
The words to pay attention to in the above definition are “demonstration” and “prescribed standard”.
A welder who has performed “Welder Performance Qualification” is not “Certified” until the written documentation is provided.
NOTE: The term “certified welder” or similar term does not appear in AWS D edition
Take time to look up the term “certified” in both a regular dictionary and in various industry standards.

7. Certified- What does it Mean Continued
The term “Certified Welder” is one of the most abused terms in the industry. It can refer to an individual who can spot weld two pieces of sheet metal together or someone who welds on nuclear power plant components. The requirement for a welder to be qualified by testing and “certified” can be driven by government regulations, purchasing documents, customer specifications, internal quality requirements, design drawings etc...
There is a common perception that a piece of paper somehow releases organizations from liability, assures that everything is being done correctly , and that all things “Welding” are good. If you review someones “certification”, you should understand the content and any references that are contained on that certification.

8. Certified- What does it NOT Mean
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
A welder being certified is not any type of assurance that a specific weld will meet a certain level of quality. Welder qualification testing and certification are not the only requirements to assure that a given weld meets a level of quality.
There are no codes or specifications that only require “Welder Certification” for weld quality.
The welder has only demonstrated the ability to complete a specific weld under specific conditions. There is nothing to assure that all welds comply to a specification without addressing all requirements of the specification. One other document that is required for performing welding in accordance with a code is a WPS (Welding procedure Specification). In some cases, these are more difficult to qualify than a welder. For most code compliant work, one does not work without the other!
There is more to it than having a certified welder!

9. Specification, Codes, and Standards
Various types of documents refer to the requirements for the Qualification Testing of Welders. This qualification testing is usually required to be performed prior to welding in accordance with those specifications
The requirements for qualification testing of a welder and the subsequent documentation may not be called out in an individual document but may be inferred by reference. An example would be a statement in a project specification that says “All welding shall be in accordance with AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code 2006 or Later”. The above mentioned code requires welders to be tested and properly documented.
Be aware of all documents used to specify the attributes of a project. You may have a PO that refers to a standard “off the shelf” item on one line of the PO and another line on the same PO that refers to additional requirements for the project. Be aware of ALL requirements for a given project. They can occur on many levels!

10. Specification, Codes, and Standards (cont)
Specifications are often written for a product by a purchaser or are internal to a company. Often time these specifications will refer to existing codes and standards or may add to the requirements of the referenced documents.
Codes and Standards are published by numerous organizations. These include but are not limited to
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
AWS American Welding Society
AWWA American Water Works Association
API American Petroleum Institute
OSHA Occupation Safety and Health Administration
The codes and standards are revised on a regular basis. Be aware of the editions referred to by your project specifications.

11. Specification, Codes, and Standards (cont)
Each of the previously mentioned organizations may have numerous codes or standards related to welding. Some of the organizations and codes commonly referred to in the context of welder qualification are below.
ASME has codes and standards related to various products. The most common is the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC). The ASME BPVC Sec IX covers welder performance qualification
The American Welding Society has welding specifications for various industries and product types. Many of these documents are referred to by other industry codes or standards. The code often referred to in many industries is AWS D1.1 “Structural Welding Code”.
The American Petroleum Institute has many codes related to petroleum facilities and pipelines. The often referred to specification from API is API 1104.
If you are performing work under a contract, there is probably some welding code or standard referred to. Within those codes, welder qualification and certification is only a small part of that code.

12. Specification, Codes, and Standards (cont)
OEM’s may or may not have to follow a code. The products they manufacture may or may not be required by law to be manufactured and/or welded in accordance with anything! There are some things to think about though.
A product fails and you have no documentation of what was done other than…”We have been doing it like this for years!”
You are questioned about what measures you took before manufacture to ensure quality and all you have is “Our Welder Was Certified”
Someone asks what you did to make sure all of the items manufactured were suitable for service and all you have is “Our Welder Was Certified…He inspected them!” and the “…been doing it like this for years!”
Just because a code or specification is not required to be followed does not mean its not a good idea!

13. Welder Performance Tests
Welder Certification in the context of this presentation requires a welder to take some type of test. Each individual code or standard has individual rules for how the test is to be performed, tested, and subsequent range of qualifications.
Some of the variables that affect what a welder is qualified to do are the welding process, position welded, base material thickness, weld type (fillet or groove), filler metal , backing, purging, pipe diameter (if pipe), and others depending upon the process. The rules within each code may have ranges that are completely different from another code.
A welder that has met the requirements of a performance qualification test may have passed the test but their ability to performon the job may or may not have been verified.
There is nothing that prohibits a single welder test being used to qualify and certify a person to multiple codes however many differences exist and the person administering the tests and completing the supporting documentation should be aware. Additionally, the acceptance criteria of some codes/standards for testing is very general and not as difficult to comply with as the criteria within codes of constructions. A company may have requirements on their finished product that far exceed the requirements for welder qualification test.

14. 3rd Party “Certification”
Most of the codes used by industry for structural steel, pressure vessels and piping do not require a 3rd party or independent party to perform welder performance qualification and certification. In some cases such as (ASME Sec IX) it is specifically prohibited.
It is suggested that each individual organization perform their welder performance qualification or assure that organizations performing the testing be familiar with the organizations requirements.
If 3rd party performance qualification testing is performed, the manufacturer or organization is still responsible for the welding performed by their organization. The organization that is performing the welding should “certify” that the welder meets the requirements for the welding being performed.
If you are going to have another organization test and certify your welders, be sure to read the applicable section in the code that refers to the responsibilities for performing tasks. You should still be signing the “certification statement” at the bottom of the form. A company doesn’t give up the responsibility for the quality of their welding when someone else performs the testing! A welder qualification test may or may not represent an individuals ability to make satisfactory production welds.

15. “AWS Certified vs. Certified in Accordance With”
The term “AWS Certified Welder” is often used in classified ads, resumes, and sometimes project specifications.
This implies a welder who has been certified in accordance with the AWS Certified Welder Program. This program is NOT required by any specific codes or standards but is a standardized program developed by the American Welding Society. If this is referred to in project specifications you should verify the intent is for the welders to be qualified in accordance with AWS QC-7 Standards. A welder who has been tested in accordance with a specific AWS Code or Standard may NOT be an “AWS Certified Welder” but is a welder who “Has been certified in accordance with AWS XXXX”.
The tern AWS certified welder is often misused. Be aware of what is actually required. The term is misused by welders and engineers. Get clarification.

16. Final thoughts Welding is a developed skill that is not for everyone.
If you are looking to hire a welder, please take the time and effort to see what they can do! Don't rely on a piece of paper only. Use it as a screening tool or prerequisite but know enough about what you do to make sure they can do what you need. The ones that are good at it, should be happy to weld a little for you. Give some validity to those with prior records of qualification but don't assume they are capable of welding your product. Do not assume just because a person has passed a test that they are performing quality welds. There is nothing that releases a company from responsibility for the quality of their work.
This doesn't mean that the records a welder presents are not of any value. Just understand that they represent something that happened in the past. Contact the organization that prepared the papers, make sure they are valid. THEN test the welder yourself even if the certification records provided meet the requirements of your quality system. This could be as simple as running a few beads or closely monitoring their 1st few welds in production.

17. Final Thoughts
If your the welder, don't expect to be handed a job because you passed a test some time in the past.
Its better to show up at an interview with a hood, gloves, skills and the right attitude than with a stack of papers. As of this writing, I have been a welder for around 38 years. At no time have I obtained a good job as a welder without taking a test. Sure, it may be worthwhile to get your own certification under your belt but understand that the skill is always more valuable than the paper saying you have the skill.
Welders, be careful using the term “Certified Welder”. Maybe something like “.. I have been previously certified by ???????? for welding carbon steel, stainless steel, Nickel alloys, and copper alloys using GTAW and SMAW” I can provide supporting documentation if you would like.
Practices vary, understand that requirements for quality in one company may be vastly different at another company . Show up with tools and the ability to use them. Make sure you understand what is required. Be careful about blaming the equipment for your inability to use it.
Gerald Austin
Cell

18. Final Thoughts
If a company doesn’t want to see my welding skills before hiring me, they don’t need to see em at all!
Welders, be careful using the term “Certified Welder”. Maybe something like “.. I have been previously certified by ???????? for welding carbon steel, stainless steel, Nickel alloys, and copper alloys using GTAW and SMAW” I can provide supporting documentation if you would like.
Practices vary, understand that requirements for quality in one company may be vastly different at another company . Show up with tools and the ability to use them. Make sure you understand what is required. Be careful about blaming the equipment for your inability to use it.
Gerald Austin-SVAM-Center of Excellence
or Cell

19. Contact Information
Gerald Austin-SVAM-Center of Excellence
or Cell