Welding supervisor certification

AWI certifies welding supervisors against AS 1796 and against AS 2214. These are two different qualifications covering two different kinds of work, and which one your specification wants depends on what you are building. The certificate either produces can be checked by your client without asking you for anything.

Overview

The supervision of welding is a key feature of the welding manufacture and fabrication process. Because welding quality cannot be fully verified by inspecting the finished product, control has to be applied while the work is being done, and that control is the supervisor’s job. It follows that supervisors have to be qualified to the level of competence necessary to undertake the role.

Certification provides guaranteed competence of welding supervisors. It gives your customers confidence that welding is supervised by someone with the knowledge, skills, experience and integrity the work requires, rather than an assumption that whoever is running the shop knows enough.

Two qualifications, not one

This is the part the current site runs together, and it matters when a specification names one and not the other.

The two welding supervisor qualifications AWI certifies against
Standard	What it certifies	The welding standard it sits beside
AS 1796 Certificate 10	A welding supervisor for general and high quality welded fabrication, including pressure work	AS 3992, AS 1210, AS 4041
AS 2214	A welding supervisor for structural steel welding	AS/NZS 1554

They are separate qualifications with separate scopes, so holding one does not give you the other. Plenty of supervisors hold both, because plenty of shops do both kinds of work. What the two share is the body of knowledge underneath, which is why doing the theory once covers you for either.

AS 1796 Certificate 10 and AS 2214 are separate certificates. If you want one or both, ask AWI how to apply before you book anything, because the theory is common and doing it once can cover either. Fees are quoted on application. Ask AWI which route suits your work.

Entry requirements

This certification is designed for experienced personnel who are either:

currently working in the manufacture or repair of high quality welded applications, or
seeking employment in the manufacture or repair of high quality welded applications

It suits people with relevant experience, knowledge and skills in welding supervision. It is not an entry level qualification and it is not intended to be taken straight out of a trade course. The route from the tools to supervision sets out the sensible order.

Training components

The current revision of AS 1796, and AS 2214 where it applies, sets out the theoretical and practical skills that have to be demonstrated.

The theory is the substantial part: welding process technology, welding metallurgy, and weld testing and inspection. This body of knowledge is common to welding supervision under AS 1796 and AS 2214 and to welding inspection more broadly, and it only has to be completed once. Completing it early is the single most useful thing anybody planning a supervision career can do.

What a certified supervisor is expected to control

The scope of the role, which is also the scope of what the examination covers:

welding personnel
equipment
production planning
welding procedure specifications
work instructions
welding consumables
parent materials

inspection and testing before welding
inspection and testing during welding
inspection and testing after welding
post weld heat treatment
non-conformance and corrective action
calibration and validation of measuring, inspection and testing equipment
identification and traceability, and quality records

These are the welding coordination tasks that AS/NZS ISO 3834 requires a fabricator to have somebody competent to perform. That connection is why supervisor certification turns up in tender requirements that never mention AS 2214 by name.

Examination

Candidates can be examined on the following welding processes:

Welding processes available for supervisor examination
Process	Name	ISO process number
MMA	Manual metal arc	111
MAG	Metal active gas welding	135, 136, 138
MIG	Metal inert gas welding	131
TIG	Tungsten inert gas welding	141
SAW	Submerged arc welding	121, 125

A specific written examination is required for each welding process covered by the certification. Choose the processes you actually supervise. Adding processes you never see costs money and proves nothing.

Endorsement by AWI

Once the minimum requirements have been achieved, the candidate submits their information on the appropriate forms. AWI can assess qualifications issued by training organisations anywhere in Australia.

If the submission is successful, AWI issues a certificate and a wallet card certifying the applicant as a welding supervisor, and enters the certificate on the register so it can be checked. What to send, and in what order.

Request the current supervisor application form from AWI at graham.fry@welding.org.au. It covers AS 1796 Certificate 10 and AS 2214, and asking for it is also the quickest way to have your evidence checked before you submit it.

Renewal

Renewal is required every five years. To renew, the holder has to demonstrate that competence has been maintained, by providing either:

evidence of continuous work activity in welding supervision, or
evidence that the holder has kept up to date with welding technology

A certificate that has lapsed shows as lapsed, so renewal is worth diarising rather than discovering. Renewal in detail.

What AS 2214 requires and what AS 1796 requires
AS/NZS ISO 3834, and why a certified supervisor helps a fabricator qualify
The pathway from trade to supervision