Congratulations AWS QC1 CWI Lucas. AWS B5.1:2003 pages 2 - 4 referencing section 4. Functions note 4.2 Minimum Capabilities listed in Table 1.
Hey Lucas
D1.1 has no restrictions in that regard, however you need to be sure of a number of things before you proceed.
Some contract work requires 3rd party welder testing.
Some accreditation bodies (IAS for example) require 3rd party witnessing of bend testing.
If you are very new at this it can be difficult to set-up a quality program that is auditable.
Are your WPS's compliant?
Do you have all the equipment necessary for destructive testing and does it meet D1.1 criteria for bend radii etc?
If you are thinking about 3rd party work yourself, certifying welders to do production for different companies, be very careful, as new inspectors often are put under tremendous pressure and lack the experience to respond to complex situations that they can be held liable for when something goes wrong.
You should say more about your situation, there are a lot of experienced CWI's here who can offer good advice once they know your specifics.
And congrats on earning your CWI... It's a big deal, but also just the beginning :)
Congratulation. Review Table 1 in B5.1 Qualification of Welding Inspectors.
Al
Yes I feel the company now thinks I can do everything! Which I am just going to ease into this. We currently have 2 welders who are certified out of maybe 20 or so fabricators. And no one here has ever had the certification so I am looking at getting our welders certified and keeping things up to date. All of our welders were certified as they finished school but without proper paperwork things lapse. They have continued to weld and from what I see they are still producing quality work.
My plan was to set up tests and then have the items shipped to a testing facility. My role would be to set up the coupons for welding and then visually inspect them and then have them tested by a third party for the destructive tests.
My advice would be for you to create a custom "Welder Qualification Testing Report" (TQTR)
The report should have *separate signature blocks*
1. Block for your visual inspection to table 6.1 signature
2. Block for 3rd party Destructive or RT signature
3. Block by your Manager/Engineer to "Certify" that all testing was done in accordance with Code.
This way everybody has accountability for the essential roles in welder qualification testing.
When you get to the point when customers or accreditation bodies audit your paperwork, those roles will need to be clearly defined... So start right at the beginning.
So in essence you are NOT certifying the welders... You are signing off for the part of the test that you witnessed. This is the right way to go in my opinion. The 3rd party signs for only their work.. And the manager will sign off on the bottom line completion.
Anyhow.. That's my opinion.
However there is nothing that prohibits you from "certifiying" the welder. The role is not defined by D1.1 and in many cases is assumed by an individual who is much less qualified to certify anything was done in accordance with a code.
Thus, an overall quality system that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities within your organization would be the place to start.
Just my opinion.
Congratulations on passing the test. Your capabilities are neither enhanced nor reduced by your passing of the the test by most codes.
They are strictly driven by your knowledge and skills (or lack thereof).
Their are a couple of things to think about regarding "certification".
1) Compliance- If you have been building a product in accordance with a code, a quality system that addresses the overall fabrication process could be something worth considering. Having a welder who has passed a test that has no procedure qualified for production joints is no more "Compliant" than welding without being tested. If you build custom projects and have no procedures in place for contract review, document control, non-conformances, inspection and testing, materials etc then you have some other issues to consider.
2) Quality- If the welders you have been using for production are just "certified" there will be no change in what they have been doing in the past by just becoming "certified". There is no difference in the ability or work ethic of a welder who has been certified vs one who has not, only a piece of paper. If you are looking to improve real quality, consider some training that incorporates the requirements of your organization and any referenced codes or specifications.
Have a great day.
My biggest point is too make sure that you dont assume your company is any more compliant if all you do is test your welders until you verify the requirements for your product(s).
Gerald Austin
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