What is CSA W47.2?

CSA W47.2 is the Canadian standard for “Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Aluminum,” issued and administered by the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB). It certifies that a manufacturer has qualified welding procedures, qualified welders, qualified welding supervisors, and an internal quality-assurance program specifically for fusion welding of aluminum.

For aluminum lifting equipment — including aluminum gantry cranes, davit cranes, and lifting beams — CSA W47.2 is the only genuine third-party certification commonly applied to the category. Everything else (ASME B30.17, ASME BTH-1, OSHA, CSA B167, CSA S157) is a design standard the manufacturer builds to. W47.2 is different — an independent body (the CWB) evaluates the company and issues the certification.

What CSA W47.2 certifies

The certification applies to the company, not to individual products or individual welds. Specifically, the CWB evaluates and approves:

  • Welding procedures. Each welding procedure used in production is qualified by testing — actual coupons welded to the procedure, destructive-tested, and documented. Procedures are written down in Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) and approved by the CWB.
  • Welders. Every welder performing certified work is individually qualified against a specific procedure range. Welders are tested, approved, and maintained on a currency schedule.
  • Welding supervision. A qualified Welding Engineer or Welding Supervisor (meeting the CWB’s experience and credential requirements) must oversee production welding.
  • Quality control. The company maintains an internal quality-assurance system — inspection records, non-conforming-weld tracking, continuous training, periodic re-qualification — that the CWB audits.

The certification is divided into divisions based on scope of welding performed, with the applicable division depending on the type of structural welding involved and the level of engineering oversight in place.

Why CSA W47.2 matters for aluminum lifting equipment

Aluminum lifting equipment depends entirely on the quality of its welded joints. A gantry crane’s main beam, trolley track, caster mounts, and structural gussets are all welded aluminum assemblies. If any of these welds fail under rated load, the consequences are catastrophic.

Aluminum welding is fundamentally different from steel welding. The metallurgy is different — aluminum conducts heat much faster than steel, so joint preparation, pre-heat, and shielding gas selection must accommodate rapid heat dissipation. Aluminum oxidizes immediately on contact with air, so cleaning and joint preparation practices differ. Filler alloys are specific to aluminum (commonly 4043 and 5356 for structural work, selected based on the base-metal alloy being welded). Post-weld inspection techniques — visual, penetrant, radiographic where applicable — follow aluminum-specific acceptance criteria.

A welder qualified for steel is not automatically qualified for aluminum. A welding procedure that works for steel will not produce an acceptable aluminum weld. Production shops that weld both materials maintain separate qualifications, separate consumables, and often separate welders for each.

For this reason, CSA maintains two separate welding certification standards:

  • CSA W47.1 — Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Steel
  • CSA W47.2 — Certification of Companies for Fusion Welding of Aluminum

A manufacturer producing aluminum lifting equipment must hold W47.2 specifically. W47.1 certification does not cover aluminum welding, and a company certified only for steel welding has not demonstrated competence in aluminum.

The competitive picture

CSA W47.2 separates serious aluminum lifting equipment manufacturers from the pro-sumer tier.

Cheap imported gantry cranes from offshore manufacturers, big-box industrial retailers selling rebranded equipment, and hardware-store-tier lifting products typically do not hold W47.2 certification. They may not hold any welding certification. Their welds may have been produced by welders whose qualifications were never independently verified, to procedures that were never independently tested.

For a buyer comparing manufacturers, “welds produced under CSA W47.2 certification” is a credibility signal that cannot be faked. The CWB maintains a public directory at cwbgroup.org that verifies certified companies, personnel, and welding consumables — anyone can confirm a manufacturer’s claim before purchase.

Every structural weld on an eme gantry or davit crane is produced under CSA W47.2 certification by qualified aluminum welders. The Eagle Beam lifting beam is a separate case: it uses an all-bolted construction with Grade L9 aluminum fasteners throughout, with no welded joints in its load-bearing structure — an intentional design choice that eliminates heat-affected zones and weld-quality risk from the lifting-beam line entirely.

How the certification process works

For a manufacturer seeking W47.2 certification, the process is substantial:

  1. Application to the CWB. The company applies for certification at the division appropriate to its scope of work.
  2. Welder qualification testing. Every production welder is tested on coupons representative of their work. Welds are destructively tested (bend tests, tensile tests) per CSA W59.2 acceptance criteria.
  3. Procedure qualification. Each Welding Procedure Specification in use is qualified by producing and testing a procedure qualification coupon.
  4. Welding Supervisor qualification. A qualified Welding Engineer or Supervisor meeting the CWB’s credential requirements must be on staff or under contract.
  5. Initial audit. The CWB conducts an on-site audit of the facility, procedures, records, and personnel.
  6. Certification issued. On successful completion, the company is listed in the CWB registry.
  7. Ongoing maintenance. Welders must maintain currency (produce qualified work within defined intervals, pass periodic re-tests). The CWB conducts periodic audits. Non-conformances trigger corrective action or certification suspension.

The process typically takes months from application to first certification, and years of continuous operation to maintain. It is not a paper exercise.

How to verify W47.2 coverage on a manufacturer’s welds

Two methods:

  1. Ask the manufacturer. A reputable aluminum lifting equipment maker will identify the CSA W47.2-certified welding operation producing its welds, provide the CWB certification number, and confirm the scope covers the product you are considering. If the manufacturer cannot or will not produce this documentation, the compliance claim is not verifiable.

  2. Check the CWB public directory. The Canadian Welding Bureau maintains a public directory at cwbgroup.org that verifies certified companies, personnel, and welding consumables. Anyone can search the directory by name to confirm the certified operation is current and active.

Every structural weld on an eme gantry or davit is produced under CSA W47.2 certification by qualified aluminum welders. eme can provide the certified welding operation’s CWB number on request.

Frequently asked questions

Is CSA W47.2 a Canadian-only standard?

Yes — CSA W47.2 is a Canadian standard issued by CSA Group and administered by the Canadian Welding Bureau. It is a Canadian-market compliance instrument; US market compliance is satisfied through ASME, OSHA, and AWS standards. That said, W47.2 certification is widely recognized in the United States as a quality signal for aluminum welding specifically. It is not required for a US buyer to accept a product, but its presence meaningfully differentiates the manufacturer from the pro-sumer and offshore tiers. In short: required in Canada, optional-but-credibility-building in the US.

Does W47.2 apply to individual welds or to the whole company?

W47.2 certifies the company’s welding capability — its procedures, welders, supervisors, and quality systems. It does not certify individual welds or individual products. The expectation is that a W47.2-certified company produces welds meeting its qualified procedures, and its internal quality system catches and addresses any that don’t.

What’s the difference between W47.1 and W47.2?

W47.1 covers fusion welding of steel. W47.2 covers fusion welding of aluminum. The standards are structurally similar (same kind of procedure/welder/supervisor qualification framework), but the technical requirements reflect the different metallurgy, consumables, and inspection methods of each base metal. A company certified under W47.1 is not certified for aluminum welding — and vice versa.

Is W47.2 required by law for aluminum lifting equipment?

Not universally. Some jurisdictions, insurers, and purchasers require W47.2 as a condition of supply, purchase, or operation. Others treat it as a quality benchmark without making it mandatory. In practice, serious industrial buyers of aluminum lifting equipment increasingly expect the certification, and its absence is a meaningful red flag.

How is CSA W47.2 different from ASME B30.17?

ASME B30.17 is a design standard for cranes and monorails — a manufacturer builds its equipment to B30.17’s requirements and self-declares compliance. CSA W47.2 is a third-party certification for aluminum welding — the Canadian Welding Bureau independently evaluates the certified welding operation and issues the certification. Both apply to aluminum gantry cranes; they address different aspects (structural design vs. welding). A well-built aluminum gantry is designed to B30.17, with every structural weld produced by a CSA W47.2-certified welding operation.

Are eme products welded under CSA W47.2 certification?

Yes — with one nuance. Every structural weld on an eme aluminum gantry or davit is produced under CSA W47.2 certification by qualified aluminum welders. The Eagle Beam aluminum lifting beam is a separate case: it uses an all-bolted construction with Grade L9 fasteners, with no welded joints in the load-bearing structure — so W47.2 does not apply to the beam itself, because the beam has no production welds to certify. This is an intentional design choice that eliminates welding-related quality risk from the lifting-beam product line entirely. Documentation for both the welding certification covering gantries and davits, and the bolted-construction specifications on Eagle Beam, is available on request.

Last reviewed April 2026. Content reviewed by eme engineering for technical accuracy. CSA W47.2 is published by CSA Group and administered by the Canadian Welding Bureau; the authoritative source is cwbgroup.org.