What's the fastest way to qualify a procedure?

Use an in-house qualified welder, schedule the lab tests in advance, and weld the coupon on a Friday so it ships Monday. With a responsive lab, you can have a signed PQR in 2–3 weeks.

Can I use an existing PQR from another shop?

No. PQRs are not transferable. Each shop must qualify its own procedures. Even if a sister facility has a PQR for the exact same parameters, your shop needs its own.

Does the welder making the coupon need to be CWI-certified?

The welder needs to be currently WPQ-qualified in the process being tested. The witnessing inspector is the one who needs CWI (or equivalent) credentials.

What if the coupon fails the bend test?

Investigate the failure, adjust the draft WPS, and reweld. Common failures: too low heat input causing lack of fusion, too high heat input causing porosity, wrong filler/base mismatch, inadequate preheat. The cost of one failed coupon is much cheaper than discovering a problem in production.

How to qualify a welding procedure (PQR step-by-step)

From draft WPS to signed PQR in three weeks. Here's the sequence that experienced welding engineers use to qualify procedures the first time.

Procedure qualification has a reputation for being slow and expensive. Done badly, it is. Done well, the timeline is 2–3 weeks and the cost is a few thousand dollars. Here is the sequence experienced welding engineers use.

Step 1 — write the draft WPS first

Before any test weld, the parameters must be on paper. The draft WPS specifies:

Process, filler classification, base metal specification
Joint detail with sketch
Position
Amperage, voltage, travel speed (specific values for the coupon; the WPS will later expand to ranges)
Preheat, interpass
CVN requirement (yes or no — this drives lab specimen geometry)

Without a draft WPS, the test weld has nothing to validate.

Step 2 — pick the test coupon

For groove welds, the standard coupon is a plate or pipe in the position you want to qualify, thick enough to span the thickness range you want to support. AWS D1.1 Clause 6 specifies coupon sizes.

A common practical choice: 1-inch-thick plate for groove welds, qualifying down to 1/8-in plate and up to 2x the coupon thickness (so 2 inches on the upper end).

For fillet welds, the standard is a T-joint coupon with the larger leg on top.

Step 3 — schedule the welder, the inspector, and the lab

This is the step shops underestimate. Three calendars have to align:

Welder — must be currently WPQ-qualified in the process
CWI (in-house or contracted) — to witness and record
Lab — accredited per A2LA, IAS, or NVLAP; book the slot before welding the coupon

Lab capacity is usually the bottleneck. If you weld on a Monday and discover the lab can't take your coupon for three weeks, you've added three weeks for no reason.

Step 4 — weld the coupon

The CWI:

Verifies the welder's stamp and current WPQ
Confirms base metal mill cert and filler lot number
Records pre-weld surface condition, joint fit-up, preheat
Records every parameter at the coupon, every pass: amperage, voltage, travel speed, interpass temperature
Marks the coupon with a unique ID, ties it to the PQR number

This data goes onto the PQR before the coupon leaves the floor.

Step 5 — ship and test

The coupon goes to the lab with a sealed test request that specifies:

Code and edition (AWS D1.1:2025)
Tests required: tensile (typically 2 specimens), bend (face + root or side bends), CVN if required
Acceptance criteria from the code
PQR number for the lab report

A good lab returns results in 5–10 business days.

Step 6 — compile and sign the PQR

The PQR consolidates:

The welded coupon data (parameters, witnessing)
The lab report (tensile, bend, CVN results)
A pass/fail determination per the code's acceptance criteria
Signature of the welding engineer or CWI

The PQR is then filed permanently. From this point, you can write one or more WPSs that cite it.

Step 7 — write the production WPSs

From a single PQR, you can write WPSs that:

Expand the recorded amperage / voltage / travel speed to ranges allowed by Table 6.6
Cover additional positions if the test position qualifies them per Clause 6 position tables
Cover thinner and thicker plate up to the qualified thickness range
Support fillet welds if the groove test qualifies fillets per Clause 6

Each WPS cites the supporting PQR by number.

Cost and timeline summary

Welder time + inspector time: $300–$1,500
Lab tests: $800–$2,500
Total: $1,500–$4,000
Calendar: 2–4 weeks if the lab is responsive

A failed coupon adds the cost of one full cycle. A second-time pass with a tightened draft WPS is the norm.