By Jim Collins, AWS-CWI
Certification Specialist
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology

Welder certification is the written verification that a welder has produced welds meeting a prescribed standard of welder performance.  Welder performance qualification is the demonstration of a welder’s or welding operator’s ability to produce welds meeting prescribed standards.  [Standard Welding Terms and Definitions, AWS A3.0:2001]. 

There are many welder performance qualification codes and procedures in existence.  Each is designed to cover a specific scope of work.  For example, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX deals with welding of pressure vessels and piping; AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel is for the structural welding of steel; American Petroleum Institute’s API 1104 Standard for Welding Pipelines and Related Facilities relates to energy transmission lines; and AWS D1.5 is the Bridge Welding Code.  The codes enable contractors and manufacturers to qualify welding procedures for the type of welding they perform.

In most cases, the qualification procedures are very specific.  Stainless steel cannot be substituted for aluminum or steel, for example.  Gas metal arc (MIG) welding would not qualify if gas tungsten arc (TIG) welding were specified.  The welding certifications are not transferable.  Thus, if you are qualified to weld stainless steel pipe while you worked for Sam’s Welding Company, that certification will not transfer to Fred’s Welding Shop, even though you may be doing a similar job. 

However, the American Welding Society has developed a National Welder Certification program that allows an individual to carry his or her own certification.  To accomplish this, you must test through an accredited test facility.  Your name is then put on a national registry and you may carry this certification with you to a new employer.  It permits the new employer to know that you have proven a certain level of expertise.  Employers may still require that you qualify to their company’s welding procedure, especially in cases where the welding performed is considered critical. 

To keep your National Certification current, you must weld with the process and send a maintenance of certification form to the American Welding Society every six months.  The Hobart Institute was one of the first AWS test facilities and has been accredited to perform qualification of welders (AWS-QC7) since 1989.  HIWT also has the unique ability to test off-site.  This means that the test can be taken at the Hobart Institute or we can travel to your facility and monitor the welding test.  Our staff has the expertise and experience to qualify welders to various structural, pressure piping, production, and aerospace specifications.  HIWT works with all types of ferrous and nonferrous materials including (but not limited to) steel, titanium, cobalt, nickel, aluminum, and various alloys.  Our organization is fully staffed with AWS Certified Welding Inspectors and American Society of Nondestructive Testing Level III Technicians that meet most, if not all, welding specification requirements including ASME Section IX, AWS QC-7, AWS B2.1, AWS D1.1, AWS D1.2, AMS-STD-1595, MIL-STD-248, MIL-STD-453, MIL-STD-410, and MIL-STD 2219.

The Certification Dept. at Hobart Institute also offers Charpy impact, chemistry, etch, liquid penetrant, and hardness testing along with heat treatment of metals.

One hour of pre-testing practice time is allotted and included in our pricing.   Call ahead to schedule a test date.

For further certification information, visit our web site at http://www.welding.org or call 1-800-332-9448, ext. 5107 / 5609 or 937-332-5107 / 5609.