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Some thoughts on the SCWI Follow

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Juan Amado 03-07-2017 11:21
I recently took the SCWI exam (March 6, 2017), and would
like to share a bit of advice with those o...

1. Some thoughts on the SCWI exam 2 Like

 Juan Amado
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Posted 03-07-2017 11:21 Reply

Edited by JUAN AMADO 04-27-2017 23:27

I recently took the SCWI exam (March 6, 2017), and would like to
share a bit of advice with those of you who might be considering
taking it in the near future, or who might already be scheduled to take
it.

The exam format has now changed to a computer based exam. One
must schedule the exam appointment through Prometric; a third
party service provider for computer-based testing.

I would summarize the exam as follows:

-Compared to the CWI exam, I would say that it is about as hard.
-The overlap in the material with the CWI exam is minimal.
-The documents listed in the body of knowledge cover the scope of
the material fairly well.

This is the sort of exam that you must study for. It would be a mistake
to rely on experience and first hand knowledge and expect to pass. It
occurs to me, that it is possible for somebody to already know
everything, but for most mortals, there's just no substitute for putting
in the hours and read though the standards, guides, and study
books, and become familiarized with the stuff.

The exam is open book, and the books are needed. It is important
that you know in what book to find what you are being asked, and
specifically, in which part of each book.

Note of caution:
Since the computer based exam format is fairly new, I think I must
have been one of the first to go through it. In other forums, I read the
recommendations to study, highlight, and tab. I did just that. I
prepared two binders with all the material from the BOK list, in a
logical order that I had studied, and knew. Once in front of the
computer, the pre-exam instructions said that all the reference
material was linked in digital form, and that no additional material
was to be used. Needless to say, this was a real shock to me, as I
had practiced looking up stuff based on tabs and highlights, and not
using the Adobe Reader based search tool. On the computer, the
documents are grouped in bundles and the search tool always starts
looking for the typed-in reference word on the first document in the
bundle. This makes the online searching painfully slow, and quite
frankly, useless. I hope AWS addresses this issue.

On answering the questions:

The computer-based format is straightforward and easy to use. You
can choose your answer, cross out obvious wrong ones, and flag
questions for later review. Unanswered questions appear in one color
(green), answered questions change to another color (gray). The
computer keeps track of the time left and of the percentage of the
exam that has been completed. All of this appears on the top of the
screen. I found these to be valuable time management tools. My
personal strategy is to always answer and, if in doubt, leave a flag.
That way, time permitting, at the end, you may revisit the flagged
ones and change your answer if needed. If there isn't time, at least
the questions don't get tabulated unanswered (20% chance of
getting it right is better than 0% chance!). One awesome feature of
the computer-based testing is that, at the end, you immediately know
if you passed.

I found it very valuable to study these particular documents:

SCWI-SG-4 Senior Certified Welding Inspector Study Guide –
Section 4 Quality Assurance (Free Download)
ANSI Z49.1:2005 (AWS) Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied
Products
AWS B2.1:2009 Specification for Welding Procedure and
Performance Qualification
AWS B4.0:2007 Standard Methods for Mechanical Testing of Welds
AWS D10.4:1986 Recommended Practices for Welding Austenitic
Chromium – Nickel Stainless Steel Piping and Tubing
ISO 9001 (www.iso.org) ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems—
Requirements
ASNT SNT-TC-1A:2006 Recommended Practice: Personnel
Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing

Not that the rest weren't important, but the above listed (except for
SNT TC 1A) were the ones that if felt the least connected with. I will
not divulge any particular questions, but would recommend everyone
be familiar with the SS piping standard, the WPS qualification
standard, and the mechanical testing of welds standard. These
topics are usually on the fringe of the CWI's scope of action, but are
center stage in the SCWI world.

These are the rest of the Body of Knowledge topics:

AWS A1.1:2001 Metric Practice Guide for the Welding Industry

AWS A2.4:1998 or 2012 Standard Symbols for Welding, Brazing, and
Nondestructive Examination
AWS A3.0:2010 Standard Welding Terms and Definitions
AWS B1.10:2009 Guide for the Nondestructive Examination of Welds
AWS B1.11:2000 Guide for the Visual Inspection of Welds
AWS B5.1:2003 Specification for the Qualification of Welding
Inspectors
AWS QC1:2007 Standard for AWS Certification of Welding Inspectors
AWS CM AWS Certification Manual for Welding Inspection
WI:2000 AWS Welding Inspection Handbook
WIT-T:2008 AWS Welding Inspection Technology
AWS WHB-1, 8th or 9th edition AWS Welding Handbook, Vol. 1:
Welding Science & Technology
AWS WHB-2, 8th or 9th edition AWS Welding Handbook, Vol. 2:
Welding Processes
AWS WHB-3, 8th or 9th edition AWS Welding Handbook, Vol. 3:
Materials and Applications Part I
AWS WHB-4, 8th or 9th edition AWS Welding Handbook, Vol. 4:
Materials and Applications Part II
My background is:
Mechanical Engineer (University of Dayton, 1985)
AWS CWI since 1997
ASNT MT, PT, RT, UT, VT Level III since 2003
Masters in Engineering Management (University of Louisville, 2005)

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JUAN AMADO
ARCO INDUSTRIAL, S.A.
Panama
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2. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 0 Like

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Brent Boling
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Posted 03-07-2017 11:42 Reply

Great breakdown Juan. Thanks for the information. I am sure

many will find that valuable.

But, the question of the hour is....DID YOU PASS?

You noted one can know when finished with the exam but did not
state your outcome.

Inquiring minds want to know.

------------------------------
Brent E. Boling; AWS/CWI
Welderbrent; President
Arc-Tech Welding, Inc/ Arc-Tech Inspections
Dewey, AZ
(928) 925-7359
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 Original Message

3. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 2 Like

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Brent Boling
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Posted 03-07-2017 12:22 Reply

Juan, did you mean to send that as a private message? I know

that this forum can be confusing as to which button to click on
because this happens often, I ask a question and get a PM.

Because it is good news I am going to go ahead and share here,

Juan did pass the SCWI exam.

CONGRATULATIONS JUAN!! GREAT JOB.

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Brent E. Boling; AWS/CWI
Welderbrent; President
Arc-Tech Welding, Inc/ Arc-Tech Inspections
Dewey, AZ
(928) 925-7359
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4. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 0 Like

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Daryl Peterson
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Posted 03-07-2017 14:28 Reply

Congratulations Juan,

I would say you covered the subject quite well. I did not take the
SCWI with Prometrics, I took it the old fashioned way. You are
spot on about D10.4, B2.1, B4.0, and Z49.1. anyone who thinks
they know this subject material well and attempts to wing it,
will likely to fail. For instance, some of the questions from Z49.1 is
found in the Explanatory information.

Also, I self studied, and there is no good study guide like the WIT
or CM for the SCWI. It is all open book and the book stack was
quite high. that has been solved with the PDF's, but with that said
I would encourage anyone that is considering taking this test to
get used to navigating the specifications using the PDF
bookmarks.

My background is;
CAWI in 94', CWI in 96', ISO/QS9000/TS16949 Quality Engineer
for 10 years 98' - 08', Quality Manager (ASME shop 08' to
present).

I see that Prometrics lets you use the search button. I seem to
recall that the search function was not functioning on the API 653
test.

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DARYL PETERSON SCWI, ASNT Level III, API 653, SSPC PCI
Level II
CENTRAL MAINTENANCE AND WELDING
daryl.peterson@outlook.com
LITHIA, FL
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5. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 0 Like

exam

Juan Amado
 Actions

Posted 03-08-2017 09:25 Reply

Daryl, thanks for your comments.

On the topic of navigating using the PDF bookmarks, it's

important to note the following:

As the standards were grouped in bundles (say 8 standards in

one bundle), the bookmarks were limited to the title of each
document, with no further subdivisions. So, the farthest this
technique would carry me, was to the beginning of the
selected document.

It would be nice if, at least, the bookmark tool would allow one
direct access to the major sections within the selected
document.

Cheers!

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JUAN AMADO
ARCO INDUSTRIAL, S.A.
Panama
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6. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 0 Like

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 Peter Stamps
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Posted 03-08-2017 10:26 Reply

Edited by PETER STAMPS 03-08-2017 10:27

Thanks for the detailed information, Juan, and congratulations on

becoming an SCWI.

Interesting that ASNT SNT-TC-1A:2006 is a reference - that is two

revisions old (updated in 2011 and 2016).

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Peter Stamps, AWS CWI
Quality Assurance Manager, Forterra Pressure Pipe
Grand Prairie, TX
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7. RE: Some thoughts on the SCWI 0 Like

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Frank Emefiele
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Posted 03-08-2017 23:35 Reply

Good information, any one in the house please tell me how do I

go about saving all of this informations for future reference?.

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FRANK EMEFIELE CWI
PORT HARCOURT
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