Nine-Year Recertification
Program Information
|
As an AWS Certified Welding Inspector or Senior Certified Welding Inspector, you must renew your certification every three years. Every nine years, you must recertify, either by examination, obtaining approved endorsements, by recertification course, or by demonstrating 80 hours of continuing education, along with other requirements. Neglecting to recertify prior to your expiration will result in the loss of your certification status and will require you to retest on all parts of the original exam to regain your certification.
ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION
The standard application processing time is 6 weeks. You will be notified no later than 6 weeks AFTER your application has been submitted.
9-Year Recertification Options
If you
purchase an AWS Exam and Seminar Package that includes the cost of the
seminar and certification exam, you are not automatically registered to
take the test. We must receive your completed application and review
your qualifications to make sure you are eligible to take the exam.
Payments or purchase orders should accompany applications. Consult the
schedules for CWI examinations and 9-year recertification courses for
suitable dates and for the application submission deadlines if opting
for Options 1, 3, 4 or 5.
OPTION
1: 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION (PART B EXAM)
If this option is chosen, you are required to take the two-hour Part B Practical Examination. Each candidate is required to review a "Book of Specifications" developed solely for use on this portion of the exam. A copy of this book will be mailed to you as a study guide, after exam registration is complete. Feel free to make any notations in this copy when reviewing it, because you will receive another copy of this same book for your use during the exam. You cannot bring the copy you used for review to the examination.
IMPORTANT: Your career may have given you more responsibility in management functions than in "hands-on" inspection. The Part B Practical Examination will evaluate you in the practical aspects of weld inspection and validate that your skills are current. It is to your advantage to be familiar with fillet and butt weld gauges, micrometers and dial calipers. You should review a variety of weldments that show various levels of porosity, undercut, as well as interpretation of bend samples, groove welds, tee joints and the ability to calculate tensile strengths. The exam will cover the following subject areas:
• Weld Procedures
• Mechanical Properties
• Weld Qualifications
• Weld Inspection
• Mechanical Test
• Weld Discontinuities
• Non-Destructive Examination
The plastic sample welds you will inspect are examples found in the field that may or may not meet specification. Your responsibility is to determine if the samples meet the acceptance criteria in the "Book of Specifications."
AWS offers a preparatory one-day Visual Inspection Workshop. This workshop will help you prepare for the Part B exam. It is held the day before the exam at most exam sites.
SCWIs must recertify by passing a two-part SCWI exam rather than the CWI Part B, in accordance with B5.1, Section 7.2.
OPTION 2: 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION (EXEMPT BY CONTINUING EDUCATION)
This option is for those inspectors who have kept themselves up to date in the field of inspection by attending classes and seminars related to the field of welding inspection or the teaching of those subjects. A minimum of 80 contact hours (PDHs) earned during the nine-year certification period, including 20 earned in the final three-year period, is required. A PDH is no less than 50 minutes of personal interaction between a learner and instructor. Contact implies two-way communication in order for the learner to receive feedback.
Following the Education and Experience Requirements of AWS QC1, Section 5, the course content must be in one or more of the defined subject areas. A maximum of 80 PDHs are allowed for any one course, and no course may be repeated for credit within any nine-year period. Certificates of completion, diplomas, or transcripts must be submitted with your application. Trainers who want to substitute teaching hours for student hours shall submit documentation of the hours of training performed and course curriculum.
Beyond the subject areas listed in the QC1, seminars and courses offered by training organizations and in-house programs may be accepted if they meet the requirements stated in Section 16 in QC1. AWS nationally sponsored courses and seminars are acceptable towards educational requirements when promotional literature and Certificates of Completion indicate PDH hours granted for CWI 9-year recertification.
You can also earn PDHs by passing the AWS Structural Bolting Inspection exam (20 PDHs) and/or Drawing Reading exam (40 PDHs), and you will receive a certificate and endorsement card listing these credentials.
OPTION 3: 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION COURSE (NO EXAM)
If your busy work schedule has not allowed you to accumulate enough PDHs, the AWS 9-Year Recertification Course is a great option for you. It is an intensive six-day course that provides a "back-to-basics" refresher. The six-day course begins with an information skills assessment, which identifies the fundamental knowledge to be covered in the course. The course combines pre-course study with daytime and evening sessions, directed studies, homework, and other activities. In addition, an interactive forum is an integral part of each day. The interactive nature of the exercise requires participants to be prepared to discuss one or more real-world problems encountered on the job. These presentations by your peers provide an opportunity for the group to discuss inspection problems encountered on a day-to-day basis.
The AWS 9-Year Recertification Course includes:
OPTION 4: CWI 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION (BY SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION EXAM [ENDORSEMENT])
A new option for 9-year recertification is to take a supplemental inspection exam (endorsement) offered by AWS on a number of codebooks and NDT areas. Such an exam may be taken any time during the nine-year certification or near the end of the nine-year certification.
A CWI or SCWI can take a Supplemental Inspection Exam (SIE) anytime during the nine-year cycle. Qualifying for and passing one of these exams meets the requirements for recertification. Endorsements are listed your endorsement card. Endorsements to codebooks require passing a two-hour Part C Open-Book Code Application exam on one of the following codes:
The five-day CRI seminar is designed to ensure that you have the knowledge to properly assess indications produced on radiographic media. It will prepare you for the CRI Certification exam, which is given at the end of each seminar week. This is a valuable certification that fulfills your nine-year requirement.
OPTION 5: CWI 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATIONS SEEKING SENIOR CERTIFICATION WELDING INSPECTOR (SCWI) STATUS
CWIs who are in their ninth year of the certification cycle, who wish to pursue, and who qualify for SCWI status, will need to complete a 9-Year Recertification Application along with an SCWI Exam Application. The CWI status can be recertified by using one of the previously noted options. If opting for Option 1 (Part B Exam), the Part B, Practical Exam may be scheduled at the same site as the SCWI examination. If qualified for recertification via the continuing education route, the supporting documents along with the completed 9-Year Recertification Application (EXEMPT) must be submitted at the same time as the SCWI Exam Application.
If this option is chosen, you are required to take the two-hour Part B Practical Examination. Each candidate is required to review a "Book of Specifications" developed solely for use on this portion of the exam. A copy of this book will be mailed to you as a study guide, after exam registration is complete. Feel free to make any notations in this copy when reviewing it, because you will receive another copy of this same book for your use during the exam. You cannot bring the copy you used for review to the examination.
IMPORTANT: Your career may have given you more responsibility in management functions than in "hands-on" inspection. The Part B Practical Examination will evaluate you in the practical aspects of weld inspection and validate that your skills are current. It is to your advantage to be familiar with fillet and butt weld gauges, micrometers and dial calipers. You should review a variety of weldments that show various levels of porosity, undercut, as well as interpretation of bend samples, groove welds, tee joints and the ability to calculate tensile strengths. The exam will cover the following subject areas:
• Weld Procedures
• Mechanical Properties
• Weld Qualifications
• Weld Inspection
• Mechanical Test
• Weld Discontinuities
• Non-Destructive Examination
The plastic sample welds you will inspect are examples found in the field that may or may not meet specification. Your responsibility is to determine if the samples meet the acceptance criteria in the "Book of Specifications."
AWS offers a preparatory one-day Visual Inspection Workshop. This workshop will help you prepare for the Part B exam. It is held the day before the exam at most exam sites.
SCWIs must recertify by passing a two-part SCWI exam rather than the CWI Part B, in accordance with B5.1, Section 7.2.
OPTION 2: 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION (EXEMPT BY CONTINUING EDUCATION)
This option is for those inspectors who have kept themselves up to date in the field of inspection by attending classes and seminars related to the field of welding inspection or the teaching of those subjects. A minimum of 80 contact hours (PDHs) earned during the nine-year certification period, including 20 earned in the final three-year period, is required. A PDH is no less than 50 minutes of personal interaction between a learner and instructor. Contact implies two-way communication in order for the learner to receive feedback.
Following the Education and Experience Requirements of AWS QC1, Section 5, the course content must be in one or more of the defined subject areas. A maximum of 80 PDHs are allowed for any one course, and no course may be repeated for credit within any nine-year period. Certificates of completion, diplomas, or transcripts must be submitted with your application. Trainers who want to substitute teaching hours for student hours shall submit documentation of the hours of training performed and course curriculum.
Beyond the subject areas listed in the QC1, seminars and courses offered by training organizations and in-house programs may be accepted if they meet the requirements stated in Section 16 in QC1. AWS nationally sponsored courses and seminars are acceptable towards educational requirements when promotional literature and Certificates of Completion indicate PDH hours granted for CWI 9-year recertification.
You can also earn PDHs by passing the AWS Structural Bolting Inspection exam (20 PDHs) and/or Drawing Reading exam (40 PDHs), and you will receive a certificate and endorsement card listing these credentials.
OPTION 3: 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION COURSE (NO EXAM)
If your busy work schedule has not allowed you to accumulate enough PDHs, the AWS 9-Year Recertification Course is a great option for you. It is an intensive six-day course that provides a "back-to-basics" refresher. The six-day course begins with an information skills assessment, which identifies the fundamental knowledge to be covered in the course. The course combines pre-course study with daytime and evening sessions, directed studies, homework, and other activities. In addition, an interactive forum is an integral part of each day. The interactive nature of the exercise requires participants to be prepared to discuss one or more real-world problems encountered on the job. These presentations by your peers provide an opportunity for the group to discuss inspection problems encountered on a day-to-day basis.
The AWS 9-Year Recertification Course includes:
- A pre-seminar reading assignment for you to complete prior to the course, which counts toward the 80-hour requirement.
- An informal skills assessment to guide your instructor in tailoring the course material to meet your needs.
- An interactive format that allows you to share with and learn from your peers, gaining synergy from the entire group's collective experience.
- The opportunity to discuss technical and administrative problems you've encountered while on the job with other experienced welding inspectors, and to benefit from their perspectives.
- A field trip to a local plant or testing laboratory for an insightful behind-the-scenes tour.
OPTION 4: CWI 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATION (BY SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION EXAM [ENDORSEMENT])
A new option for 9-year recertification is to take a supplemental inspection exam (endorsement) offered by AWS on a number of codebooks and NDT areas. Such an exam may be taken any time during the nine-year certification or near the end of the nine-year certification.
A CWI or SCWI can take a Supplemental Inspection Exam (SIE) anytime during the nine-year cycle. Qualifying for and passing one of these exams meets the requirements for recertification. Endorsements are listed your endorsement card. Endorsements to codebooks require passing a two-hour Part C Open-Book Code Application exam on one of the following codes:
- AWS D1.1
- AWS D1.2
- AWS D1.5
- AWS D15.1
- API 1104
- ASME Section IX, B31.1 and B31.3
- ASME Section VIII, Div. 1 and Section IX
The five-day CRI seminar is designed to ensure that you have the knowledge to properly assess indications produced on radiographic media. It will prepare you for the CRI Certification exam, which is given at the end of each seminar week. This is a valuable certification that fulfills your nine-year requirement.
OPTION 5: CWI 9-YEAR RECERTIFICATIONS SEEKING SENIOR CERTIFICATION WELDING INSPECTOR (SCWI) STATUS
CWIs who are in their ninth year of the certification cycle, who wish to pursue, and who qualify for SCWI status, will need to complete a 9-Year Recertification Application along with an SCWI Exam Application. The CWI status can be recertified by using one of the previously noted options. If opting for Option 1 (Part B Exam), the Part B, Practical Exam may be scheduled at the same site as the SCWI examination. If qualified for recertification via the continuing education route, the supporting documents along with the completed 9-Year Recertification Application (EXEMPT) must be submitted at the same time as the SCWI Exam Application.
Technical Documents
Section Meeting Attendance Form
Part B Examination Book of Specification
QC1: 2007, Specifications to the AWS Certification of Welding Inspectors
B5.1:2003, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors