Abstract: A weld monitoring and recording system and method monitors an ongoing welding operation and compares the welding current, the welding voltage, pre-heat/inter-pass temperature or other parameters from a previously qualified weld that are stored within a programmable device or computer. If the monitored parameters vary from the qualified parameters, then the weld is automatically interrupted until the operating parameters once again match the stored qualified parameters. A recorder can record different values related to the ongoing welding operation in order to provide documentation about the weld that can be viewed, printed, or downloaded.