How to Differentiate a Certified Welder from a Coded Welder

14 January 2020

The terms certified and coded welders are often largely interchanged in the engineering industry. Although their definitions couldn’t be any more different, not many people are aware of those differences. Below are the ways on how to differentiate a certified welder from a coded welder.

Certified Welder

More often than not, you can identify a certified welder by their qualifications.  A certified welder holds certification documents. The diploma demonstrates theoretical aptitude and practical mastery. The certifications are independently awarded by authoritative bodies, whose primary goal is to create a test program that verifies practical and theoretical welding competence. Again, certified welders, including those who hold an AS 1796 certificate, are proficiency-validated operatives.

Welding certifications are deemed as necessary. They demonstrate skill and ability. The greater the skill level, the more advanced the certification becomes. Still, even with a heavily stamped diploma tucked away, employers want more than a few sheets of paper. They’re looking for results that can be touched and examined. Think of welding codes as slices of portable reality. The test samples are carried and validated. Alternatively, they’re produced as on-the-spot, on-demand trial pieces, which function as previews of what’s to come. Essentially, certified welders can establish their credentials.

Coded Welder

For code welders it’s different; they create physical proof of the desired skill level. That’s something of an advantage, one that employers tend to prefer. Now, a coded welder can hold a handful of certifications. Such aptitude crossover is entirely possible. Going a step further, though, coded fabricators are tested by their employers to see whether they can consistently carry out a specific type of welding. And it’s not a certificate that comes down the line after the skill has been demonstrated; it’s a job or a well-deserved promotion.

That’s what it’s all about, the life of a coded welder. Conversely, coded samples are produced on-the-spot. The metal plates and tubes are physical creations, which can be examined by a test examiner. Imagine a fillet weld applied to a thick plate, a TIG or MIG sample that tidily shows off a great deal of experience, or a hard-as-nails sample that proves a talent for working at some impossible angle. Just like that, there’s no need to imagine the parts or consult a document, not when the samples are physically real. By the way, one of those test pieces is easily real enough to be dropped on a test examiner’s desk, where it’ll gouge out a mark. Coded welders, on the other hand, demonstrate mastery over specific welding methods.

Know more about certified and coded welders from Sureweld Engineering. We cover all aspects of welding and fabrication in mild steel, aluminium, stainless steel, truck and heavy machinery repairs, maintenance and refinishing, onsite welding service and certified coded welding.