One might ask, your welders are qualified and certified to applications BUT, and a very, very BIG but, by the way, (no pun intended) to WHAT parameters??? Can the welders just set all of their own ranges, choose their own fillers, polarity, positions, fit-up, etc.???

I suggest you obtain a copy of the AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code-Steel; 2004 Edition as a minimum, have a thorough look through Section 3 of that Code and write a WPS. If you follow the parameters EXACTLY as listed with Section 3 of the D1.1 Code there is no need to qualify your welding procedures by mechanical testing however you MUST have written direction for the welder(s) to follow.

E-mail me if you have further questions or need further advice. Good luck!

From your post, it seems that you might not be misunderstanding what a WPS is.

The WPS is the Welding Procedure Specification, and is a document that provides the welder with the joint configuration, base metal, electrode type, volts, amps, travel speed, and other information that is needed to do the work.

Also, even though the engineer or customer will provide design requirements, there are many ways to comply with them. The welding company chooses what works best for them according to their equipment, expertise, and etc., and tells the engineer how they will comply with requirements by writing the WPS.

As an example, if the weld joints were vertical groove and GMAW is prohibited, the engineer knows that a WPS for fillet in the horizontal position with ER-70S-3 means someone has not reviewed the specifications.
A WPS for 3/32" E7018 might be acceptable, but if the joint is 2 inches thick and 18 inches long you would have to ask yourself if the welding will really be done as the WPS says.

Essentially, there is supposed to be a WPS written for ane structural welding. A list of WPS's is simpli something that says what joints will be welded with what WPS. Ie: fillet WPS's cover fillets, grooves WPS's cover groove welding. Usually there is a different WPS for every different joint type and so forth.

In many instances, you can obtain AWS prequalified WPS's and submit those for your work.

Chet Guilford

You mentioned that you have "qualified and certified welders".
If a welder has been certified, he/she has passed a welding test that was performed according to the parameters detailed in a WPS.
It is fairly common for a customer to ask for copies of the WPS and certification documentation in order to verify that the process was done correctly, matches the needs for the paticular job, and that your company is technically astute in the field of welding.
This is not too much for a customer to ask.
If you have not done so already, I recommend that you obtain the services of a Certified Welding Inspector in order to get your welding program on track.

Tim

As a very large end user, our inspection instructions require that all welding procedures, including the PQR, and welder qualification records, be submitted and approved by us before any welding is done. Any work done without prior approval of the WPS is subject to rejection.

I just can't imagine any owner, or end user, NOT requiring welding that will be done on the component they are buying be done by certified welders working to approved welding procedures.

If you have certified welder or qualified welders who actually do the work for your clients.....than at some point in time they would have taken a "hands-on" test to prove they are acceptable (to weld).
There are thousands of people who can weld, but cannot substanciate that fact unless they show you. Having a certified welder (whether the client requires it or not) is a good idea as you would be able to show clients you have skilled welders working for you.
If you have certified welders (either AWS or ASME or API) than they have two things: a valid cerification and a WPS which they used as part of the "Proof".
Your client who asked for the WPS may simply want a summary of what proceedure was used and the parameters set (for that proceedure).