AWS Qualifications

Who are AWS?

The American Welding Society (AWS) is a long-established (since 1919) organisation based in the USA. Its main scope is the field of welding, brazing cutting and joining processes. It is well established and recognised worldwide and has a large membership.

The AWS certification programmes

AWS offers a list of different certification programmes, all related to welding in some way. They are based around the main scheme reference document AWS QC1:2007, Standard for AWS Certification of Welding Inspectors. The certifications are:

Certified Welding Inspector
Certified Associate Welding Inspector
Senior Certified Welding Inspector
Certified Welding Educator
Certified Radiographic Interpreter
Certified Welding Supervisor
Certified Welding Sales Representative
Certified Welding Engineer
Certified Welder
Certified Robotic Arc Welding

There are also a list of endorsements that you can add, covering weld inspection on structures, piping, pipelines, vessels, tanks etc and NDE processes other than RT.

As these certifications are all related to welding they are mainly there to serve the welding and new construction (source) inspection part of the integrity industry. Perhaps the one of most general application is the Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) programme which has been around for 40+ years and plays a central role in weld inspection certification in the USA.

The AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) certification

You can see all the detailed information about this on www.aws.org/certification/detail/certified-welding-inspector

The main CWI Certification involves a 6-day training seminar followed by a formal computer-based exam. There are no mandatory training requirements for the endorsements.

How useful is the AWS CWI certification?

Pretty much essential if you want to get work doing weld inspection work in the USA or Canada. Some other countries prefer their own alternative certification schemes (CSWIP etc)

Remember that weld inspection only forms a (fairly small) part of the wider disciplines of plant inspection and integrity evaluation and is mainly concerned with new construction an in-manufacturing repairs. Being certified as a weld inspector does not make you a plant inspector.

Check out our article: NDE and Asset Integrity : THE DIFFERENCE and the NDE Upskilling Knowledge Quiz to see this difference in action.