What is a certified welder?

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I have been reading  and some claim there certified welders, and so on,my son has welded (in the USA) for a few different company's and when they have a job that needs a certified welder, they do a in house test and examen the weld and may be x ray or bend test it, NOT sure,and he then says he is certified for 3 or 6 months and has to turn in a new test piece for re certification,OK now my SIL is a union electrician and when he was an apprentice he took a welding class and was taught to sick arc weld, it did not sound like any more than what we did  in High school Ag shop,  and he claims to have a welding certification, and has done some welding for some electrical mounts as a certified welder,  (never seen any of his welds, but I know he can not have 40 hours of experience most likely not even 20 hrs, what kind of certification would he have or is he calling course completing a certification,and are there other type of certification,  the way my son understands it it is for a short period of time and depend on the type of welding one is doing,  such as pipe or he was doing some rail car welding he had to pas a test for, and now he is welding tanks for oil field use, (I do not know if he is currently is certified or not, but before he was in the stainless steel shop for the same company and was certifed for the stainless, The rail cars was a different company but the procedure they has was the same to my understanding,,(I know my son can weld and weld good, but my guess is my SIL can stick two pieces of steel together,  but can not see how he could be "certified" in any capacity as a welder, (sorry I took so long,  but I meet young wiper snapper welders that look like there fresh out of high school and all claim to be top notch certified welders and I am not saying they are not, ,or others  have not welded for months or even years and claim to be certified?  but what kinds of certifications are there?   are there "life time certifications?Last edited by Farmerboy; 06-02-2012 at 06:58 PM.
Reply:This is a subject of much misunderstanding.  Welders qualify to a WPS (Welding Procedure Specification), those WPSs are proven to work by a PQR (Procedure Qualification Record), unless the joint and essential variables are 'prequalified' which is common in AWS D1.1.  There is an infinite number of possible WPSs.  A welder, when he 'certifies' (a better term is 'qualify') adheres to the variables stated with whatever WPS he is working with.  If he succesfully adheres to those variables, and applies proper welding technique, and the weldment passes a visual inspection by a CWI or manufacturer, it could then be tested non-destructively (ultra sound, radiography, etc), but more commonly a destructive test is performed.  If he passes that, he is deemed 'qualified' to weld to that particular WPS.   He would then receive a certificate stating such which is called a WQTR (Welder Qualification Test Record) stating his test results.  For the AWS D1.1 this qualification lasts indefinetly as long as he uses the process proficiently every six months (no test necessary)  Codes vary from one another.  There's AWS codes, ASME. API...So now knowing that a WPS could be anything from mild to wild, it is very possible your SIL is qualified to a very basic procedure that does not require a whole lot of skill. Hope that makes sense. Im sure I missed something,  and someone will be here shortly to fill in the gaps.Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2Jay DavisAWS-CWIC-60 Specialty Welding ContractorLoving husband, and father of two boys (
Reply:I worked on International Standards (ISO) related to non-destructive testing (NDT) for several years.  We made a clear distiction between qualification and certification.Qualification: education, training, written and practical exams administered 'in-house' by the company to a company written procedure for qualifying one of their employees.  Once qualified, the operator can perform company work for which he is qualified.  If the individual leaves that company, his qualification are null and void.Certification: education and training verified and written & practical exams administered by a third party (no involvement with the education, training or employment of the individual) in accordance with a recognized Standard.  Once certified, with the approval of his employer, the operator can perform any work for which he is certified.  If the individual leaves an employer, company, etc., his certifications remain valid.Often, the company-based qualification is called certification in an effort to raise it's status.  The reality is that company-based qualifications are not comparable; they are all different - some are very good and some are very bad.Independent third-party certifications are generally more comparable - the level of quality being considerably higher than 'qualification'.Rick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet
Reply:So Qualified= work related experience & qualification within that said companyand Certified= Educational training/schooling with a certificate you take with you anywhereis that correct? SQUARE WAVE 175 TIG   DUAL MIG 151
Reply:I am so good that I have a life time certification as a tacker.  No kidding there is actually a tacking test and yes some people do fail it. LOL   The CWB tacking test I think is the only test that does not expire... at least I think so.
Reply:Haha Lotechman, i have the same tack weld certification as you, i always wondering about that, do you have a real ''card'' or something about that or CWB inspector just keep this information in their computer ?Calculator > Bevel Square
Reply:thanks I appreciate the info, makes sense now,
Reply:Originally Posted by LayoutManHaha Lotechman, i have the same tack weld certification as you, i always wondering about that, do you have a real ''card'' or something about that or CWB inspector just keep this information in their computer ?
Reply:In my field of work, I take what is called a "common Arc" test at the Union Hall, there are many weld techs from many companies there, if I pass that test on thick wall tube, I have certs with all the companies that have a tech on hand that day, those certs are good for 6 months unless I weld for those companies and then they are good for 6 months after layoff, If I am dispatched out to a company that I have no certs with I am required to take a test upon my arrival at the new job site on a make or break, if I pass, I have a job, and if I break out, I go home with a 1 day paycheck, If I take a "plate" test at the hall, or for a company, be it arc, stainless, or mig, those certs are good for 1 year, same conditions, if I weld for that company, they are good for a year after layoff and I dont have to retest if called back to another site for the same company, Now that all being said, the certs belong to the company, I DO NOT get to take them with me, and they are not good for another company, the companies I work for pay for the coupons, they pay me to take the test on their job site, they pay the weld techs and/or the x-rays, so they keep those papers and the hall also has a record of them, I am only certafied with the companies I test with, hope this helps understand the "certified" side of things ,
Reply:AWS D1.1 Table 4.12... welding personnel include welders, welding operators, and tack welders. You would have to study the table to see the difference between welds allowed by each group.5.18.2 Tack welds shall be subject to the same quality requirements as the final welds, with the following exceptions....yadda, yadda, yadda.There is more on tack welds, and the D1.1 is but one "code book" among many, many code books. Even the AWS has more code books than I care to find out about. There are many other coded agencies as well. It boggles the mind. The certification simply removes all doubt about who is to blame, in case of litigation. Speaking of which, my fees are coming due this winter. Last edited by tanglediver; 06-03-2012 at 12:19 AM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:i have to hold 5 pressure tickets annually, those of which are xrayed. If i dont happen to use those within 90 days then i get to re-qualify. Inconel, stainless, carbon, chromoly, stainless to steel combo. It makes for a long test day lol. Lets just say iam glad their all xray so i dont have to prep them for bend specimens after welding.
Reply:Honestly certified doesn't mean much as far as I'm concerned. The only exception is if the job required a cert which you hold, then it means you know how it should be done, but it's absolutely not a guarantee of anything.I've seen some "certified" welders charge for some truely atrocious work.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:That's why there are certified welding inspectors.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by lotechmanI am so good that I have a life time certification as a tacker.  No kidding there is actually a tacking test and yes some people do fail it. LOL   The CWB tacking test I think is the only test that does not expire... at least I think so.
Reply:to get certified or licensed as a 1st. class welder in the new york city area the n.y.c. dept of buildings gave a practical exam at the dept of sanitation repair shop. this was a 1" full penetration plate weld with back-up bar. !/8" 7018. there are 2 test pieces 1 vertical and 1 overhead. i don't recall the root opening as i took the test in the 70's. before you tested you needed to show 5 years paid employment as a welder and no felony convictions. if you wanted to make decent money you had to have that license.  recently i hear the test is given at a private welding school and no previous paid exp. as a welder is needed. i predict the trade will go down-hill very fast if this is the case. there is lots more to welding than running sound weld metal on new shiny test pieces!!