Also called CSA W47.1, welding procedure specification, WPS
What is Canadian Welding Bureau certification?
The certification a Canadian company must hold to weld structural steel, covering the company, its procedures and its welders.
What else it is called
- Other names
- CSA W47.1, welding procedure specification, WPS
- In French
- certification du Bureau canadien de soudage
Related entries
Understanding canadian Welding Bureau certification
Certification administered by the Canadian Welding Bureau against CSA standards, chiefly W47.1 for structural steel, with companion standards for aluminum and other work. Building codes and project specifications across Canada reference it, which makes it a condition of bidding rather than a mark of distinction.
Three things get certified together: the company, which must employ a qualified welding supervisor; the welding procedures, which are qualified for specific materials, positions and processes; and the individual welders, who are tested and must maintain their tickets. Division 1 companies hold full engineering capability in-house, Division 2 work under an engineer’s oversight arrangement, and Division 3 is more limited again.
This is one of the clearest examples of a Canadian requirement a general search answers wrongly. American certification under the American Welding Society is a different system with different rules, and a shop arriving from the United States frequently discovers it cannot bid Canadian structural work until it has gone through this.
In practice
Check the division you hold against what your target projects specify before quoting. Discovering mid-bid that the specification requires a division above yours costs the job.
Frequently asked
Does an American Welding Society qualification work in Canada?
Not as a substitute on work that specifies the Canadian standard. They are separate systems. A shop operating on both sides of the border generally has to hold both.
What is a welding procedure specification?
The document stating exactly how a given joint is to be welded: material, thickness, process, filler, position, preheat and parameters. It is qualified and accepted by the Bureau, and welding outside it is welding outside your certification.