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Up Topic Welding Industry / Welding Documents & Downloads / Paperwork skills ???
- - By dozershouse Date 12-21-2015 02:10
My name is Joe, I just became a CWI and I was wondering what kind of inspection report writing and record keeping skills I need? Can anyone help?
Parent - - By Superflux (****) Date 12-21-2015 06:31 Edited 01-02-2016 14:57
Keep a personal journal. This is to protect yourself and sometimes the guilty.
Mine is several shoe boxes full of 3"x5" pocket sized spiral notepads. These date all the way back to one month after my last divorce.
They are methodically and carefully filed away (not all are in the aforementioned boxes. Some have been granted "free range privileges), under the bed, in my shop, up on a shelf in one of the closets, in the sock drawer and a duffle bag I intended to throw away 7 jobs ago...

Make inspection, scribble it down with the time. A while back I needed verification on a report. I dug thru the drawer... oops wrong drawer. Looked in another one and there was the pad (Right where I left it a month ago!) with date, persons in attendance of the inspection in question AND at 10:32 am! It was shall I say difficult for them to make a stand under such documentation. That AND I had a foto of the samples submitted to their technician (with corroborating time, the Techs left boot, and date all on the foto. [gotta love these newfangled digital cameras!]). Yep, you scan and email the notepad entry with the foto and the case is solid. PLUS you're a hero in the eyes of those up and above your paygrade. Bummed me out when I discovered how much some of them fellas make! Here all this time I thought I was rolling in tall cotton.

The particulars of each individual project dictate record keeping requirements.
My current gig has morning, afternoon, weekly and monthly meetings if which the minutes are recorded by another member of our management team.
Typically, daily reports are a requirement and submitted to some muckety muck up the food chain and cc'd to a buncha other give-a-hoots.
One piece of advice to the "Newbies". Be careful with pictures. Pay close attention to items not of primary interest, especially in the distant background. I see all sorts of safety violations (no gloves, glasses, hardhats, etc), unapproved work practices, even projects not in you companies' work scope being performed (a welder tacking up brackets for another contractor). All kinds of stuff can be inadvertently captured indelibly in a photograph. And YOU can catch the flack for not catching the offense.

Funny part is, I lost a 120 pound anvil in my shop last year. That's at home at least, not on the job. It could very well be hidden under a shoe box full of note pads somewhere....
Parent - - By dozershouse Date 01-01-2016 00:35
Hi superflux thanks for replying. I know what you mean about all those little note books. Just studying for the CWI test I must have filled 18-20 steno pads. My real question is, Do I need to know Micro soft Word and all that computer Jazz ?Is there certain formats for PQR's,WPQ's, etc. or does each job have their own forms and filing system?
Parent - By Superflux (****) Date 01-01-2016 19:26 Edited 01-02-2016 14:52
dozershouse,
Well it is just like anything. You want to be run of the mill, "just good enuff", "that inspector", and/or always looking for work, or stand out amongst your peers.
" Do I need to know Micro soft Word and all that computer Jazz ?"
That would be like saying: "I can weld with 6013 in flat position. Do I really need to learn how to run other electrodes, weld with different Processes, read a tape measure, perform basic math, interpret shop drawings...?".  "I know someone wants to hire me for $50/hr cuz I'm really good with that 6013 on the bench in flat..."

eXcel, Word, MS Office Outlook, get some NDE certs...
Unless you already have an "In House" job and the CWI was a promotion, you'd better start upgrading yourself.
One cert in this (QC/QA or welding!) business aint nothing.
Just as an example... back in '09,  I got a Level II UT. I have yet to ever scan a weld. BUT it has gotten me hired. I am NOT a UT tech, but in QA, you are expected to understand the fundamentals and know if the techs infact know what they are doing.
Get the picture???
Hey, have a Happy New Year
Parent - By KBNY (**) Date 12-21-2015 13:12
I would suggest notes be kept in a bound book where pages cannot be torn out inconspicuously. I use Elan field books.
- - By 803056 (*****) Date 01-04-2016 22:22 Edited 01-06-2016 04:52
The CWI credential is just the beginning of your career and life long learning experience. The day you stop learning is the day you stop being useful.

The endorsement program and the earning of PDH that can be counted toward your nine year renewal is an opportunity to expand your abilities and opportunities in the inspection field. Any class you take that enhance your ability to fulfill the job responsibilities listed in table 1 of AWS B5.1 can be counted toward the 80 PDHs needed to renew after nine years without taking the NEW part B examination.

Is report writing a job skill the CWI is expected to be capable of? Yes, so any English class you take that will help you write a better report can be counted toward the 80 PDHs you need.

Will becoming computer literate help you write a better report and help you to maintain your files? Absolutely, so any computer course you complete will count toward the 80 PHDs needed to recertify without taking the NEW Part B examination.

While 9 years sounds far off in the future, it isn't that long. It passes before you realize it is time to recertified.

Trust me, you are better off taking courses that will help you become more proficient as a CWI than to take the NEW Part B examination on your 9th anniversary. Several of us have taken the Beta examination. I cannot speak for the others, but I think it is more involved than the Old Part B examination. The New Part B examination kicks off as of January 1st, 2016.

I keep copies of all my reports. I clean house every few years just to free up disk space on the computer. I have all my reports on disks, but who has old floppy drives anymore? The reports are available if there is a need for them. As to a specific format, no, I don't have a specific format. Most of my reports are of a running narrative type with text, photographs, and sketches. There are some projects that require a checklist type of report. There is an example of a checklist type report form in the new Inspector's Handbook. I don't know if it is in print yet. Your employer will let you know the type of report needed. They may have a format they have adopted and expect you to use. 

Best regards - Al
Parent - - By dozershouse Date 01-07-2016 02:14
Hi it's joe again . Hope everyone had a good New Year.
Thanks guys for your help, and thanks 803056 for the Tip on the PDH's. I didn't even think about logging my hours towards the 9-year renewal.
You see I just got my certification and I haven't even got my first job yet. I've always been a worker and I was never the office type. All through high school I welded. In the Navy I welded.When I got out of the service I didn't really want to weld anymore so I went the way of my father and became an Electrician. I did that for close to 30 years. I got tired of that and went back to welding. The past 5 years I v'e been for for a tank building/fab shop and last year I decided to get my CWI. Now that I got it . I'm trying to figure out what to do with it . That's why I'm trying to find out what to expect and how to prepair. Thank you.
Parent - By WeldinFool (**) Date 01-07-2016 19:19
Hello Joe,
I can relate...I worked as a pipefitter-welder for nearly 30 years and then obtained my CWI as a way to improve my career (and to get me out of those nasty industrial maintenance welding gigs, pipeline work, and all the other nastiness associated with pipe welding). It really paid off,  but took a little time. I started out doing part-time/temporary third-party inspection work for some of our local inspection companies, this gave me some invaluable experience on all sorts of projects and welding codes. I also kept watching for the coveted local/full-time CWI positions and eventually landed one with a great company. In just over a year they made me Quality Assurance Manager and I am now living the dream.
I will tell you this: when I interviewed for the CWI position with the company I am now with, they looked at my 30 years of welding experience as being more valuable to them than a guy that could sit there and say he had inspected welds for 30 years (and every other guy they interviewed had much more inspection experience than I did). Good luck!
Up Topic Welding Industry / Welding Documents & Downloads / Paperwork skills ???

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