Are You Tracking Welder Qualifications Between Code Jobs?

Have you checked whether your welders are still current for the code work you expect them to handle?

Welder qualifications can expire quietly when code work isn’t coming through the shop on a regular basis. Your welder may still be working every day, but if they haven’t used the qualifying process within the required period, or you can’t document that use, you may have a problem when the next code job arrives.

For shops working under AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, or other code requirements, welder qualification continuity needs regular attention. That said, knowing what each welder is qualified for, when they last used the process, and whether the records support it can save you from last-minute testing, production reshuffling, and another manpower issue you didn’t need.

Why Welder Qualifications Expire

This is where shops can get caught. AWS makes continuity part of maintaining its Certified Welder credential. The program requires documentation every six months showing that the welder has continued using the process for which they were certified. ASME Section IX also contains continuity requirements tied to process use. Always check the current code and project requirements before relying on an older qualification record.

The exact requirements depend on the code, qualification, employer records, and work involved, so a certification card alone doesn’t tell you everything you need to know.

Continuity can get missed when normal production changes where and how welders are working:

• The work mix changes. Structural work slows down and the welder spends several months on production that uses another process.

• The welder changes assignments. Someone who regularly ran FCAW moves onto MIG production, fitting, or another part of the operation.

• The work happened, but nobody documented it. A welder may have used the qualifying process during the continuity period, yet the shop has no clean record to support it later.

• Qualification records sit apart from production records. Quality knows what the welder originally passed. Production knows what the person has been doing. Nobody connects the two until a project requires the information.

• Responsibility is spread across too many people. The supervisor assumes quality is watching it, quality assumes production is recording it, and the records sit untouched.

That last one causes a lot of headaches because qualification tracking rarely feels urgent during a busy week. Production takes priority, people get moved where the work is, and everyone assumes there will be time to clean up the paperwork later.

Then a code job comes in and you need to know exactly who can weld it.

At that point, “He passed that test last year” doesn’t answer enough. You need to know what process he qualified on, what the qualification covered, whether continuity has been maintained, and whether your records can prove it.

AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025 is the current Structural Welding Code for Steel and includes requirements covering welder qualification along with fabrication, inspection, and acceptance. Shops working under D1.1 still need to line up the qualification with the actual work rather than treating “D1.1 certified” as a catch-all description.

You should be able to see each welder’s current qualification and continuity status without digging through old files or tracking down three different people.

When a Qualification Problem Reaches Production

A continuity issue becomes much harder to deal with once production already needs the welder.

If you can’t establish that someone remains qualified for the process, you may need to renew or requalify that person before assigning them to the work. That adds testing, documentation, inspection requirements, and scheduling to a job that already has labor allocated.

Once it reaches production, other parts of the operation have to adjust.

1. Someone else has to cover the work

The simplest answer may be moving another currently qualified welder onto the job. That can solve today’s problem while creating another one elsewhere.

Now a different job has fewer hands, overtime may increase, or a lead person gets pulled back into production because the shop needs someone qualified immediately.

2. Testing gets added to an active schedule

Requalification takes coordination. Depending on the code and work, you may need test coupons, materials, equipment time, inspection, documentation, and someone authorized to handle the qualification process.

None of that is especially unusual for a fabrication shop. Although it becomes a headache when you are doing it under schedule pressure because the qualification status wasn’t checked earlier.

3. Several welders can be affected at the same time

This is easy to miss when code work comes in waves.

If three or four welders moved away from a particular process after the last structural or pressure job, their continuity dates may be sitting in roughly the same window. One upcoming project can expose several qualification issues at once.

That leaves production dealing with a manpower problem that could have been spotted months earlier.

4. Recruiting becomes more specific than “we need a welder”

Your hiring manager may ask for someone with AWS D1.1 or ASME experience, but the recruiter still needs to know what the shop actually requires.

A technical screen should cover details such as:

• Which welding process has the person used?

• What code did they work under?

• What positions and materials were covered?

• How recently did they perform that work?

• Does the previous employer have continuity records?

• What qualification testing will your shop require after hire?

Why? Someone may have years of structural welding experience but recent work in a different process. Another welder may have relevant code experience with documentation that is current and easy to verify. Both can look similar on a résumé until the conversation gets technical.

That puts even more pressure on shops that already have experienced welders on staff. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects roughly 40,300 openings for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers each year through 2035, with many coming from retirements and workers leaving the occupation.

If you already have experienced code welders on your payroll, keeping their qualifications usable protects capacity you may struggle to replace quickly.

How to Keep Welder Qualification Continuity Connected to the Work

Qualification tracking gets harder when the records are split between quality, production, and whoever happens to be keeping tabs on continuity at the time. Depending on how the shop is set up, that responsibility may sit with the CWI, quality manager, welding supervisor, or production manager, but someone needs to have a clear view of who is current, what they’re qualified for, and where the supporting records live.

Keep the record close to the work

Qualification records need to reflect what welders are actually doing on the floor. If someone moves from FCAW structural work into MIG production for several months, that change should show up in the continuity record too.

At a minimum, you should be able to see:

• welder name;

• process and code;

• qualification range;

• last documented use;

• supporting records;

• next review date

That keeps quality and production working from the same information.

Review continuity before it becomes urgent

If you’re working with a six-month continuity requirement, checking around month five gives you time to confirm the records and deal with anything missing.

That matters when code work is already on the schedule. You want to know who is current before production is counting on them.

Match upcoming work to current qualifications

When a code job is coming, line up the work with the people available for it:

• process;

• position;

• material;

• headcount;

• continuity status;

• and any testing still required.

That also gives recruiting a much tighter search.

“We need two welders” is too broad.

“We need two welders with recent FCAW structural experience under D1.1 who can pass our qualification test” gives everyone a much clearer target.

Bring the same detail into hiring

Broad labels like “AWS certified” or “code welder” only tell you so much. Recent process, position, material, and continuity give you a better read on whether the person actually fits the job.

The same applies internally. If you can quickly see who is current and what each welder is qualified for, you know what manpower you actually have before the next code job reaches the floor.

Looking at the bigger picture, welder qualification tracking is easy to put off until code work is back on the schedule. Keeping continuity tied to the work gives production time to handle testing, documentation, and staffing before a customer job depends on it. When experienced welders are already hard to replace, staying ahead of qualification status helps you protect the people and capacity you already have.

How confident are you that the welder you’re hiring is current for the work you need done?

Cannonball Recruiting works closely with steel and fabrication shops where knowing the difference between processes, codes, and qualifications makes a real difference in who gets introduced. We take the time to understand the work, the shop, and the people you actually need.

Talk to us when you want another set of experienced eyes on your next welding search.