Regulatory documents, application standards and contracts can give specific requirements for welding coordination personnel. Otherwise, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to determine the requirements to be in compliance with this document.
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ISO Standards are defined as a universal language of quality that offers a framework for organizations to work within specific requirements and guidelines. In the welding industry, ISO standards, such as ISO 3834 and ISO 14731, play a vital role in ensuring that welded products meet a certain level of quality and safety for the end-user.
Welding is an essential process used to combine two individual parts of a structure, which makes it an integral part of the production process in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and construction. Achieving a high level of quality is paramount in welding to maintain the product's structural integrity and safety for the end-user.
ISO 3834 is a set of worldwide accepted standards that outline the necessary quality requirements for welded products and the structure of their production. Standardizing the welding processes reduces the risk of errors and inconsistencies, which, in turn, provides more reliable and safer products.
Compliance with ISO 3834 standards is essential to achieve a superior level of quality in welded products. Maintaining compliance with these standards helps organizations establish a credible and reliable reputation among customers, stakeholders, and regulatory entities.
One of the significant standards that are included in ISO 3834 is quality control for fusion welding of metallic materials. To achieve this, the fusion welding processes used by organizations must meet specific standards, such as personnel qualification, welding procedure specifications, and equipment calibration, to maintain optimal and controlled quality in welded products.
The scope of Part 1 is to stipulate the requirements for qualifying welding procedures and personnel to establish objective evidence by demonstrating that the welding can take place to specified levels of quality and integrity.
Adherence to part 1 of ISO 3834 using a reliable quality management system assures organizations that their welding processes can produce welds with the necessary quality and integrity to meet the product's design and specifications.
Complying with Part 2 provides organizations with a roadmap for managing welding quality in a structured way, covering elements such as design, materials, welding procedures, testing, inspection, and documentation, ensuring a holistic approach to welding quality management.
Welding is becoming increasingly complex, requiring the use of specialized equipment, specific techniques, and more extensive welding processes. Welding coordination is essential to streamline this complex process, ensuring optimal product quality, and avoiding production downtime.
WCs must be able to plan and oversee welding operations from start to finish, ensuring that all necessary equipment, personnel, standards, and procedures are in place throughout the process. They must ensure that welding procedures and personnel hold relevant certifications, and all welding parameters meet specifications.
WCs are responsible for ensuring that welding procedures and processes are followed according to established standards, ensuring that the welding is producing optimal results, and verifying that the finished product matches the design specifications.
WCs must ensure that all welding process steps are carried out according to the established welding procedures and standards and are responsible for ensuring that all welding activities are inspected and tested to ensure optimal quality.
WCs need to have certain skill sets, including robust technical knowledge and practical experience in welding processes and metallurgy. In addition, they must be competent in areas such as communication, planning, problem-solving, and management.
Successful implementation of ISO 3834 and ISO 14731 increases an organization's credibility and reliability by providing objective evidence that their welding integrity and quality meet or exceed the established standards.
ISO Standards provide organizations with a framework for achieving a high level of quality, safety, and reliability in their products and processes. Failure to comply with these standards can lead to quality control issues, and in some cases, may lead to legal or financial penalties.
Adhering to ISO 3834 and ISO 14731 provides organizations with a roadmap for managing welding quality, ensuring that their products meet the necessary quality and safety criteria, resulting in improved product quality, better customer satisfaction, and greater market reputation.
As welding processes continue to evolve, so too will ISO 3834 and ISO 14731, ensuring that organizations stay up-to-date with industry standards and can deliver high-quality welding products consistently.
ISO Certification is issued by an external certification body that confirms that an organization's management system complies with international standards, providing the necessary evidence to demonstrate their commitment to quality.
The objective of ISO 3834 is to ensure that organizations implement welding quality management systems that follow a documented approach to prove that they have the necessary resources to support the welding process, ensuring optimal quality in the final product.
According to ISO 14731, Welding Coordinators are responsible for managing complex welding activities, ensuring the right equipment, procedures, and personnel are in place to streamline the production process and ensure optimal quality in the final products.
No, not every organization requires ISO 3834 certification. However, compliance with the standard provides a roadmap for managing welding quality, reducing the risk of errors and inconsistencies, ensuring that final products meet the necessary standards for optimal quality.
The length of time it takes to implement ISO 3834 and ISO 14731 depends on various factors, including the organization's size, complexity, and current level of compliance. On average, it can take between six months to a year to fully implement both standards.
Organizations that fail to comply with ISO 3834 and ISO 14731 may receive legal or financial penalties and may suffer reputational damage, leading to a loss of customer trust and decreased market share.
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Paper presented at Seventh European Congress on Joining Technology (EUROJOIN 7) on behalf of the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting, 21 - 22 May, 2009 in Venice (Italy), organised by the Istituto Italiano della Saldatura (Italian Welding Institute).
The safety, reliability and cost effectiveness of welded products requires the welds to be of adequate quality. Welding is a special process which needs unique controls in order to achieve the required quality. Such processes are recognised in the quality management systems standard, ISO 9001,[1] which requires them to be treated in a particular way. Ignoring the need for special, competent control of welding can result, in the worst cases, in catastrophic failure and loss of life. Whilst such occurrences are rare these days, they are not unknown. More commonly companies that do not adequately ensure competent control of welding may find themselves suffering from cost overruns, delays, contractual problems, etc, arising from the need to make repairs to bad welds. The cost penalties can be significant: it has been established that repairing a faulty weld incurs more than five to six times the cost of doing it correctly the first time.
The importance of competence in welding was recognised a long time ago. As an example, on 28 November 1918, the Technical Committee of Lloyd's Register of Shipping reviewed a report[2] on the application of arc welding to shipbuilding. This report was generally positive about the introduction of the process and proposals regarding additional regulations were made. These included the following:
Therefore, when we talk about competence in welding today, we are not talking about anything new! Our predecessors' opinion on the matter is evident from the above quotations; although it is only by viewing these statements through the prism of history that we can see how prescient they were.
In the years that followed, specifications and standards on welder approval (or 'qualification' as it is now called) emerged from a number of countries. In the UK, a new professional body, the Institute of Welding (now part of The Welding institute - TWI) was formed in 1923.
Nowadays, controlling welding as a special process is dealt with in ISO 3834,[3] quality requirements for fusion welding (which was first published as ISO 3834, and as EN 729, in 1995). This standard sets specific requirements for the competence of people with welding responsibilities and this includes: welders, NDT personnel, welding inspectors and welding coordinators. In other words, it is clear that anyone and everyone who can have an impact on the final quality of the welds in the product must have the required competence. It is like a chain - a 'welding quality chain' - if only one link is missing or faulty, the chain will break and the kinds of problems highlighted above may occur. This is recognised in ISO 14731,[4] welding coordination - tasks and responsibilities (first published in1994 as EN 719) which is referred to in ISO 3834.
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