southernpride,
You said that you turned the test in and passed. Did you test for a company single-hand in their facilities or are you an independent contractor that performed the weld test and then sent it in to a lab? If the latter then they should have asked or you should have specified which code you were testing to. The AWS D1.1 code has many different test; some on plate some on pipe and tube steel. So AWS D1.1 has pipe test but the acceptance criteria is different than ASME IX test.
This is how it works...usually. The mech. contractor has a job. It may be chill water, steam, oil, condensate or gas pipe. The contract documents (drawings and specifications)that they are working to will determine the code that applies to the pipe system(s) that they are installing. It may be ASME 31.1, 31.3, 31.8, 31.9, API codes but I have never seen D1.1 pipe test called for in the specs. for mechanical piping except for the support and hanger welds. In the specs it will require that the welder be qualified to ASME IX for the codes just mentioned except for the API code.
You can tell the contractor what test and certs that you have and then ask what certification you need to perform the work for them. Some MC's know very little about welding, codes, test etc. Some know ALOT. If you do not have the right qual. perhaps you can test with them or elsewhere so you don't miss out on the opportunity to do their work.
You might call the testing agency and see if it was a mistake on there end. It's possible that they put it on the wrong form or just plugged in the wrong code. If they Rt'd it they should still have the film and can compare it to Sect. IX acceptance criteria and provide the correct documentation if it was just a simple mistake.
Some of the more experienced folks on here may see a problem with that or provide a better solution. Good luck with resolving the problem and getting the work.
swsweld, thank you for your quick response. I am an independent contractor that sent in my test to an independent testing lab where they bend-tested the coupons --ccording to the results on the certification. Monday, I am calling the guy that did the testing, I still talk to him on a semi regular basis, so I ll get the full scoop on things. After I talk to him, Ill call the mechanical contractor back and ask him, like you suggested, which code their contract is to be welded to. I have a feeling, I ll need to take a new welding test to qualify. Not too much of a problem, but like a lot of welders out there right now, money is a little tight. Some of the mix-up 3 years ago could've been my lack of experience with all these codes. At the time I was working for an independent contractor (mom and pop business) and I trusted him rather than looking into things for myself. If I knew what to look for I would've caught this back then and fixed it. Oh well. Live and learn. Thanks for the help Swsweld.
Hello southernpride, I might throw one more possibility out there for you to consider. Pilebucks in my area are required to take a "structural" pipe test to splice pipe piling, this cert. doesn't qualify them to weld pressure pipe even though it is basically the same test. There might be a possibility that your test lab misunderstood which cert. you initially needed and I don't know if they can dual-cert. someone on that particular scenario. If others answer this we'll both likely learn a little something. Best regards, Allan
That's what I am hoping aevald, they misunderstood what certification I was intending to get and with my lack of knowlegde back then, this mistake slipped through the cracks for the last 3 years. I am just expecting to have to retest. I need this work from the mechanical contractor so I am willing to spend the $3-$4 hundred to get some work. There's nobody in this area that does gas pipe so I could lock up most of the work. Id really like to take the API 1104 pipeline test but where's the work? If there's no work what's the point in taking a certification test? No gas company will send an independent contractor to test with no work anyway.