We have discussed the requirements for welder certification and their documentation, pressure and leak testing and its documentation, but the one area that I have not covered yet is the documentation of the Welding Inspector(s). As we have said, the certified (“coded”) welder makes the weld(s) and then BEFORE any testing, a certified welding inspector will perform an inspection of the welds based on the Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) plan for how many welds will be inspected and the manner in which they will be inspected. The person doing this CRITICAL inspection/examination MUST be qualified to do so. And of course in the world of process safety, we turn to a RAGAGEP to define this certification/qualification and incomes AWS QC1: 2016-AMD1Specification for AWS Certification of Welding Inspectors (Link is to a FREE copy). So what does a facility need to ask for when a contractor claims they have an in-house inspector?
Taken from the standard, this is what EACH inspector should be able to provide to document their qualifications to inspect/examine the welds per the WPS…
(emphasis by me)
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10. Certification 10.1 Documentation. The AWS shall issue to each SCWI, CWI, and CAWI applicant who complies with the applicable requirements of AWS B5.1, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors, A SERIALIZED (UNIQUE NUMBER) CERTIFICATE and a wallet card stating that the applicant has met the AWS certification requirements. Certification becomes effective on the first day of the month following the date of examination. Certification shall be valid for three years unless revoked for reasons defined in 11.6 and the authority of Section 12. The certificate shall indicate the date of certification. The wallet card shall include the SCWI’s, CWI’s, or CAWI’s PHOTO, indicate the expiration date of certification, and any need for corrective lenses for near-vision acuity. It shall also state results of color vision tests. 10.1.1 SCWIs shall be issued a new certification number but may request that the original date of CWI certification be listed on the SCWI wallet card. |
So we always requested this documentation to be part of the WPS, which we got a copy after the project. That way, if OSHA/EPA has questions regarding the construction of the process piping, we have an all-encompassing binder with all of our piping documentation.
Lastly, know the different levels of AWS Inspectors, as not all of them can do inspections on their own accord. The standard explains, very clearly, the different certifications and their roles in performing the inspections/examinations.
(items in brackets are my additions)
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4. Functions of Certified Personnel 4.1 The SCWI [Senior Certified Welding Inspector] shall be able to perform inspections, supervise one or more CWIs [Certified Welding Inspector], CAWIs [Certified Associate Welding Inspector], or NDE [Non-destructive Examination] personnel, prepare inspection procedures, review and interpret joining procedures, conduct audits of vendors and/or organizations providing materials or services to the project, and ensure that the work performed and the records maintained conform to the requirements of the applicable standards and other contract documents and perform all SWI duties listed in AWS B5.1, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors. 4.2 The SCWI [Senior Certified Welding Inspector] and CWI [Certified Welding Inspector] shall be able to perform inspections or to verify that the work inspected and records maintained, conform to the requirements of the applicable standards and perform all WI duties listed in AWS B5.1, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors. 4.3 The SCWI [Senior Certified Welding Inspector] and CWI shall be able to certify the qualification of welders to various codes or standards. The requirements of the AWS QC7 Certified Welder program and the National Registry of AWS Certified Welders are outside the scope of this specification. 4.4 The CAWI shall be able to perform inspections only under the active supervision, as defined in this specification, of a SCWI or CWI. The SCWI or CWI shall maintain the responsibility for determining final acceptance. |