Strong, Secure, Lasting…Certified Welders
The United Association Welder Certification Program Is Your Guarantee Of The Very Best
The United Association (UA) has been training pipefitters and welders longer than anyone else in the industry.
The UA’s Welder Certification Program provides pre-tested, certified and immediately available journeymen welders anywhere in the United States at no cost to owners and construction users.
The United Associations International Training Fund is a labor/management jointly administered fund of the UA and our contractors. It underwrites the cost of testing and qualifying our certified welders through independent, third-party testing.
The Certification Process
UA certified welders are tested at local training sites across North America. Applicants are tested on the welding processes most commonly used on a majority of industrial construction projects. Welders can seek certification in all or any of these processes.
Since the inception of the UA’s Welder Certification Program in 1992, the program has grown steadily. Today, more than 15,000 UA members are weld certified and active within the program.
The integrity of the program is established by the mandatory participation of various parties. These include contractors and qualified inspectors in the form of UA authorized testing representatives (ATRs), as well as independent auditors. Qualified independent testing laboratories perform test evaluations. All of these individuals contribute to the assurance that welders have been qualified to recognized industry standards, in particular ASME Section IX.
The benefits of the program are many. Some of these benefits include, weld quality and consistency. It also includes workforce flexibility and availability which translates to economic benefits for the end-users. This program also establishes a uniformity that assists state and local governments in welder qualifications and certification regulations. Such activity protects the interests of the manufacturer, contractor and the owner/user, and helps them meet their responsibilities in the industry.
By using the UA’s Intranet (internal online system), which is fast and convenient, the time required to update the member’s online certification file has been dramatically reduced. This translates to improved services to the end users and our contractors know that they will have access to the manpower they need in the form of tested and certified welders.
Lake Charles Welding Facility
Built-In Integrity
Several safeguards are built in to ensure integrity: All tests are conducted by third-party testing representatives who are recognized welding inspectors; all completed welds are x-rayed and read by an independent laboratory; certified testing procedures are developed and maintained by the National Inspection Testing Corporation. The ITC also represents the UA and our contractors on code-making bodies and committees as they affect our industry.
Saving Money For Our Customers
The UA Welder Certification Program saves our customers money and makes our contractors competitive in the process. Testing a single pipe welder can cost thousands of dollars. On big industrial projects, this translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Costs will also go up when all welders do not pass the test, and have to be re-tested. By utilizing certified welders within the UA Welder Certification Program it saves in another important way: Fewer mistakes mean fewer repairs, and that means money in the bank!
Building a Safer Tomorrow
The UA Welder Certification Program ensures that our certified welders are performing work for which they are fully qualified. The systems they install are secure and safe, whether it’s a chemical plant, an oil refinery, pharmaceutical facility, or any of the other industrial facilities that are so important to our way of life.