Welding Cert and DOT rules

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I'm hoping someone might be able to answer this.The company I work for manufactures trucks that are on the road world wide. Let me rephrase that. We buy the chassis and add our equipment. Something has come to my attention is that on their website they claim all of their welders are AWS certified. After asking everyone there, none are AWS certified. I was certified on the 6G test many many years ago and never kept my cert up due the jobs not requiring it. I was told that all trucks on the road that have had welding done to them require a certified welder doing the work. I'm not trying to cause any issues with my company. I enjoy my job and the people I work with. Sure the pay could be better, but who has a job where they are complaining they make too much? LOL If someone knows of this job, please tell me where it is. I'd rather not have many company face legal issues down the road with their false statements. Can someone tell me if this is true in regards to the cert requirements?Thanks for your time!
Reply:Running trucks as I do, I have yet to ever have an inspection where they asked who did the welding and to produce documentation of certs...from either USDOT or TXDOT. I have stretched trucks and repaired truck frames, fixtures and tanks and no one has ever documented a thing. I know for a fact that my dump beds weren't built by qualified weldors.....well, two at least. The other one was. After three or more dozens stops by DOT, I have yet to ever have the work questioned and doubt they will ever question it. Things vary from state to state, though.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:Thank you very much!
Reply:Contact the local DOT office and ask them what the requirements are.  Most DOT inspectors are not capable of identifying a good versus bad weld.
Reply:i had to repair a dump truck frame on the side of the highway here in okc, the highway patrol wanted to see all my certs, and ins, before i could make the repair.
Reply:I did a search and found nothing. I thought someone had mentioned it before, but nothing to back it up. I guess I'll call the local DOT and see if this is a Fed. regulation. Weld4you, I'll be moving right next door to you as soon as I sell my house. I'll be in Choctaw.
Reply:There may be state rules, but there are no Fed DOT rules I know of requiring certifications of any kind.  Just look at all the cheap car trailers coming out of the midwest .....My experience is similar to DDA52's, I have never been questioned, even doing repairs in front of CHP scales.   In fact, I remember once, a bad turntable/tongue hinge, basically unrepairable on-site, made a big show, lots of arcs and sparks, wrapped everything up, waved at the CHP officer sitting in the window, he returned a kind of half-wave/ half salute.  We all jumped into our trucks and high-tailed it out of there.
Reply:This might help. In the past I've inspected and accepted transit buses which follow AWS D 8 Light Truck code. If the fab shop where the trucks come from have certified welders they probably have tested per an AWS standard. This means they are compliant not necessarily certified with AWS but with the fabrication shop certificate.  I am not saying this happened because during that same time I did visit a shop which produced dumpers and the welding was performed by anyone who dressed up like a welder. If you are in the quality department at your shop request to see the welder's certifications seeing how they are your sub-contractor.  Wish you the best.      Mark
Reply:If no existing regulations exist for manufacture of a product, many Ccode or Specifications exist in which the manufacturer may have qualified their welders. AWS d14.3 for instance coould be used for light truck bodies and within that code workmanship samples and production samples can be utilized as a basis for performance qualifications.I have been involved with this in the past. A companies individual quality system often times indicates what is to be done during welding however many overlook the welding requiremnts and concentrate on the finished appearance with no regards for what happens WHILE welding.I am performing fillert weld break tests for a company today that manufactures truck bodies.
Reply:Considering there are only two welders welding up these "bodies", as I'll call them at this time, and I am one of them, neither of us are certified or have been certified. Now I had my 6G cert more then 15 years ago and have never had a job after the cert that required me to keep my cert current. While I do feel that the other welder and myself would have no issues passing a cert test, I'm not fond of the fact that they are claiming every welder at the shop is an AWS Certified Welder when no one has any papers regarding this. It was mentioned that samples could be taken and tested. Would that require every welder to do this or just one and the whole shop would be considered certified? I'm pretty sure the company doesn't want to certify us as we would expect to be compensated for our certified skills. But if they are going to claim it in their advertising, why shouldn't we expect a little more pay? I realize jobs are a little tight right now and I'm not expecting more money. I'm happy to have a job at this time as some of our competitors have gone out of business. I am planning to move as soon as my house sells, so if this cert is company wide as advertised, I'd like to be able to tell my next job that I have a cert. I highly doubt that this is the case, but it could help me out in the future. I know my company will give me a very nice reference as they know I plan to move. And they have stated that. Heck, this isn't even making sense to me anymore. Haha
Reply:If you are in a manufacturing environment, you do not have a certification, based on what you said earlier.   If YOU want a certification, and documentation, the only way you will get it is take a test, pay for it yourself, and pass the test.
Reply:Just another welder,as stated by jsfab you are not certified without that test. If you dide take a company's test when you leave the company you will loose your certification. Reality is the company probably will not pay any extra for a certified welder, they just don't.   If you do go out on your own and get certifed it will cost you possibly between $300.00 to $500.00 dollars for the plates and mechanical testing, then you would have to weld in that process at least once or regularly in a 6 month period or you loose your certification.   I guess what I am saying is if you are planning on leaving this company and you do not have a certificate "Let the sleeping dog lie still". It is the company who will be liable for the welding of these trucks.  Hope this helps
Reply:Thanks everyone. I'll let it lie.
Reply:If you took a weld test for employment with this company and that test is consistent with AWS certification tests, then thats pretty common. Or, if the owner or one of the management is recognized by AWS, the weldors in that shop may perform work under their supervision and still operate under AWS guidelines, which is also common. Or, the company is just registered with the AWS and can legally claim weldors in its employ are AWS certified. There are certainly more scenarios than this but you get the picture.
Reply:Originally Posted by JustAnotherWelderI did a search and found nothing. I thought someone had mentioned it before, but nothing to back it up. I guess I'll call the local DOT and see if this is a Fed. regulation. Weld4you, I'll be moving right next door to you as soon as I sell my house. I'll be in Choctaw.
Reply:If you're concerned about not being certified and want the cert to help your employment possibilities after you move, then the answer is easy... practice and go take the test and pay for the cert.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Certification is a highly abused word. It can mean you welded a flat fillet weld with GMAW on carbon steel or welded a 1/2" pipe with a 6" or less restriction on 2 sides with a GTAW using NiCrMo-X filler metal.Any number of scenarios exist. As I indicated before, in accordance with AWS D14.3 (Earthmoving Equipment) , the qualification of welders can be done with a few sample welds. No RT or Even bends for that matter.As a welding inspector I have tested quite a few welders. I have never aked to see their "Certifications" from before. As a welder I have certified for many companies, however I am not a "Certified Welder". I provide my students (the ones who can) a record of welder performance qualification testing that indicates they have welded a test coupon in accordance with AWS D1.1 using a proceuure in accordance with D1.1 that was tested in accordance with D1.1. I suggest they save the paper for those who ask to see it.
Reply:As I stated earlier, the company advertises that "ALL" of our welders are AWS certified. Yes, I realize that if I want a cert, I have to pay for and take the test. I was only wondering if there was some type of DOT requirement in regards to being certified for a truck driving down the road on the interstates. They have a GVW of 80K. It truely doesn't effect me in regards to if there is or isn't a requirement as I'm not the one that will face any consequence. Best I can tell is all that is wrong is possible false advertisement unless, as stated by someone, the shop is registered with the AWS.Thanks for all the replies.