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Try a full lesson: Planning a procedure qualification

This is a complete lesson from the course (module 1 of 3, Outline topic W.1.1), followed by 10 practice questions with full explanations. Nothing to sign up for.

What this module covers

Planning carries 30% of the WPQ2 exam. AWS lists five abilities for it: carry out the organization's responsibilities; read a specification or drawing and pick the base metal and filler metal combination to test; judge which processes the job needs and their essential variables; decide whether a WPS must be qualified by test, can be prequalified, or can use an existing WPS; and decide what equipment and measurements the test needs.

WPQ2 references are AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2020 and AWS B2.1/B2.1M:2021, both on screen with search off. Some questions draw on other standards, and AWS gives you what you need in the stem.

By the end you will be able to:

  • turn a specification and a drawing into a qualification plan,
  • choose the route: prequalified, test, or an existing WPS,
  • list what to measure and record during the test.

We name clauses by title only. Keep your own copies of D1.1:2020 and B2.1:2021 open.

Reading the project's specification and drawing

Who does what

D1.1's General Requirements clause assigns the parties. The Engineer sets the contract requirements: loading, material, any toughness requirement, the extent of inspection. The Contractor writes the WPSs and qualifies them. The Inspector checks that what is used matches what is qualified. As the person planning a qualification you work for the Contractor's side; you read the Engineer's documents and meet them.

What to pull from the documents

Read the specification and drawing with a checklist:

ItemWhere it usually isWhy it matters
Governing code and editionSpecificationSets every rule that follows
Base metals and thicknessesDrawing, material listDecides the base metal grouping and thickness range
Joint types and sizesDrawing, weld symbolsDecides the joint details and test assembly
PositionsErection drawings, shop practiceDecides the test position
Loading (static or cyclic)Specification, general notesChanges some acceptance and detail rules
Toughness requirementSpecificationAdds CVN testing to the plan
Inspection and NDTSpecificationTells you what the production welds face

Choosing the base metal and filler combination

Find each base metal in the Prequalification of WPSs clause's base metal list. Then find the filler metal that matches the strength of the base metal; when two steels of different strength are joined, read the note on mixed joints. If a steel is not in the list, the WPS cannot be prequalified for it and must be qualified by test.

Worked example (invented values). A drawing shows a 30 mm plate of "Steel P" (invented) welded with CJP groove welds to a 20 mm plate of "Steel Q" (invented), in the flat and horizontal positions, statically loaded, with a CVN requirement in the specification. Plan:

  1. Find both steels in the base metal list. Suppose both are listed but in different groups.
  2. Read the filler metal matching rule for mixed groups.
  3. The CVN requirement means a test-qualified WPS with CVN testing, or a prequalified WPS plus whatever the specification adds. Read both before deciding.
  4. Note the thicknesses: the test plate must qualify the 30 mm plate.

Prequalified, qualified by test, or an existing WPS

Three routes

  1. Prequalified. D1.1's Prequalification of WPSs clause lets a WPS skip testing if every condition is met: a listed process, a listed base metal, matching filler, a prequalified joint detail, the preheat the clause requires, and the variable limits it sets. Miss one condition and the WPS is not prequalified.
  2. Qualified by test. The Qualification clause sets the test: assembly, welding, NDT, mechanical tests, PQR. This is the route when the job is outside prequalified limits or the specification asks for testing.
  3. An existing qualified WPS. If the organization already has a PQR whose ranges cover the job, a new WPS can be written from it without a new test. Check the ranges carefully (module 3).

A decision path

  • Is the process prequalified? If not, test.
  • Is every base metal listed? If not, test.
  • Is the joint a prequalified detail within its tolerances? If not, test.
  • Does the specification add toughness or other tests? Then check whether prequalification still meets it.
  • Does an existing PQR cover every essential variable? If yes, write a WPS from it.

Planning the test

Once you know you are testing, plan the test plate or pipe: thickness to qualify the range you need, position, joint detail with backing or not, and the specimens it must yield. Then list the equipment: calibrated ammeter and voltmeter or a meter on the machine that you have checked, a travel speed measurement, temperature-indicating crayons or a contact thermometer for preheat and interpass, a gas flow meter if shielding gas is used, and gauges for fit-up.

Trap. Picking a test plate that is too thin. A test plate qualifies a thickness range. If it does not reach the thickest production member, the whole test is wasted.

Check yourself

The three questions below cover reading a drawing for the base metal and filler combination, choosing the route when one condition fails, and the measurements to plan for.

Where to look in your own books

  • AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2020, General Requirements: responsibilities of the Engineer, Contractor and Inspector
  • D1.1:2020, Prequalification of WPSs: processes, base metals, filler matching, joint details, preheat, variable limits
  • D1.1:2020, Qualification: when a WPS must be tested, test assemblies
  • AWS B2.1/B2.1M:2021, procedure qualification: the general requirements and essential variable tables
  • AWS WPQ2 Endorsement Description (Cert. Rev. 11.05.2026): abilities 1 to 5 and the test specification

Practice set

Print these questions for a class (PDF) Answer key on page 2. Free, no signup.

Pick an answer, then check it. Every wrong option is explained too.

1. Planning

Under D1.1, who sets a toughness requirement that a WPS must meet?

Hint: where to look

Where to look: the D1.1 General Requirements clause, in the part on the responsibilities of each party.

2. Planning

A job is under D1.1, statically loaded, with no toughness requirement. The joints are prequalified details, the steel is listed, and the process is FCAW with gas shielding. What should you check next before calling the WPS prequalified?

3. Planning

Production members on a job go up to 40 mm thick. Why does the test plate thickness matter when you plan the procedure test?

4. Planning

A question gives this rule from a fictional standard: a procedure test in the flat position qualifies flat and horizontal welding. Production includes horizontal fillet welds and vertical groove welds. Under that rule, which production welds does a flat test leave unqualified?

Hint: where to look

Use only the rule in the stem. List the positions it covers, then check each production weld against them.

5. Planning

During a procedure test the welding machine's panel meter cannot be trusted. Which of these confirms the welding current?

Hint: where to look

Where to look: AWS's WPQ2 ability 5, on the equipment needed for measurements recorded during the procedure test.

6. WPS qualification and testing requirements

When is a procedure test weld inspected visually and by NDT?

Hint: where to look

Where to look: the D1.1 Qualification clause, in the order of steps after the test weld is finished.

7. WPS qualification and testing requirements

Why is weld reinforcement removed from bend specimens as D1.1 requires?

8. WPS qualification and testing requirements

Which statement about a PQR is right?

Hint: where to look

Where to look: the D1.1 Qualification clause, in the part on WPS and PQR documents, and the sample forms in the annexes.

9. Finalization of the WPS

A PQR was welded in the flat position. Suppose the rule (invented for this question) is that a procedure test qualifies only the position tested. Which production positions does the WPS support?

Hint: where to look

Use only the rule in the stem and the position on the PQR.

10. Finalization of the WPS

On a job with a CVN requirement, a draft WPS allows heat input well above the PQR's value. Why is that a concern?

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  • 3modules of lessonsEvery task on the outline
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See all 3 modules
  1. Planning a procedure qualification
  2. Welding, testing and recording the test weld
  3. Finalizing the WPS and its ranges
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    Every answer comes with a full explanation.

    Questions are original and written to AWS's published content outline. Code is cited by section number so you can look it up in your own copy. Think something is wrong? Report it.