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WELDING PROCEDURE

Job Knowledge 39
AC TIG welding of aluminium cryogenic pressure vessel Courtesy of Air Products PLC

For a given application, the main way of ensuring adequate weld quality is to specify the

procedure and the skill level of the welding operator. Here, the alternative routes for

welding procedure approval are described together with the requirements for welder or

welding operator approval.

Routes to welding procedure approval

The key document is the Welding Procedure Speci cation (WPS) which details the welding

variables to be used to ensure a welded joint will achieve the speci ed levels of weld quality

and mechanical properties.

The WPS is supported by a number of documents (eg, a record of how the weld was made,

NDE, mechanical test results) which together comprise a welding approval record termed

the WPAR (BS EN ISO 15614) or PQR (ASME).

In both the European and ASME standards, there are a number of 'essential variables'

speci ed which, if changed, may a ect either weld quality or mechanical properties.

Therefore, a change in any of the essentials will invalidate the welding procedure and will

require a new approval test to be carried out. The essential variables are detailed in the

relevant speci cation but include material type, welding process, thickness range and

sometimes welding position.

manufacturer and the Examiner/Examining Body are shown in Fig.1.

The most common method of gaining approval is to carry out an approval test as described

in BS EN ISO 15614-1 (steels) and 15614-2 (aluminium and its alloys). The manufacturer
initially drafts a preliminary welding procedure (pWPS) which is used by one of the

manufacturer's competent welders to prove that it is capable of producing a welded joint to

the speci ed levels of weld quality and mechanical properties. The welding procedure

approval record (WPAR) is a record of this weld. If the WPAR is approved by the Examiner, it

is used to nalise one or more WPSs which is the basis for the Work Instructions given to

the welder.

It is noteworthy that the welder carrying out a satisfactory welding procedure approval test

is approved for the appropriate range of approval given in the relevant standard (BS EN ISO

9606, ASME IX or AWS D1.1).

The following options for procedure approval are also possible:

Welding procedure test (BS EN ISO 15614)

Approved welding consumable (BS EN ISO 15610)

Previous welding experience (BS EN ISO 15611)

Standard welding procedure (BS EN ISO 15612)

Pre-production welding test (BS EN ISO 15613)

The conventional procedure test (as speci ed in BS EN ISO 15614) does not always need to

be carried out to gain approval. But alternative methods have certain limits of application

regarding, for example, welding processes, materials and consumables as speci ed in the

appropriate application standard or contract agreement.

The welding procedure test method of approval is often a mandatory requirement of the

Application Standard. If not, the contracting parties can agree to use one of the alternative

methods. For example, a welding procedure speci cation can be approved in accordance

with the requirements of BS EN ISO 15611 (previous experience) on condition that the
manufacturer can prove, with appropriate documentation, that the type of joint has

previously been welded satisfactorily.

The American standard, ASME IX requires a welding procedure test (PQR) but AWS D1.1 will

allow the use of pre-quali ed procedures within the limits detailed in the speci cation.

Welder approval

The welder approval test is carried out to demonstrate that the welder has the necessary

skill to produce a satisfactory weld under the conditions used in production as detailed in

the approved WPS or Work Instruction. As a general rule, the test piece approves the welder

not only for the conditions used in the test but also for all joints which are considered easier

to weld.

As the welder's approval test is carried out on a test piece which is representative of the

joint to be welded, it is independent of the type of construction. The precise conditions,

called 'essential variables', must be speci ed in the approval test, eg material type, welding

process, joint type, dimensions and welding position. The extent of approval is not

necessarily restricted to the conditions used for the test but covers a group of similar

materials or a range of situations which are considered easier to weld.

It is important to note that a number of Amendments and Corrigenda have now been

issued which a ect the range of approval (see list of Relevant Standards).

In BS EN ISO 9606, the certi cate of approval testing is issued under the sole responsibility

of the Examiner/Examining Body. The welder approval certi cate remains valid subject to

the requirements of the application standard. In BS EN ISO 9606, it can be con rmed at six

monthly intervals by the employer/welding coordinator/examiner or examining body for up

to three years, depending on the route selected (see next paragraph), provided the welder

has been successfully welding within the range of quali cation of his/her certi cate.

Revalidation of the welder’s quali cation can be carried out according to one of these three

routes:
a) The welder shall be retested every 3 years.

b) Every 2 years, two welds made during the last 6 months of the validity period shall be

tested by radiographic or ultrasonic testing or destructive testing and shall be recorded.

c) A welder's quali cations for any certi cate shall be valid as long as it is con rmed as

described above and provided all the following conditions are ful lled:

The welder is working for the same manufacturer for whom he or she quali ed, and
who is responsible for the manufacture of the product;

The manufacturer's quality programme has been veri ed in accordance with ISO
3834-2 or ISO 3834-3;

The manufacturer has documented that the welder has produced welds of
acceptable quality based on application standards; the welds examined shall
con rm the following conditions: welding position(s), weld type (FW, BW), material
backing (mb) or no material backing (nb).

American standards have similar requirements although the extent of approval of the

welding variables are di erent to those of BS EN ISO 9606. From the 2015 edition of ASME

IX, a new nonmandatory appendix titled: “NONMANDATORY APPENDIX L WELDERS AND

WELDING OPERATORS QUALIFIED UNDER ISO 9606-1:2012 AND ISO 14732-2013”, describes

conditions under which an organization that is testing welders or welding operators under

the above ISO standards to also certify that those welders and welding operators are

quali ed to Section IX.

Welding operator approval

When required by the contract or application standard, the welding operators responsible

for setting up and/or adjustment of fully mechanised and automatic equipment must be

approved but the personnel operating the equipment do not need approval. In clarifying

the term 'welding operator', personnel who are using the equipment (loading and
unloading robotic equipment or operating a resistance welding machine) do not require

approval.

As speci ed in BS EN ISO 14732, "Welding personnel — Quali cation testing of welding

operators and weld setters for mechanized and automatic welding of metallic materials"

can be based on:

a) quali cation based on a welding procedure test in accordance with the relevant part of

ISO 15614;

b) quali cation based on a pre-production welding test in accordance with ISO 15613;

c) quali cation based on a test piece in accordance with the relevant part of ISO 9606;

d) quali cation based on a production test or production sample test.

It should be noted that the methods must be supplemented by a functional test

appropriate to the welding unit. However, a test of knowledge relating to welding

technology which is the equivalent of 'Job knowledge for welders' in BS EN ISO 9606 is

recommended but not mandatory.

Revalidation of the welding operator approval is generally in accordance with the

requirements of BS EN ISO 9606, except that route (a) requires retesting every six years

and  route (b) requires revalidation based on evidence every three years.

When working to ASME IX, operators for both mechanised and automatic welding

equipment require approval. The essential variables are di erent to those in welder

approval. From the 2015 edition of ASME IX, a new nonmandatory appendix titled:

“NONMANDATORY APPENDIX L WELDERS AND WELDING OPERATORS QUALIFIED UNDER

ISO 9606-1:2012 AND ISO 14732-2013”, describes conditions under which an  organization

that is testing welders or welding operators under the above ISO standards to also certify

that those welders and welding operators are quali ed to Section IX.

Relevant Standards
BS EN ISO 15614

Speci cation and quali cation of welding procedures for metallic materials - Welding

Procedure test. Part 1 Arc and gas welding of steels and arc welding of nickel and nickel

alloys.

Part 2: Arc welding of aluminium and its alloys

Part 3: Fusion and pressure welding of non-alloyed and low-alloyed cast irons

Part 4: Finishing welding of aluminium castings

Part 5: Arc welding of titanium, zirconium and their alloys

Part 6: Arc and gas welding of copper and its alloys

Part 7: Overlay welding

Part 8: Welding of tubes to tube-plate joints

Part 9: Underwater hyperbaric wet welding

Part 10: Hyperbaric dry welding

Part 11: Electron and laser beam welding

Part 12: Spot, seam and projection welding

Part 13: Resistance butt and ash welding 

BS EN ISO 9606-1: 2013

Quali cation test of welders - fusion welding. Part 1: Steels

BS EN ISO 9606-2: 2004

Quali cation test of welders - fusion welding. Part 2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys
BS EN ISO 15612: 2004

Speci cation and quali cation of welding procedures for metallic materials - Quali cation

by adoption of a standard welding procedure.

BS EN ISO 15610: 2003

Speci cation and quali cation of welding procedures for metallic materials - Quali cation

based on tested welding consumables.

BS EN ISO 15611: 2003

Speci cation and quali cation of welding procedures for metallic materials - Quali cation

based on previous welding experience.

BS EN ISO 14732:2013

Welding personnel — Quali cation testing of welding operators and weld setters for

mechanized and automatic welding of metallic materials

Bill Lucas prepared the information in this article in collaboration with Oliver Smith, John

Weston and Gene Mathers.

For further information on WPSs see Welding Procedures

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