CWI Part B — Practical

HoldPoint study map

Course outline

Unit and lesson titles below are HoldPoint original material. They are not an official exam bulletin.

1. The examination and the book

   How Part B is administered and scored, what you may carry in, and how to tab the supplied specification before the clock starts.

   • What Part B actually tests
   • The Book of Specifications, not the code you memorised
   • Station layout and the 120-minute clock
   • Tabbing scheme that survives a timed exam
   • Reading the plan set extract
   • Recording conventions and the answer sheet
   • How partial credit does and does not work
   • The five errors that fail candidates
   • Building a first-pass triage habit
   • Practice: navigate to four criteria in four minutes
   • Unit review: The examination and the book

2. Terminology, symbols and documents

   The vocabulary the exam scores directly, welding symbols read under time, and the document hierarchy that decides every dispute.

   • Weld joint anatomy as a picture
   • Groove weld terms
   • Fillet weld terms
   • Welding symbols: the arrow side problem
   • Supplementary symbols and finish designations
   • Preheat and interpass: resolving three lookups
   • Reading a WPS without losing ten minutes
   • PQR, WPQ and what each one proves
   • Document hierarchy: contract, code, procedure
   • Practice: symbol-to-joint translation drill
   • Unit review: Terminology, symbols and documents

3. Weld discontinuities

   Every discontinuity category the exam uses, its dominant causes, and the classification decision that routes you to the right acceptance row.

   • Discontinuity versus defect: why the distinction is scored
   • Cracks: types, orientation and why length never matters
   • Porosity: scattered, clustered, aligned
   • Incomplete fusion and incomplete joint penetration
   • Undercut: depth, length and loading condition
   • Slag inclusions and interpass cleaning
   • Overlap, convexity and profile faults
   • Arc strikes and base metal damage
   • Lamellar tearing and base metal discontinuities
   • Practice: classify twelve replicas
   • Unit review: Weld discontinuities

4. Applying acceptance criteria

   The acceptance matrix as a navigation problem. Row first, column second, and never the other way round.

   • The acceptance matrix, structurally
   • Statically versus cyclically loaded: resolving the column
   • Working a disposition end to end
   • Groove weld reinforcement limits
   • Fillet weld profile criteria
   • Combination conditions on one joint
   • Stud welds: visual then mechanical
   • When the code sends you elsewhere
   • Contract documents that tighten the code
   • Practice: eighteen dispositions against the clock
   • Unit review: Applying acceptance criteria

5. Measurement, gauging and NDT interfaces

   Every gauge on the practical table, its one primary reading, and where visual inspection hands off to another method.

   • NDT personnel levels and who may accept
   • Extent and method: who decides
   • Bridge cam gauge: reinforcement and misalignment
   • Skew-T and fillet weld gauges
   • High-low gauge and internal misalignment
   • Undercut gauges and depth resolution
   • Fillet weld gauge sets: sizing by contact
   • Measurement error and the single-contact trap
   • Reading a replica systematically
   • Practice: twenty measurements, recorded
   • Unit review: Measurement, gauging and NDT interfaces

6. Reporting, ethics and existing structures

   Writing a disposition that survives being argued, the inspector’s duties under the QC1 ethics provisions, and repair of existing steel.

   • Anatomy of an actionable report entry
   • Photographs, sketches and sufficiency
   • Repair of existing welded structures
   • Rework, re-inspection and traceability
   • The inspector’s authority and its limits
   • Ethics provisions you can be revoked over
   • Communicating a rejection on site
   • Records retention and audit exposure
   • Handover documentation
   • Practice: write six report entries
   • Unit review: Reporting, ethics and existing structures

Fit check

Who this roadmap is for

Welding professionals preparing for the CWI Part B portion or route of the AWS CWI program.

Always confirm the current AWS eligibility rules, exam outline, references, fees, and scheduling policies before purchasing materials or setting an exam date.

Study sequence

A controlled preparation roadmap

1. 01

   Verify the current program

   Start with the official source links below. Record the current outline, permitted references, eligibility rules, and any application steps that apply to your route.

2. 02

   Map the reference set

   Turn each published domain into a retrieval map. Practice where to look before trying to memorize isolated answers.

3. 03

   Build the CWI Part B core

   Study measurement tools and practical inspection technique alongside workmanship and discontinuity evaluation, then connect both to field decisions and documentation.

4. 04

   Practice under controlled timing

   Use short lookup drills first, then mixed review. Track missed concepts and slow retrievals separately so each can be corrected.

5. 05

   Recheck before exam day

   Return to the credentialing body for last-minute policy or reference changes. Do not rely on a third-party summary for current exam administration.

Primary sources

Verify current program facts

Exam outlines, editions, eligibility, fees, and administration policies can change. These credentialing-body pages are the authority; HoldPoint is an independent preparation provider.

• AWS Certified Welding Inspector programAmerican Welding Society

Common questions

Before you build a study plan