AS 2214 explained: certification of welding supervisors

AS 2214 is the Australian Standard that sets out how a welding supervisor is certified for structural steel welding: the knowledge they have to demonstrate, the experience they have to hold, and the examination they have to pass. It is the supervision counterpart to AS/NZS 1554, which governs the welding itself.

What AS 2214 covers

AS 2214 is a personnel certification standard. It certifies the competence of a welding supervisor working in structural steel welding. It says nothing about the welds themselves and nothing about the company.

The standard deals with:

• the technical knowledge a welding supervisor must hold
• the practical welding and fabrication experience required before certification
• the examination used to test that knowledge
• the scope of the certification, and what it does and does not authorise the holder to supervise

It exists because structural welding is inspected after the fact but controlled at the time. A weld that was made wrong can sometimes be found by testing and sometimes cannot. Supervision is the control that operates while the weld is being made, which is why the standards treat it as a certified role rather than a job title.

What a welding supervisor is actually responsible for

The scope is wider than most people expect. A certified welding supervisor is expected to control the welding related aspects that determine whether welded production meets its technical, health, safety and environmental requirements. In practice that is:

That list is not invented by AS 2214. It is the set of welding coordination tasks defined internationally in ISO 14731, and it is the same list that AS/NZS ISO 3834 requires a fabricator to have somebody competent to perform. This is the reason supervisor certification keeps appearing in tender requirements that never mention AS 2214 by name: the company level standard demands a competent welding coordinator, and a supervisor certificate is how you prove you have one.

Who needs AS 2214 certification

• Leading hands and welding foremen in structural steel fabrication, where a specification or a client audit asks for certified supervision.
• Fabricators tendering for structural work under AS/NZS 1554, particularly where a construction category is named under AS/NZS 5131.
• Companies seeking AS/NZS ISO 3834, who need a nominated responsible welding coordinator with a defensible qualification.
• Experienced welders moving off the tools. Certification is the recognised step from making welds to being accountable for other people’s. The route from trade to supervisor.

How certification works

The sequence is the same shape as the welder route, but the examination is written rather than practical.

1. Hold the experience. Certification is designed for people already working in, or moving into, the manufacture or repair of high quality welded fabrication. It is not an entry level qualification, and it is not intended to be taken straight out of a trade course.
2. Complete the theory. Welding process technology, welding metallurgy, and weld testing and inspection. This body of knowledge is common to welding supervision under both AS 1796 and AS 2214 and to welding inspection, and it only has to be completed once. Doing it once and keeping the record is the single most useful thing anybody planning a supervision or inspection career can do early.
3. Sit the examination. Written, through an approved training provider. Where certification covers specific welding processes, a separate written examination is required for each process.
4. Submit for endorsement. AWI assesses the qualification, the evidence and the experience against the scheme rules. On endorsement, AWI issues the certificate and wallet card and enters the certificate on the register.
5. Renew. Renewal falls due every five years. The holder has to demonstrate maintenance of competence, either through evidence of continuous work activity in welding supervision or evidence of having kept up to date with welding technology. Renewal in detail.

The AWI welding supervisor scheme, step by step.

Processes examined

Where a supervisor certification is tied to welding processes, candidates can be examined on the processes they actually supervise. The processes normally covered, with their international process numbers:

AS 2214 or AS 1796 for a supervisor?

Both standards deal with welding supervisors and they are not alternatives so much as different scopes.

• AS 1796 is written around the certification of welders and welding supervisors for high quality welded applications, the world of boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping. Its supervisor certificate sits at the top of the same numbered scheme as the welding tickets.
• AS 2214 is specific to structural steel welding, and it is the one a structural specification names.

Which you need is decided by what you fabricate and by what your client’s specification says. Many working supervisors end up holding both, because a fabrication shop that does structural work this month and pressure work next month has to satisfy whichever standard turns up in the contract. AWI certifies welding supervisors against both, in one scheme, for that reason.

Related standards

• AS/NZS 1554, structural steel welding. The work AS 2214 supervisors supervise.
• AS 1796, certification of welders and welding supervisors.
• AS/NZS ISO 3834, quality requirements for fusion welding. Requires competent welding coordination at company level.
• AS/NZS 5131, structural steelwork fabrication and erection. Construction categories scale the supervision and coordination expected.
• ISO 14731, welding coordination tasks and responsibilities. The source of the task list above. Not yet in this library.

Questions people actually ask about AS 2214

Do I need to be a welder to become a certified welding supervisor?

You need the experience, and in practice that almost always means a welding or fabrication trade background. The certification is designed for people already working in the manufacture or repair of high quality welded fabrication. What matters at assessment is documented experience in welding and welding supervision, not the specific route you took to get it.

Is a welding supervisor the same as a welding inspector?

No. A supervisor controls the work while it is being done: personnel, procedures, consumables, sequencing, in process checks. An inspector decides after the fact whether what was made meets the acceptance criteria of the code. The theory knowledge overlaps heavily, which is why the common theory unit counts for both, but the accountability is different and so is the certificate.

How long does an AS 2214 certificate last?

Under the AWI scheme, renewal falls due every five years, and renewal requires evidence that the holder has maintained competence, either through continuous work in welding supervision or through evidence of keeping current with welding technology. A certificate that has lapsed does not verify, so renewal is worth diarising rather than discovering.

Does AS 2214 certification make my company compliant with ISO 3834?

It helps and it is not sufficient. AS/NZS ISO 3834 assesses the company: procedures, records, traceability, calibration, consumable control and the rest, and it requires a nominated welding coordinator whose competence matches the products being made. A certified supervisor is strong evidence for that one requirement. The remaining requirements still have to be met and audited.

Can one certified supervisor cover multiple sites?

That is a question for your client and your auditor rather than for the standard. The realistic test is whether the supervisor can actually perform the coordination tasks listed above for the work in front of them. A supervisor named on paper for four sites they never visit is a finding waiting to happen.

Getting a copy of the standard

AS 2214 is published by Standards Australia and is not free. This page explains what it requires and how certification against it works. Buy the standard or use a subscription if you need clause level detail.