Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to questions you may have about the Weldcraft Pro Underwater Welding courses.

How do we apply to run a course?

You can download a registration document. Simply fill this in giving a few basic details about your school and facilities, etc. and we'll be in touch.

After registering your interest to run the programme, we will send you 'briefing notes' on the fees and options, etc. and then normally arrange a site visit to discuss this in more detail and also conduct an initial audit of your facilities. We will also brief your staff on the material/QA procedures. The actual license agreement is for a 2 year period.

Who is the accreditation body?

The programme follows the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and the European Welding Federation (EWF) document 570-01 for fillet welder – plate. The awarding body is EAL/EMTA Awards (Engineering & Marine Training Authority). We are the approved 'EAL' test centre and ISO 9001 organisation, with accreditation from Zurich Engineering Services (part of Zurich Insurance).

What facilities do we need to run the course?

You will need workshop, classroom and a dedicated dive tank(s). A controlled body of water may also be feasible, although a tank is best. Workshop facilities will require 3-phase DC welding machines, or diesel generators, welding bays fitted with fume extraction, if indoors and lighting, workbenches, safety curtains, small tools, power points, etc. Classrooms should provide a suitable environment for teaching/learning and have TV, DVD and whiteboard. The dive tank will need to be fitted with pump and filtration, unless emptying and refilling can carried out easily, and a viewing window to allow the instructor/inspector to see the diver/test plates.

How many students can attend?

The number of students on a particular course is limited only to the facilities/staff available, but we say anywhere between 4-12 students is typical.

Can the teaching hours be modified and what is the split over wet/dry and theory?

The WeldCraft-Pro programme is an approved course, which follows the IIW/EWF document 570-01, and is thus is fixed at 80 hours. In practical terms, the split is 40 hours dry and 40 hours wet and this includes theory for 9 learning outcomes (LOC). The LOC's may be started during the dry welding phase and training may be modified to suit your calendar, i.e. training can be conducted in modules over a number of weeks, or taught as a block of training over a 2 week (10.5 days) period.

How much steel and welding consumable will we need?

This is a difficult question to answer with accuracy, as student abilities vary. However, as an estimate, you will need approx 6M (20') of mild steel plate p/week p/student. We suggest you use 8.0mm (5/16") steel plate, cut to standard test length size of 300mm (12"), although general practice plates may be cut to suit. The grade of steel is just a plain carbon structural steel, i.e. (S275), meeting BSEN 10024-1/2: 2004 or other similar standards. The quantity of electrodes consumables will also vary widely, but as an estimate we would suggest you allow for 1 box (5kg/11lbs) of dry electrodes and 1-2 boxes (3.5kg/7.5lb-7.0Kg/15lbs) of our underwater electrodes (Barracuda Gold).

What qualifications do our welding instructors need?

Your instructor(s) don't need formal teaching qualifications, although this is always beneficial. However, your instructor(s) should have a number of years experience working as a welder and a welding instructor, in MMA/SMAW (stick) welding. They should also have a minimum of 3 years experience working as a diver-welder. They should also have an understanding of quality assurance and quality control procedures, although this role may be undertaken by another member of staff.

Before any instructor can deliver the Weldcraft-pro course, they must attend the 3 day instructor training programme.

Can we carry out examinations in-house?

As part of the licence agreement, you will conduct all theory examinations in-house (exam papers supplied). However, there are options for conducting the practical weld tests. If you opt to conduct all testing in-house, you will need to register your welding inspector, who must be a qualified welding inspector, recognised by a National or International standards-body.

What are the fees involved with running the programme?

The fees comprise of licence fee, student registration fee and paper certification fee. If weldments are returned to us (Zurich) for examination, then there is an examination fee. More details about the fee structure are provided in the 'briefing notes'.

What materials are supplied to us?

You will be provided with a 'master' instructor's manual (hard copy) and a 'master' student manual on CD. The instructor's manual includes all the LOC lecture notes, homework, question and answers necessary to teach the programme, it also contains useful handouts to be used in class as well as all the practical welding exercises you will need. This manual also contains blank and example audit control documents, which the instructor needs to complete when completing a course. You will also be issued with a DVD which includes a number of film clips from safety, to basic welding practice, through to steels, etc. The student manual is supplied on CD and you will need to print off a master copy so you can copy as required for each class. These notes are for the student and contain the same basic lecture notes, questions and homework, but no answers.

Are there any other complimentary study materials associated with training?

Yes, we also offer a resale discount to the underwater wet welding publication 'A Welder's Mate', written by David Keats.

How does all this data get recorded?

You register a class/student online, using your personal login. This generates a 'student registration/audit form', which you then print off. This form initially contains the name of the student, class number and most importantly the issue/test number for each individual student. This form acts as the main prompt for the instructor, to make sure they have recorded all the necessary data/evidence for the course. When the course is completed, all this data/evidence can be entered/uploaded through the website.

What audits are involved with running the course?

At the end of each course you will receive an 'end of course' report (no fee). This will outline any errors or omissions in the basic paperwork, or evidence submitted, that may require attention prior to issuing certification. A 'full student' audit is then necessary. This involves randomly selecting a student and requesting you submit their complete file. This will include all their homework and assessments of their practical work, including photos (in other words all the data/evidence your instructor collated and reported on the 'student registration/audit form'). The number of full student audits very much depends on the number of errors/omissions found on the 'end of course' audits. Generally we carry out full audits on a student for the first few courses and then usually this can be reduced to every third or fourth course. Last but not least, is the site audit; under the terms of the license agreement, we need to conduct one site audit, during the first 2 year period.

What certification is issued?

Certification is issued to cover both theory and practice. EAL issue the course certificate, under the IIW/EWF document 570-01 and the practical welder qualification certificate may be issued under ISO 15618-1 or AWS D3.6.99M, these being both 'class I' approvals. We do also offer a fall-back position to class II certification, where a diver has failed to meet class I, but may meet class II specification. This class II standard may also be used for surface dry welding approvals, for those students interested in a surface qualification (optional).

How is certification issued?

EAL only offer hard copy certificates and these will follow by post. However, we issue an electronic end of course 'replica' certificate and a welder qualification certificate via the website. In this way you can obtain all documentation very quickly, while waiting for the original EAL certificate to follow by post.

Can we opt out of this agreement at any time?

We are not in the business of locking clients into a system they no longer wish to use, but due to the intellectual/confidential property issues, we do require an initial legal undertaking of two (2) years, with rights over the IP taking affect for a further 10 years. Following this initial two (2) year period, you are free to discontinue with the programme, subject to the return of all original confidential materials, etc.

What welding electrodes must we use?

For the general-purpose 'dry' weld training you can use any good quality GP electrode, although this electrode (or other) must be capable of welding vertical-down. For all wet welding we would like you to use our approved, Barracuda Gold underwater electrodes. These are made available to licensed schools at special discounted rates and thus, we hope you will find this to be commercially attractive against other brands that may also be available in your market place.