Certification of welders NAKS: rules and procedure, cost, necessary documents, certificate

NAKS is the central governing body of the federal certification system for welding production. This body - the National Welding Control Agency - makes decisions regarding the structure of the certification system itself, the direction of operation of this system, and the methods of its operation. In addition, NAKS makes decisions regarding promising directions for the development of the basic rules of operation and interaction of all components of this system, as well as regarding its external relations.

What does NAKS welder certification provide?

The National Welding Control Agency carries out certification activities in relation to specialists and welders who are involved in welding production at hazardous production facilities.

Based on the results of the certification, the person who passed it is issued a special certificate, which indicates the assigned qualification level, as well as the types of work that a specialist or welder is authorized to perform.

The issuance of such a certificate occurs after passing the entire certification procedure at a certification center or a special certification point, which is authorized to carry out such activities by the National Welding Control Agency.

Types of certification

The certification carried out by the National Agency has several classifications, which depend on the presence of previously passed certification, as well as on the assigned level based on the results of such certification.

By type, depending on the previous certification, all activities are divided into the following:

primary _ This type is carried out in cases where a welder or welding specialist has not previously undergone the entire range of measures for a certain type of work;
periodic _ This type is used in cases where it is necessary to renew a previously received certificate due to the expiration of its validity period;
additional . Certification of this type is carried out if it is necessary for a welder or welding production specialist to obtain qualifications in a new set of technologies, equipment or materials. Carrying out additional certification does not involve issuing an independent certificate: a special insert is issued for an existing document;
extraordinary _ This type of certification activities is carried out in the event that a welder or welding production specialist has been removed from work due to significant deficiencies in work, or new confirmation of previously assigned qualifications is required (for example, when the essential conditions for the use of certain technologies change).

If we talk about the levels that are assigned based on the results of certification activities, then the following division takes place:

first level . A person who has received this level can work as a certified welder or welding complex operator. The data is entered into the new NAKS certificate (except in cases of additional certification);
second level . A person whose certificate contains such an indication is a certified welding master. An employee at this level may be assigned responsibilities for responsible supervision and control of the full range of welding work;
third level . An employee who has received this level is a certified welding production technologist. Persons who have this certification level are assigned responsibilities for management and technical control over the performance of all welding-type work, as well as for working with engineering and engineering documentation, including the development and subsequent approval in specialized departments of technological maps; for carrying out approval certification activities in relation to welders who must receive permission to work (accompanied by the preparation of approval sheets); to carry out work to certify the equipment and technologies used;
fourth level . An employee who has been assigned this level based on the qualification requirements of NAKS is a certified engineer and can be appointed to the positions of department heads and their deputies.

Required documents

It is possible to pass each type of certification activities of the National Welding Control Agency only if the applicant for certification provides a complete package of documents, which includes:

application for certification . Its formation and direction can be carried out both personally by the applicant for certification, and by the organization in which such a person works;
a copy of the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or other document identifying the person being certified;
a document confirming the level of education of the applicant for undergoing certification activities (if the applicant does not have a welding education, you will need to provide documents on completion of retraining). Foreign citizens will be required to provide documents confirming that they received specialized welding education on the territory of the Russian Federation under accredited educational programs;
a copy of the work book or an extract from the employment order or other documents that confirm the fact of official employment for the person included in the application for certification from the organization;
consent in accordance with which personal data will be processed;
photograph of the established sample for issuing a certificate.

When filling out an application for inclusion in the certified group, it is necessary to indicate the group of technical devices (using a special letter code) that exist at hazardous production facilities for which it is planned to open a certificate or insert for a welder or welding production specialist (for example, KO - boiler equipment, NGDO - oil and gas production equipment, etc.).

If the certification of a welder or specialist is additional or periodic, the package of documents is expanded to include a certified copy of the existing certificate.

All copies included in this package of documents are certified either by the employer (in the case of certification from an organization) or by a notary.

Recommendations for employers

People often contact me to obtain a certification (certificate) for an electric and gas welder as a private individual. I try to explain to them that such documents are issued only after the employer provides the relevant documents (application and certificate). To which I hear the stupidest answer - “They don’t hire us without a crust.”

Dear employers, please read the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, it spells out in plain English the conditions for hiring specialists, and what documents can be required. An occupational safety certificate for a welder (and this is exactly what the certification being discussed is) is issued only after submitting an application from your organization. And subsequently this document is linked to the protocol (we usually provide a copy).

Unlike other certifications, the name of the organization is not written into the welder’s certificate, which is usually used by employers. But in general, according to existing standards, when moving from one organization to another, an employee is required to undergo recertification, and specifically from your company.

The procedure for certification and its cost

NAKS certification (except for cases of assignment of the fourth level) is carried out in the following stages:

sending the application and package of documents to a certified certification center . You can send documents on a territorial basis or by making a choice in accordance with concluded agreements on a price basis. In addition, when sending documents, the timing of events and issuance of documents should also be taken into account;
coordination of the timing of certification and its location (on the basis of a certification center or point or with representatives of the center visiting the workplaces of the groups being certified);
the arrival of an employee of the certification center at the site or the persons being certified at the location of the center or point;
completing training in accordance with the program for a specific form of admission;
passing practical, theoretical and special exams (the latter is taken if necessary);
obtaining a NAKS certificate in case of successful passing of all necessary exams.

Certification for the fourth level takes place exclusively on the basis of certification centers due to the need for the presence at all examination events of at least three teachers who also have a fourth level in the NAKS system.

The cost of certification varies depending on the certification center or point, level, group of materials, its frequency or primacy, as well as the number of groups undergoing training simultaneously with certification. The range per person, depending on all the listed parameters, varies from five to one hundred thousand rubles per person, however, the specific amount should be found out in each case separately.

Welder's certificate

All certification activities are completed by receiving a certificate created according to the NAKS qualification requirements system. This document, which gives the right to perform certain types of work, contains the following information:

information about the person to whom the certificate was issued (with his photograph);
information about the certified certification center or point where the certification took place;
date of issue of the document and its validity period;
groups of equipment and materials covered by this document.

If you lose it, you will have to undergo certification again with a change in its validity period.

Validity

Depending on the assigned qualification level, the validity period of the issued certificate varies:

For welders and welding production specialists assigned the first and second levels, the validity period of the certificate cannot exceed two years . Extension of such a certificate is possible for no more than one year; in some cases, for specialists with the second level, extension is permissible for one and a half years twice. The number of such extensions cannot exceed two;
A welding specialist assigned the third level can use his certificate for three years . Extension is possible twice for up to two years;
If a welding specialist is assigned the fourth level, then the validity of the certificate cannot exceed five years . An extension is permissible for a period of three to five years, depending on the specialist’s field of work; the number of such extensions cannot be more than two.

Sample NAKS welder certificate
If the certificate has expired and renewal options have been exhausted, a new certification is carried out and a new certificate is issued.