Welder Qualification

By Orkatec Date 07-12-2009 10:18

Hi All
I am new here.
I live and work in Scotland and have been working oil related structures using AWS D1.1 and ASME IX for 35 years.
This now seems to be sort contract work so I jump from company to company.
When doing this there is a difference in how they operate.
Some comanies want you to have your own welder qualifications and others want you nto test.
I have had the situation where one company wants you to have your qualifications but the last company i worked for refused to give them.
Is this normal practice in the USA and any other contry where members are reading this.

Thanke Orkatec

By 803056

Date 07-12-2009 12:28

In general, companies don't provide the welder with the qualification record. There are a couple of reasons, mostly selfish on the part of the company.

1) They paid for the testing, thus they "own" the qualification record.
2) They are fearful the welder will use the copy to obtain a better job with a competitor.
3) They don't want to give the competitor the benefit of the money they spent to qualify the welder.
4) ASME, in general, requires each contractor to test their own welders, thus the qualification record isn't transportable from one company to the next.

Many companies will not accept qualifications from another company because they want to make sure the welder being hired is competent and has the skills needed to implement their welding procedures. They are well aware of the ease of falsifying test records and the fact that some individuals are not above doing just that to "get that new job". By testing the welders the company has an opportunity to weed out some of the less skilled welders, those that display poor work habits, or disregard for safe working practices. Each of which can be a serious liability for the employer.

Best regards - Al

By Ke1thk

Date 07-15-2009 14:43

Al's right. It costs money to certify a welder, both the employer and the welder.

It took me dozens of hours to pass my first official AWS 3G GTAW test at my local Community Collage, even though I'd welded for years (the Learning Curve). My employer paid for the class.

A look at how we handle new employees. We're low to moderate pay welding GTAW and GMAW, aluminum, stainless, and steel tubing.
1. Basis skills test (can they lay a weld-not-paid).
2. Observe their strengths and weakness' (two or three weeks-paid).
3. Basic 3G tests in various codes and mil-standards (paid).
4. Training if fail (work on non-critical welds for two or three weeks-paid).
5. Advanced testing 5G 6G (paid).

The point is that a new welder at my employer is going to have a dozen AWS Certifications within their first year, dozens after a few years.

Again, Al's right. Even though I have a certified welder to a specific spec, and complete welding documents, not all customers accept them. They want their own. It can be expensive to recreate and test.

A basic bend test is cheap enough but some codes require RT testing or other high dollar tests to qualify a welder.

I’d suggest to you to have a resume of what you can weld, including pictures, and actual welds. Have a box or photo album of your samples (a pictures/visual is worth a thousand words).

Keep a log of the different projects that you worked on. Record the metals, joints, and processes’. What Code the project welded to. Ask for a copy of your certifications whenever possible.

Good Luck,

Keith