How Software Increases Welding Process Efficiency
Highlights include a greater ability to create code-compliant documentation and track welder continuity With the first edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code recently celebrating its 100th anniversary, a motivation the industry standards committees share is to not only increase welding process efficiency, but also ensure the uniform application of generally accepted safe welding practices in the manufacturing and fabrication of boilers and pressure vessels. It should come as no surprise that, throughout this time, welding companies, engineers, AWS Certified Welding Inspectors (CWIs), quality control/ assurance managers, and foremen have developed welding documentation processes. Using computer software assists in those endeavors by helping to increase welding process efficiency, manage welding process documentation, and meet code demands (see lead photo). The Importance of Record Keeping In many cases, a company might have a CWI or welding engineer who’s responsible for developing and implementing the documentation process. On average, several challenges must be overcome, including the following: 1) Single point of contact failure. The CWI who evolved the process leaves the company, and the incoming CWI has to adopt or adapt the inherited approach without transition or explanation. 2) Partial modernization. The company, with the help of the CWI, has attempted a transition from paper-based documents to electronic template forms in Word or Excel. Or perhaps an advanced company has invested in an access database or home-grown tool, but has not migrated the legacy information. 3) Code update maintenance. The code is not static, and the CWI has a day job in the shop, so finding time to stay updated with code changes and finding the time for adapting the process can be challenging. Accurately Documenting Work Activities Through vigorous attention to detail, and perhaps good luck, companies that haven’t dealt with major issues yet as a result of inaccurate documentation might be living by the motto “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” without recognizing the potential exposure to vulnerabilities associated with inaccurate documentation. Although other companies might be actively managing or coping with the impact of a single one of these vulnerabilities, the real challenge is when more than one exists, leading to an inefficient and cost prohibitive out-of-control or out-of-date process. In these types of situations, consequences can surface during audits that result in the need for costly and time-consuming remedial intervention. Ensuring Welder Qualification An example of how a CWI or quality control manager might fail to keep a welder qualified is as follows: • The welder initially qualified to use multiple welding processes at the company, and continued to weld daily, but he/she failed to weld with gas metal arc welding for more than six months. This terminated the welder’s qualification to use that process. In the event the welder is subsequently placed on a job using gas metal arc welding, an independent authorized inspector for the job is obliged to refuse to sign off on the project, with the structure welded by the nonqualified welder instantly becoming scrap metal waste, which may cost thousands of dollars. With job margins already under pressure, an error of this magnitude could result in the ending of a career or even the demise of an entire company. Code Compliance for Boilers, Pressure Vessels, Pipelines, and More Throughout the years, various codes have been created to adhere to the construction of different structures. ASME publishes the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The American Petroleum Institute (API) has many pipeline standards including 1104, Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities. In addition, AWS publishes a host of different welding standards such as D1.1, Structural Welding Code — Steel; D1.2, Structural Welding Code — Aluminum; D1.5, Bridge Welding Code; D15.1, Railroad Welding Specification for Cars and Locomotives; and D17.1, Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications. There are also international welding codes for British and European standards. Typically, committees meet to release code updates on a frequency from annually to every five years. This provides up-to-date rules and guidelines on a structured schedule. Given the amount of detail that must be adhered to in order to legally perform construction under these codes, and the penalties or fines that come with noncompliance, welding documentation has become an essential variable when code-level fabrication is involved. In most cases, the documents required for construction will remain with the structure for the entire existence in an operating production capacity.Mechanical Engineer in Training uses ProWrite™ welding software to create ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section IX welding documents.