Certified Welding Supervisor program is designed for the supervisors working in the various companies. The supervisor is a person with high-ended productivity skills and can improve the overall profile of the company. He/she directs welding activities and welding personnel. But all the working supervisors do not have such skills, especially non-certified ones. Certified Welding Supervisor program of AWS imparts applicants with many industry-oriented supervising and productivity skills. In this article, read all about the certification procedure of a welding supervisor.
Post Highlights:
- What is the Certified Welding Supervisor Program?
- AWS CWS Program Requirements
- How to Apply for the CWS Program?
- Prices of AWS CWS Program
- AWS Certified Welding Supervisor Exam
- Provision for AWS CWS Seminar
- AWS CWS Certification Renewal
- AWS CWS Recertification
- CWS Certification Benefits
Certified Welding Supervisor Program
The American Welding Society provides many professional certifications to non-certified welding professionals. Certified Welding Supervisor Program is one of them. The main purpose of the CWS program is to impart knowledge and train in various productivity skills to candidates. Besides this, the program teaches them how to lead the team successfully. Welding supervisors have only one level of certification.
Technical Documents
QC13 – Specification for the Certification of Welding Supervisors
B5.9 – Specification for the Qualification of Welding Supervisors
Requirements for AWS CWS Program
Applicants require a combination of both education and work experience for qualifying the program.
1. Applicant should be either a high school graduate or possesses its equivalent military/ state-approved high school diploma.
2. They should have a practical welding experience of three years in construction, fabrication, and welding-related industry.
Work Experience Consists of the Following Areas-
- Arc Stud Welding
- Brazing
- Flux Cored Arc Welding
- Gas Metal Arc Welding
- Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
- Mechanical Cutting
- Oxyfuel Gas Welding
- Shielded Metal Arc Welding
- Submerged Arc Welding
- Thermal Cutting
Note: Candidates with three years of relevant teaching experience maybe consider to qualify in the following conditions.
- If they are teaching full-time in colleges, universities, technical or trade schools
- If holding a position of the teaching welding skills and application of theory in the manufacturing industry.
How to Apply for the CWS Program?
Applicants can apply for the AWS CWS program by visiting the official website of the American Welding Society (www.aws.org) and follow the instructions given there.
Note: Applicants sending application forms through the email or paper will be charged an additional $125.
AWS Certified Welding Supervisor Program Prices
The prices for the AWS Certified Welding Supervisor program are as follows.
| Products | AWS Members | Non-members |
| Prometric Exams | $570 | $658 |
| Prometric Retest (Per Part) | $370 | $370 |
| Renewal | $345 | $433 |
| Prometric 9 yr Recertification Exam (A & B) | $530 | $618 |
| 9-yr Recertification PDH | $375 | $463 |
| Supervisor Seminar and 1 Part Retest | $1,683 | $1,771 |
| Supervisor Seminar and 2 Part Retest | $1,883 | $1,971 |
| Supervisor Seminar Only | $1,313 | $1,401 |
| Supervisor Value Pak | $1,784 | $1,872 |
| Total | $8,853 | $ 9,557 |
Note: The program prices are as subjected to change without prior notice.
AWS Certified Welding Supervisor Exam
The syllabus and exam pattern of AWS CWS are as follows.
I. AWS CWS Exam Syllabus
1. Personnel Management
- Supervision
- Codes/Quality Management (QM) Requirements
- Qualification of Personnel
- Safety
2. Welding Preparation and Fabrication
- Planning
- Control
- Equipment/Consumables
3. Quality Management and Quality Control Requirements
- Personnel
- Procedure
- Procedure Testing
- Materials/Prefabrication
- Welding Inspection
- Documentation
II. AWS CWS Exam pattern
The exam will be held in an open-book format. There will be 150 multiple-choice questions. The welding practices and economics will comprise 30 multiple-choice questions. There will two hours duration for each exam.
The weightage of the subjects will be as follows.
| Subjects | Weightage (%) |
| Familiarity with Welding, Brazing, Cutting Equipment, Theory and Application | 5% |
| Knowledge of Base Material and Welding Materials | 5% |
| Knowledge of Safety Requirements | 10% |
| Knowledge of Welding Practices and Production Controls | 10% |
| Knowledge of Welding Supervision | 5% |
| Productivity and Performance | 30% |
| Understanding of Drawings and Specifications | 10% |
| Understanding the General Applications of Welding Standards | 5% |
| Welding Inspection | 5% |
| Welding Instructions | 10% |
| Work Reports and Records | 5% |
Imp: Applicants must score at least 70% as correct marks for passing the certification exam.
Provision for AWS CWS Seminar
Aspiring applicants can join AWS seminars for preparing the CWS certification exam. The following are topics to be taught in the seminars.
| Course No. | Subjects |
| Course 1 | Welding Fundamentals |
| Course 2 | Safety in Welding |
| Course 3 | Fabrication Math I |
| Course 4 | Fabrication Math II |
| Course 5 | Understanding Welding Symbols |
| Course 6 | Economics of Welding |
| Course 7 | Science of Non-Destructive Testing |
Note: The AWS Seminar program is paid and candidates need to register for it on the AWS website.
Renewal of AWS CWS Certification
The validity of the AWS CWS certification will three years.
AWS Certified Welding Supervisor Recertification
Certificate holders require rectification to maintain the credentials. They should do it after two consecutive renewals or a total of nine years of continuous certification.
Benefits of CWS Certification
Welding certification is always beneficial for the holder in many ways. They are as follows.
- Certification can fetch higher pay scale jobs and impart better job security.
- It enhances professional prestige and proves your knowledge and skills among elites in the welding industry.
- AWS CWS certification seminars teach applicants managing and supervising skills that lead to higher productivity.
Thus, the information on the AWS CWS certification procedure is beneficial for the non-certified applicants and other professionals in the welding industry.
Related: Other Welding Certifications
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