An Update from Weld Australia’s Hotline

AN UPDATE FROM OUR HOTLINE

Weld Australia offers a ‘Hotline’ service to all Corporate Members. The purpose of the Hotline is not to provide a solution, but to advise the enquirer on practical next steps. For further advice, Weld Australia’s highly experienced welding consultants can speak to you over the phone or visit your site in person. If you have a Hotline query, complete our online form: www.weldaustralia.com.au/hotline.

Weld Australia is occasionally asked for an opinion on who can perform a visual examination of welds. This is a question that periodically arises when structural welds are to be examined to the requirements of AS/NZS 1554.1 Structural steel welding - Welding of steel structures at the completion of welding.

Whilst some will say the answer is obvious, Clause 7.3 of AS/NZS 1554.1 requires the inspector to conduct the visual examination in accordance with AS 3978 Non-destructive testing - Visual inspection of metal products and components. The complication arises when Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) personnel compliant with visual testing qualifications consistent with AS 3978 undertake such examinations rather than the welding inspector.

To answer the question, it will depend on who is requesting that the examination take place, be it part of the client specification, whether a NATA endorsed report may be required, or if it is for internal use by the fabricator as part of their quality management system. It should be noted that with the publication of AS/NZS 17637 Non-destructive testing of welds - Visual testing of fusion-welded joints, Standards Australia withdrew AS 3978. We generally advise enquirers as follows. For in-house visual examinations, AS/NZS 1554.1 is silent on who is qualified to perform this visual examination. It is not uncommon for the welding supervisor to perform this task, which is consistent with their AS/NZS 2214 Certification of welding supervisors - Structural steel welding training.

In some cases, a welder may be trained and tasked with inspecting their own work and signing off on this. Requirements may vary depending on what options have been defined by the fabricator as part of their quality management system. Depending on the nature of the work being undertaken, persons undertaking the visual examinations of welds may find it beneficial to attend Weld Australia’s IIW International Welding Inspector – Basic (IWI-B) welding inspection course.

If the fabricator is either compliant or claiming compliance with either AS/NZS 5131 Structural steelwork - Fabrication and erection and/or AS/NZS ISO 3834 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials, the fabricator is required to define requirements for (in-house) inspection before during and after welding including visual inspection of welds. The standards do not define who has to perform this task but does require them to be competent. Reference to Clause 5

of AS/NZS ISO 17637 recommends that the visual examiner be qualified to either ISO 9712 Nondestructive testing — Qualification and certification of NDT personnel (AS ISO 9712) or at an appropriate level in the relevant industry sector.

For Australia, this means that, for example, a AS/NZS 2214 qualified welding supervisor or a suitably qualified welding inspector (e.g. see Clause 7.2 of AS/NZS 1554.1) would conform with this recommendation as would a person with a visual examination qualification consistent with AS ISO 9712, but as per industry practice it does not preclude a suitably trained welder performing this task unless the client specifies otherwise in the contract.

Note that in this discussion, it is important to clarify that any person performing visual examination of welds claiming conformance with AS ISO 9712 requires specific welding-related knowledge and skills for this industry sector.

If the client asks for NATA endorsed visual examination reports of welded joints, then the person performing the inspection will most likely need to be compliant with AS ISO 9712. The fabricator should be aware that NDT technicians with NATA endorsement for visual examinations (VT) are accredited by NATA to provide a supplementary visual examination report in conjunction with the NDT method for which they are accredited.

For example, if performing a magnetic particle examination, the technician will perform a basic visual examination of the welded joint prior to performing the magnetic particle examination and, report appropriately on any surface imperfections observed. The extent of the visual examination though may extend beyond the specific weld length subjected to the magnetic particle examination. Weld sizing and other assessments typically performed by welding inspectors fall outside the scope of the NATA endorsed supplementary visual examination.

This Hotline update covers a specific query encountered during the last few months. Whilst accuracy in welding is critical, it is impossible to report in detail the full circumstances of the query. As such, Weld Australia recommends that further technical advice is sought in relation to specific, individual circumstances.