Okay. So, you passed the grueling 8-h CWI exam. You have your very own stamp and gold-embossed certificate. You’ve “proven” you have the knowledge to evaluate welds. Well, I have news for you. You are just getting started. You have a long career ahead of you. The AWS welding inspector certification program is based upon the competency of each candidate to examine and evaluate welds. It is not enough to take welding, inspection, and engineering classes, or to hold diplomas or degrees. Candidates for certification must have worked in the industry performing weld-related tasks or metals fabrication or installation. The exam will prove candidates have the knowledge necessary to effectively evaluate welding compliance to welding codes. Unlike other internationally recognized personnel certification systems, AWS expects Certified Welding Inspectors to verify their continued competency every three years, and prove it all over again by testing every nine years. Every CWI will tell you, “That isn’t as easy as it sounds.” That’s good, because the work keeps getting tougher and more demanding. Stronger metals and space-age alloys demand welders comply with strict welding procedures to meet stringent design requirements. Today’s buildings incorporate heavier and thicker structural shapes to span large, open spaces and accommodate an ever-growing population. International pipelines, centralized tank farms, and the new civil infrastructure surrounding them are all big work critical to our nation’s continued success. Big work requires expertise and experience to build it efficiently, economically, and safely. AWS CWIs are meeting these new responsibilities head-on. Engineers, responsible for the creative designs, know this fact. Our local building officials, responsible for ensuring the public safety, know this fact. The civil codes governing their decisions demand each weld be inspected, preferably by an AWS CWI. Our CWI program offers a unique path for obtaining a state Special Inspection license to inspect public buildings. In most jurisdictions, CWIs need only submit copies of their certification documents and pay their fees to receive their licenses in the mail. Some jurisdictions impose additional requirements or exams, but the end result is usually the same. The fact is AWS CWIs are recognized across the United States for their integrity and commitment to weld quality. Fortunately, our American Welding Society is there to keep our skills current. The Education Department offers specialized training both on-line through AWS Learning and in person at various seminars across the country. Certification endorsements focus our knowledge on welding specialties to refine our inspection skills. Local AWS Sections offer technical sessions at their monthly meetings that provide continuous technical improvement for us members. No other volunteer organization provides such in-depth training geared to the experienced journeyman at so many locations and so economically. Our greatest technical resources, however, are the AWS volunteers. We pool our experiences and knowledge to promote quality welding practices through our gratifying work on AWS technical committees. AWS volunteers are responsible for most of the welding codes used in the United States. From rebar to rockets, volunteer members come together to develop and document the best welding practices our broad knowledge can provide. As chair of the AWS B1 Committee on Methods of Inspection, I see this cooperative interaction first-hand. In B1, I work with more than 20 other welding inspection experts to flesh out the bare-bones requirements of our welding codes. While the Codes establish the rights and the wrongs used to evaluate weld quality, our guides and recommended practices describe the hows and the whys commonly employed. B1 documents, like the Guide to Nondestructive Examination of Welds and the newly revised Guide to Visual Examination of Welds and Welding Inspection Handbook, offer users a solid foundation for their difficult quality decisions. Our efforts on B1 are mirrored by hundreds of other volunteers serving on the many other AWS technical committees. You can be proud of your welding inspector certification. It wasn’t easy proving you were competent to inspect welds. And it certainly isn’t easy keeping your inspection skills current. But you made a good decision to certify as a welding inspector. You can count on many solid opportunities from AWS and its volunteers that will keep you sharp and on the cutting edge of welding technology. EDITORIAL Certification Is Only the Start Bill Komlos Chair, AWS B1 Committee on Methods of Inspection “While the codes establish the rights and the wrongs used to evaluate weld quality, our guides and recommended practices describe the hows and the whys commonly employed. ” 6 WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 WJ
Welding Journal | April 2015
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