API 1104 (Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities) audits focus heavily on documentation — not just whether the welds pass, but whether the paper trail proves it. Pipeline auditors know what to look for, and they pull the same documents in the same order every time. If your documentation stack isn't organized to answer their first three questions in under three minutes, the audit stalls — and a stalled audit is never a good sign.
The five documents below are what pipeline auditors request first. Each section describes what the auditor checks and what a compliant response requires.
1. Welding Procedure Specification (WPS)
The WPS must be qualified to API 1104 Section 5 (for production welds) or Section 12 (for tie-in welds). It must specify:
- Base material: API 5L grade or equivalent, with P-Number if correlated to ASME
- Filler material: AWS classification and electrode size range
- Shielding gas type and flow rate (for GMAW and GTAW)
- Preheat temperature and interpass temperature limits
- PWHT requirements (if applicable for the wall thickness and material combination)
- Position and direction of travel (uphill or downhill — this is a significant variable in API 1104)
- Joint design: groove geometry, root opening, included angle
What the auditor checks: Is this WPS qualified for the actual pipe grade and wall thickness currently being welded on this project? A WPS qualified for X52 wall thickness up to 0.500 inches cannot be used for X65 0.625-inch wall — even if the groove geometry looks the same.
2. Procedure Qualification Record (PQR)
The PQR documents the test conditions and results that qualify the WPS. The auditor is looking for:
- The PQR must be for the same essential variable combination that the production WPS covers
- Test results — tensile, bend, and for API 1104 Section 9.4, nick break — must meet acceptance criteria
- The PQR must be signed by a responsible company representative
What the auditor checks: Do the test results actually meet API 1104 Section 5 acceptance criteria? Are there any essential variable changes between the PQR and the production WPS that would require requalification? The essential variables under API 1104 differ from ASME Section IX — know which standard you're being audited against.
3. Welder Qualification Records
Every welder on the project must have current qualification records. API 1104 Section 6 specifies the qualification requirements by position and process.
- Position qualifications: 1G (horizontal rotation), 2G (vertical), 5G (horizontal fixed), 6G (inclined fixed — qualifies all positions)
- Process qualifications: SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW, and combinations
- Continuity: under API 1104, a welder who hasn't welded in a qualifying process for more than six months requires requalification
What the auditor checks: Is the welder qualified for the position they were actually welding? A 2G qualification does not cover 5G. Is continuity maintained — has the welder used this process within the last six months? Is the welder ID on the weld record traceable to the qualification record on file?
4. Pipe Material Certs
For every heat of pipe used on the project, the cert must reference:
- API 5L grade and PSL level
- Heat number (matching the pipe tags on installed joints)
- Chemistry and mechanical properties per the grade specification
What the auditor checks: Is there a cert for every heat of pipe installed? Does the heat number on the cert match the heat number on the pipe tag or joint record? Does the chemistry and mechanical data on the cert meet the specified API 5L grade requirements?
This is where an incomplete cert file causes problems. Auditors will randomly select joint numbers, cross-reference the pipe tag to the heat number, and ask to see the cert for that heat. If any heat is missing its cert, the finding is immediate.
5. NDE Records
Non-destructive examination records must cover every joint where the applicable design standard requires examination. Under API 1104:
- Section 9 covers radiographic testing (RT) acceptance criteria
- Section 10 covers ultrasonic testing (UT) acceptance criteria
- Section 11 covers magnetic particle (MT) and liquid penetrant (PT)
What the auditor checks: Is there an NDE record for every joint covered by the NDE requirement? Are the results accepted to the correct acceptance criteria for the NDE method used? Is the NDE technician's qualification documented?
How to Organize the Documentation Stack
The documentation organization that consistently passes pipeline audits indexes by joint number. Each joint has a record or folder — physical or digital — containing:
- Pipe cert (heat number matching the joint pipe tag)
- WPS number used for this joint
- Welder ID with qualification reference
- NDE result with technician ID and acceptance statement
An auditor should be able to select any joint number at random and have the complete documentation package in hand within three minutes. If retrieval takes longer, it's a documentation control finding — regardless of whether the actual welds are compliant.
Joint-indexed documentation is not complicated. It is disciplined. Shops that maintain it move through pipeline audits efficiently. Shops that don't are always explaining why a specific cert is still being located.