AWI welding certification

The schemes are built around the Australian Standards that Australian specifications actually name, and they are delivered through Australian TAFE institutes and training providers. AWI defines what each scheme requires, approves the organisations that deliver and examine it, and endorses the qualification at the end. It does not deliver the training itself, because a body cannot credibly certify the output of its own courses.

Working with TAFE and training providers, AWI has implemented a nationally recognised scheme catering to:

• AS 1796 certificates 1 to 9, the welding tickets
• Certification of welding supervisors, to AS 1796 for general and pressure work and to AS 2214 for structural steel welding. Two different qualifications, not one
• Certification of steelwork fabricators to AS/NZS 5131, construction categories CC1 to CC4

The first three certify a person. The fourth certifies a company, and it answers a different question: not whether this welder can weld, but whether this shop can control the work.

What is welding certification?

Welding certification is written, independently assessed evidence that a named person can produce welds of a defined quality, within a defined range of processes, materials, positions and thicknesses, to the requirements of a specified standard.

AWI designed its scheme to assess a welder’s skills and abilities so that capability aligns with the required codes and standards. Successful completion is evidence that the welder has undertaken extensive training in their field, with written assurance of competence in the specified tasks. Ongoing certification depends on continuous development, demonstrated through a log book, in order to complete the mandatory periodic renewal.

The AWI certification process

AWI assesses the welder’s qualifications and, where successful, issues a certificate and a wallet card. That certificate and wallet card is acknowledged by Australian industry and can be checked by anyone, at any time, against the AWI register.

The full application process, including the evidence AWI needs and the order to send it in, is set out on the application page. Keeping a certificate current is covered under renewal.

Welder certification

Aimed at experienced welders currently working in, or seeking employment in, the manufacturing industry. It focuses on the manufacture or repair of boilers, pressure vessels, pressure piping and other high quality welded applications.

AS 1796 certificates 1 to 9 are commonly referred to as the welding tickets. They cover a range of welding processes including basic welding, metal arc welding and pipe welding.

Welder certification, AS 1796 certificates 1 to 9

Welding supervisor certification

Welding supervisors hold a combination of welding and management knowledge. They plan, staff, monitor and deliver welding projects on time and within budget.

The supervision of welding is a key feature of the welding manufacture and fabrication process, so it matters that welding supervisors are qualified to the level of competence necessary to undertake their role accurately. Certification provides guaranteed competence, which gives customers confidence that welding tasks are supervised by personnel with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience.

The scheme covers:

• AS 1796, welding supervision
• AS 2214, certification of welding supervisors

Welding supervisor certification in detail, and what AS 2214 requires.

Fabricator certification, AS/NZS 5131

AS/NZS 5131 sets what a steelwork fabricator and erector has to be able to do, and be able to evidence, at each of the four construction categories. Where a project nominates a construction category, the fabricator has to demonstrate capability in that category before it can tender, and good welding on its own is not the demonstration.

AWI assesses the company: the management system, the welding coordination arrangements and the competence of the person holding them, the qualified procedures, material traceability, execution and tolerances, inspection and testing, and the records that prove all of it. The certificate names the construction category and the scope of work it covers.

It is available on its own, because the specification usually asks for AS/NZS 5131 rather than for something else with AS/NZS 5131 attached to it.

Fabricator certification in detail, and what AS/NZS 5131 requires.

AS/NZS ISO 3834 for fabricators

ISO 3834 is the standard for quality requirements in welding, specifying the necessary controls and procedures. Fabricators are encouraged to adopt the AS/NZS ISO 3834 quality management system as a means of establishing confidence in their fabrication and welding operations.

AWI can assist companies in adopting ISO 3834, ensuring people are certified and the business is compliant. Where a business wants both, the two are assessed together in one audit programme rather than two.

AS/NZS ISO 3834 explained in full: the three levels, the welding coordination requirement, and the steps to certification.

Compare the schemes