AWS Accredited Test Facility start-up

By bbranan Date 08-30-2009 14:15

Hi all:

My name is Robert Branan and I have recently won an election for the Welding/Manufacturing/Maching Teaching Chair position and woud like to pursue AWS accreditation for becoming a certified testing facility.

To give a brief introduction about me it is as follows:

I started at the junior college that I now work at to learn how to weld in 1979 and went out into the world and welded to feed my family.

I then got in the Boilermaker Appreticeship, graduated from it and worked as a field construction for ten years and was injured.

I then went to engineering school and got through that (it was tough). I have also taught the Boilermaker Apprentices for nine years.

I was then employed by the junior college that I now have been working at for going on eight years.

I went to Hobart Welding School for the CWI/CWE seminar, took the test, and passed after a few years at the beginning of my tenure at school. I am also an ASME IX Super Critical Pressure Weldor.

I am now in the position to move towards starting the process of gaining AWS Accredited Testing Facility status.

Besides the material that is available on this website where would be a good place to start?

Thank you in advance for your consideration,

Bob

Bob Branan
Machining/Manufacturing/Welding Teaching Chair
Agricultural Industrial Technology Department
Room 220
1 College Drive
East Peoria, Illinois 61635
bbranan@icc.edu Office
309.694.5482 Office

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 08-30-2009 19:37 Edited 08-30-2009 19:39

Robert.

The material provided at the site is pretty exhaustive.

The SENSE program will soon be offering accreditation for teaching facilities that is very applicable to education.

Unless you are expecting to do a large volume of certification to support your local industry, I think you will find being an accredited test facility will be a very large cost negative (it will cost substantially more to keep the program going than you will take in by having it unless you do alot of outside work). Be sure to look at the long term cost of being an ATF (the costs for initial audits and ongoing expences for recerts) for and see if your Dean is willing to support the cost burden over the years. (you don't want this venture linked to your program operating budget!!!!!)

The ATF program has all the excellent virtues of accountability that will be required to serve local industry certification and PQR requirements but you must be ready to take on a very large administrative load in order to keep up the ongoing requirements an ATF demands.. It will take a number dedicated people on your staff to keep up.

If there are no ATS's in your region it may be a very good idea... I would definatly go to the big Union pipe trades training facillity in Chicago (I forget the name but they are tops in excellence) and talk to the staff there about how they manage their program.

Definatly not trying to discourage you..... Just want you to avoid any surprises.

Lawrence Bower
Welding Program Director
Blackhawk Technical College
Janesville Wisconsin
lbower@blackhawk.edu

By bbranan Date 08-30-2009 20:40 Edited 08-30-2009 23:16

We are smack dab in the middle of CAT Country with no ATF to service CAT or their subsidiaries; so there is a need.

I definitely appreciate the heads-up and I also seen that there is a ATF in Oglesby, Illinois. I might call them also to see what's happening.

Thank you for your consideration.

Robert

By 803056

Date 08-30-2009 22:15

Go to the AWS homepage and then to the bookstore. Get a copy of QC4 and QC7 for the requirements you will have to meet.

Best regards - Al

By bbranan Date 08-30-2009 23:18

Thanks Al; I"ll do that.

BB