You can upload your welders' existing qualification records (WPQs) and WeldTrace's AI process will read them and add the welders and their qualifications to WeldTrace. WeldTrace presents the welder and qualification data for you to review and correct, and then imports the records you accept, each WPQ with its own PDF attached. A welder who is not yet in WeldTrace is created; a welder who is already there has the qualification added. Nothing is imported until you accept it.

Import the WPSs the welders were qualified on before you import their WPQs, so that each WPQ can be linked to its WPS. Please read the article "Import WPS & PQR with AI".

Step 1 - Open the AI import

Open Personnel > Welders.

1. Click the AI import button (the magic wand) to open "Import from documents (AI)". The button shows the number of uploads being read, and turns green when an upload is ready for review.

Step 2 - Upload the WPQ files

1. Your plan's allowance for document extractions. Each uploaded file counts once; files that cannot be read do not count;
2. Click "Browse PDF files" and select the WPQ files. You can select up to 50 PDF files at a time. Other document types found in a file are listed and skipped;
3. The selected files are listed with their sizes. Click "x" to remove a file;
4. Click "Upload and read" to upload the files and start the AI process.

Stay on the page until the files have been uploaded. The AI process then runs in the background, so you can leave the page. You will be sent an email when the data is ready to review. Your earlier uploads are listed on this page under "Earlier uploads", with their status and a link to review them.

Step 3 - Review the extracted data

Each WPQ found is listed in a row. Check the data against the document and correct it before you import. Click a value to change it; your changes are saved as you go.

1. Filter the rows: All, Needs attention, Ready, Skipped and Imported. "Skipped" lists WPQs that are already in WeldTrace;
2. Click "Export CSV" to download the extracted data as a CSV file in the welder import format, with a Notes column. "Discard" closes the upload without importing anything;
3. Tick the rows and click "Import selected" to import them (see Step 5);
4. The status of the row. "Ready" can be imported; "Needs attention" has a red note to fix. Red notes must be fixed before a row can be imported; amber notes are for checking and do not stop the import;
5. "New welder" means the welder ID is not in WeldTrace yet, so the welder will be created. When the welder is already in WeldTrace, the qualification is added to that welder;
6. The welder's details: welder ID, name, division, contractor, email, stamp number and comments;
7. The WPS the welder was qualified on, and its revision. The WPS must be in WeldTrace. Here the revision was not printed on the WPQ, so WeldTrace linked it to revision 0, the only revision of that WPS in WeldTrace.

Scroll right to see the qualification data.

8. "Generated" means the value was not printed on the document and WeldTrace made it up, as here for the WPQ number;
9. Here the WPQ revision was not printed, so revision 0 was used;
10. The WPQ number, revision, report number and test date are read from the document;
11. The amber note explains how a value was read. Here "All" on the WPQ was entered as the joint types Groove and Fillet. The product form and position are also read.

12. The P Numbers qualified. "Inferred" means the value was worked out from the document rather than printed on it;
13. The F Number qualified;
14. The thickness and diameter ranges qualified. Check the values marked "Inferred";
15. Click "View" to open the pages of the document the row was read from (see Step 4). The delete button removes a row you do not want.

Step 4 - Check the source document

1. The document opens beside the grid at the pages the row was read from, so you can compare the values with the document;
2. Click "Open in new tab" to see it full size. Click "x" to close it.

Step 5 - Import the welder qualifications

Tick the rows to import and click "Import selected". Confirm the import: the welders and their qualifications are created or added in Welders, with their documents attached. WeldTrace returns you to the Welders list when the import is done.

1. Imported rows are listed under "Imported";
2. The status changes to "Imported". When every row has been imported or skipped, the upload is closed.

Step 6 - The imported welder and WPQ

1. The AI import button;
2. The new welder is listed in Welders with the qualification counts and the qualifications by process. Click the welder ID to open the welder.

1. The welder created from the WPQ, with the welder ID and stamp number read from the document;
2. The WPQ number and revision, with the WPQ document attached (the paperclip icon);
3. The WPS the welder was qualified on;
4. The qualification is counted by process. In this example the test date was December 2023 and there are no continuity records yet, so the qualification shows as expired. Record the welder's continuity to bring it up to date.

Corrections your team makes while reviewing are remembered for your account: where a document prints the same thing again, WeldTrace applies the correction (marked "Learned") or uses it as a hint when reading. These are listed on the upload page under "Learned corrections", where you can remove any you do not want.