Study the material you already have and then sign up for the AWS CWI seminar near you. I also suggest you take the examination a week or a month later at a different site to allow you time to digest all that you learn in the seminar ad study the material more thoroughly.

The CWI is a major investment in terms of time and money, but it is a life changing experience for most people. Don’t short change yourself or your future.

Good luck.

Best regards - Al

Thanks Al! When you talk about the seminar, are you talking about the week long course or something different? Are you at all familiar with the earlier copies of the CM for welding inspectors? I've read this is a must read for anyone looking to take the exam. Just not sure if the old version is sufficient or maybe just outdated.

I am talking about the AWS sponsored seminar. There are other organizations that offer training course similar to the AWS seminar. I know from past experience some of the AWS courses get over populated, thus individuals may not get the personalized help they would like. That being said, most people don't realize they are in trouble until the last day or two and by then it is too late to recover.

I like the AWS seminar, but success hinges on the attendee coming prepared. They should read as much as possible ahead of the class. You mentioned you are reading older materials. There is nothing wrong with that, just recognize that the technology and terminology changes over time. It your books are too old their use is of limited value, but I’m not saying they are of no value.

The presumption of the AWS seminar is that the attendee has been working in the industry for several years. AWS is very generous with what they consider to be qualifying experience. If the attendee does not have the appropriate back ground it does not mean they have little opportunity to pass the examinations. Hat it does mean is they are going to have to study harder than someone that has a well-rounded back ground in welding and testing.

Few people have a back ground in welding that includes experience in design, welding, inspection, and nondestructive testing. However, the study materials provided at the AWS seminar includes all the materials necessary to reinforce your weaknesses. Study is the key to can passing the examination. The key to success is to study as much as possible before the seminar so you are not overwhelmed by new information. Once you are in attendance, study all the materials, do all the home work as it is assigned and don’t fall behind.

Here’s a practices that typical spell disaster for many people attending the AWS seminar:
Spend time at the local watering hole,
Bring your wife or best pal to the seminar,
Watch TV while studying,
Study in groups or with coworkers for the first few evenings,
Put off studying until “later,” after all, you have four or five days to catch up (no you don’t!).
Drive to class every day to save a few dollars on hotel room and meals. (You need all the study time you can muster. An extra hour a day driving is six hours of study time lost.),
Down a couple of brews after class just to loosen up a little. (Would you believe I have never had a welder pass a qualification test after drinking one or two beers! I used to take welders out to lunch when they tested at my laboratory until I recognized the correlation between the one or two beers for lunch and the failure rate. The same holds true when preparing for an examination, you need a clear head to study.),
Attend class with the attitude that you already know the subject matter,
Don’t participate in class discussions (you wouldn’t want to look silly would you?), or
Work on homework assignments during the class (Really? Do you really think you have the subject matter mastered to the point where you can't learn something by listening to the discussions?),

I hate to make generalizations, but here goes anyway. The two groups of people that seem to have the poorest pass rate on the CWI examinations seem to be engineers and welding instructors. I have my suppositions as to why, but I’ll keep my opinion on that subject to myself.

Best regards - Al

Hello everybody:

Well done gtaw, more clear? no way. In addition, I want to suggest to larry329 that when the time comes, go to this link http://www.bpvinspector.com/, and exploits that information as much as he can, particularly in my humble opinion, the "ASME Interpretations" and "Training Materials".

By the way, the link aforementioned was posted in other forum of Eng-Tips by SectionIX.

El que no puede andar, se sienta.

Thanks again Al, I really do.appreciate any advise I.can get. I'm sorry you had to write a book in the process.LOL It is really great that there are people like yourself that are willing to take the time to help to the betterment of the less fortunate like myself. I like the advise of taking the seminar and allowing time to.study some more and just trying to absorb it all in before taking the exam. The thought of taking the course and then the test right after kind of scared the hell out of me. And like you said, prepration before the storm, will cause a lot less damage.

Thanks also 20121956, I will check it out.

Another thing I.was curious about, is anyone was familiar with son set consultants? I had considered their online course, mainly because I'm in a temporary job where I could take the course while I work. Just didn't know.if it would be worth 500$ or if money be better spend once I got laid off to take a live seminar.

Thanks again guys
Larry

Larry, a search will show that training provided by Son Set Consultants has been discussed. http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=291262
I referred a colleague to their site (http://weld-procedure.com/home.html) based on what I read in the thread. He had already passed the open book code CWI seminar but not the Fundamentals - so he signed up for the Fundamentals. While it did not cover all questions in his exam, he found it helpful for about 80 percent of the questions. Many of the questions are very similar to those in the AWS WIT-W and CM.

thanks henri2, I had actually read that post and glad to know that it has been tried. I researched it quite a bit, but didn't find any reviews, except on their website and mostly from 9 year re-certification people. Sometimes you have to question testimonials on someone's own website.

So you mention the WIT-W, is that the work book? Do you also have to purchase a hard back to go along with this? I have the Certification Manual ordered, at least the early model. Just trying to get the best use of my time. I am getting paid to study, might as well make good use of it.

Thanks again
Larry

Hey can anyone decipher appendix xvi sec 3.1.1 of part b book of specs. I guess the key words being intersecting flange to web weld. It makes my head hurt. I'm trying to visualize a beam structure? This may be irrelevant, but I like to feel more prepared going forward.

I'm taking AWS seminar and exam, starting 1 week from today. Feel real good except this one little hiccup. Need to work on the addendum A and B for API 1104, it is a little like greek as well.

Any help would be appreciated
Larry

I might understand this as reading; basically any porosity or fusion discont. 1/16 or larger is based on the chart/size of weld for maximum size.(doesn't give maximum sum of larger discont.)Is this not of concern? Also the distance from any porosity or fusion discont. to another same type discont. of intersecting weld shall be at least minimum c on the chart. 3.1.2 goes on to the discuss limits of discont. smaller than 1/16.

If I understand this at all, it seems as the concern is with the smaller discont. and not the larger ones, or at least not the sum of the larger ones.

Larry

I think whoever edited this part b book, should take another look. It really just pertains to this newest edition, but I'm really struggling with understanding this one part, the added appendix 16. There is no notes in the welder qualifications mentioning RT made in lieu of bend tests and procedure qualifications in appendix 8 differ from 16 as well. This is disgraceful, how can you test on subjects with all these discrepancies.

Thanks
Larry

Larry;

The Part B Book of Specifications used for the AWS CWI examination is a "make believe" welding specification. It is a total fabrication composed of parts of other standards, i.e., ASME, AWS, etc., that has been changed or tweaked.

The intent is to separate those candidates that respond to question based on what they are familiar with and those that take the time to look up the requirements in the applicable welding standard. The goal is to reinforce the fact that few people can memorize any welding standard. Inspectors that fail to refer back to the welding standard are doing themselves and their clients a disservice. The Part B examination requires the person to read the question and find the appropriate response in the "Part B Book of Specifications" Those people that short circuit the "system" by answering the question based on their memory will fail the examination.

Do not try to make sense of the "Part B Book of Specifications", it is a make believe welding standard.

Best regards - Al

Thanks Al. I understand that it is all a make believe spec book. My concern is questions pertaining to this info that doesn't make sense to me. I've taken quizzes from the earlier edition and have no problems looking up or understanding any of it, but this newer addition is a mess. The RT information is ridiculous, if I'm understanding it all.

It doesn't have to make sense or even be correct. It is intended to separate those people that look up the correct answer from Part B and those that answer questions based on the code they use in their everyday work.

Best regards - Al

Al

Sounds crazy, but I'll take it and do the best with it. I think I know it well enough and with another week to study and the AWS seminar week, I think I'll be good. I'm still a little anxious, I'm counting on passing it the first time. The possibility of having to take part of it again and having to wait for 6 weeks or longer for another exam is a little frightening as I'm unemployed right now. I wonder why the can't give you your results a little sooner?

Anyone tested to API 1104 lately? How was the code book test? Was there a lot of questions out of the Addendum A and B. That seems to give me the most trouble. I'm in the process of learning it and highlighting some hard to find information. The Addendum A in particular is a little difficult to understand.

Also, anyone taking the part B exam lately, are the samples still beat up and pencil gouged like they used to be or have they moved past that?

Thanks
Larry