Earning the AWS Certified Welding Inspector Credential

The Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) credential from the American Welding Society (AWS) is the best-known welding inspector credential in the United States. Many employers and project specifications ask for it. It takes documented experience, a vision test and three exams, and it takes real preparation. No course, book or online training can award it for you. Only AWS can, after you meet its requirements.

Requirements change. The details here come from the AWS CWI program page at the time of writing, and AWS's own page lists some items inconsistently, including older and newer code editions. Check the current AWS requirements and exam information before you apply or spend money.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Explain what a CWI is and what it does not cover.
• Work out whether your education and experience qualify.
• Describe the three exam parts and the order you take them in.
• Choose a code book, and build a study plan.
• Explain how the credential is renewed and how you recertify.

What the Credential Means

A CWI has shown AWS that they have the experience and knowledge to inspect welding. The program is governed by two AWS documents: QC1, the specification for AWS certification of welding inspectors, and B5.1, the specification for the qualification of welding inspectors.

It helps to be clear about what it is not:

• It is not a license to do anything you want. Your employer's quality system and the project's documents still set your duties.
• It does not qualify you for NDT. Ultrasonic, radiographic and similar methods need their own training and qualification.
• It does not make you an engineer. You compare work to the requirements. You do not design repairs or accept deviations.
• It does not replace code knowledge on a new job. Each project has its own code, edition and specification.

AWS also offers the Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI), which is a lower level, and the Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI), which is higher. Check AWS for what each of those requires.

Do You Qualify?

Two requirements come first: you must pass a vision test, and you must have the right mix of education and welding-based work experience. The less formal education you have, the more experience you need.

AWS asks for documentation, including employment verification forms and a visual acuity form. Start collecting this early. Old employers can be slow, some close down, and memories fade. Keep pay records, job descriptions and letters as you go.

Worked Example: Reading the Table

Case 1. A welder has a high school diploma and has worked as a structural welder for 4 years. The table says 5 years. They need one more year of qualifying experience, so now is a good time to get their records in order and start studying.

Case 2. A fitter has an associate's degree in welding technology and 3 years of work in a fabrication shop. The table says 2 years, so they appear to qualify, as long as AWS accepts the degree and the work.

Case 3. A shop hand has trade school courses and 4 years of experience, but spent most of it on general labor, not welding-related work. The years alone may not be enough, because the experience must be welding-based. Check the AWS definition, and ask AWS if you are unsure, before you pay any fee.

The Three Exam Parts

You need at least 72 percent on each part. A high score on one part cannot make up for a low score on another.

Order matters. AWS says Part B must be completed before Parts A and C. Parts A and C can then be taken in either order.

Retakes. AWS says that you must complete all three parts before you retake any part. So if you struggle on one part, you still sit the others first. Plan your time and your fees around that.

Part A: Fundamentals

Part A tests broad knowledge: destructive testing, fabrication math, safety, metallurgy, NDT, welding symbols, WPS and PQR documents, and welding fundamentals. People who come up through welding are often strong on processes and weak on metallurgy, math and NDT. Find your gaps early by using a practice test.

Part B: Practical

Part B is hands-on, given at AWS seminar locations, using equipment AWS provides. It covers applying a WPS and PQR, using inspection tools and methods, and evaluating welds. If you have only ever used a fillet gauge, you need practice with the full kit. Measuring takes time when you are new to a tool, and every wrong reading costs you.

Part C: Code Book

Part C is an open-book test on a code you choose. Open book does not mean easy. You have to find the answer quickly and read it correctly, including the notes under the tables.

Choosing Your Code Book

AWS lists the code books you may use, and the exact edition for each one. The list includes these:

Choose the code you work with or plan to work with. If you are in structural steel, D1.1 is the common choice. The exam uses the edition AWS lists, and that may differ from the one on your current job, so buy or borrow the right edition. A wrong edition can cost you points, because table numbers and values change.

Building a Study Plan

Most working people need months, not weeks. Here is one way to spread it out over 16 weeks. Adjust it to your own gaps.

Good habits while you study:

• Practice with real tools. Measure real welds or replicas until reading a gauge is automatic.
• Read the code from the front. Learn how it is organized, not only the tables you know.
• Time yourself. AWS sets the time limits, so check them, and practice under the same pressure.
• Do the math by hand. Fabrication math is a fair target, and it is easy to lose points on it.
• Study what you do not do at work. A pipe welder will need to study structural inspection, and a structural welder will need to learn NDT basics.
• Consider a seminar. AWS and others offer prep seminars. They help some people, but they are not required for everyone, and they cannot replace practice.

Keeping the Credential

Passing is not the end of it. AWS says the CWI certification is valid for nine years, with renewal applications due at years three and six. At renewal, you confirm that you have not had a break in practice of more than two years within the prior three years.

At the end of the nine years, you recertify. AWS lists these options:

• 80 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) of continuing education.
• Passing the CWI Part B exam.
• Becoming a Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI).
• Passing an endorsement exam in a different code book, within the time window AWS sets.

Keep a file of your training, seminars and work from day one. Rebuilding nine years of records at the end is painful.

After You Pass

Your first job as a new CWI is to stay inside your limits.

• Learn your employer's quality system. Your stamp means nothing without it.
• Read the project's code and specification. Do not assume the exam edition applies.
• Work with a senior inspector if you can. Judgment takes longer than passing a test.
• Protect your stamp. Never let anyone else use it, and never sign what you did not verify.
• Keep learning. Code editions change, and so do processes and NDT.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming your years count. The experience has to be welding-based and documented.
• Waiting until the last minute for paperwork. Forms and verifications take time.
• Treating Part C as easy because it is open book. You still need speed and accuracy.
• Bringing the wrong edition. Use the one AWS lists for the exam.
• Practicing only what you know. The exam covers more than your job.
• Letting renewal dates pass. Keep them on your calendar.

Check Your Understanding

Two of the shops on your work history have closed down. What should you do long before you apply?

Start gathering pay records, job descriptions and letters now, because AWS asks for employment verification. Ask AWS how to document work at an employer that no longer exists.

You scored 80 percent on Part A and 65 percent on Part C. Did you pass?

No. You need at least 72 percent on each part, so a strong score on one does not cover the other.

A coworker says the CWI lets him run ultrasonic testing. Is that right?

No. The CWI does not qualify anyone for UT. NDT methods have their own training and qualification.

You passed three years ago, and your employer asks about your status. What do you need to have done?

A renewal application is due at year three, and you confirm that you have not had a break in practice of more than two years within the prior three years. Check the current AWS rules for your dates.

Key Takeaways

• Only AWS awards the CWI, and it takes experience, a vision test and three exams.
• Required experience depends on education, from 1 year up to 12 years.
• You need 72 percent on each of Part A, Part B and Part C.
• Part B comes before Parts A and C, and all three must be done before any retake.
• Choose a code book that suits your work, and use the edition AWS lists.
• The certification runs nine years, with renewals at years three and six.