What is A Certified Welder
The term “Certified Welder” is one that is misunderstood in many levels of our industry. Companies, Educators, Welders and the general public have different ideas of the term. I will list a few “Bullet Points” about the term.
The Term Certified just means somebody signed something certifying something happened and/or some requirement was met.
If something has been signed for, it is a certified record. A welder who has taken a test that meets a specific requirement, and someone signed a record certifying requirements were met. THAT PERSON IS CERTIFIED.
The term Certified Welder does not show up in most codes.
Codes and Standards used for much of the welding here in the US do not use the term “Certified Welder” in the body of their text. They may have references to “certification” in the context of records.
A welder who has passed a specific test in accordance with an industry code or standard may not have the skills needed for production welding.
A simple set of test plates welded in a booth are about the best it gets for many welders. Just because a welder has passed a test, he or she may not have the skills needed to do everything a company needs BUT they may meet the requirements for welding for that document. Companies need to manage and supervise welders regardless of the record of welder qualifications a person has.
The default for who is supposed to test and certify welders is the COMPANY that employs the welder and not an outside party.
Many organizations think that a party outside of their organization are required to test and certify thier welders. In reality, many codes only allow an outside party as “an exception” and some may specifically prohibit outside parties supervising the testing and certifying that it was done properly.