Welding Inspector

Duties and Responsibilities

Section 1

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 Main Responsibilities 1.1

• Code compliance

• Workmanship control

• Documentation control

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 Personal Attributes 1.1

Important qualities that good Inspectors are expected to

have are:
• Honesty

• Integrity

• Knowledge

• Good communicator

• Physical fitness

• Good eyesight

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 Standard for Visual Inspection 1.1

Basic Requirements
BS EN 970 - Non-destructive examination of fusion
welds - Visual examination
Welding Inspection Personnel should:
• be familiar with relevant standards, rules and specifications
applicable to the fabrication work to be undertaken
• be informed about the welding procedures to be used
• have good vision (which should be checked every 12
months)

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 Welding Inspection 1.2

Conditions for Visual Inspection (to BS EN 970)

Illumination:
• 350 lux minimum required
• (recommends 500 lux - normal shop or office lighting)
Vision Access:
• eye should be within 600mm of the surface
• viewing angle (line from eye to surface) to be not less than
30°
600mm

30°

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 Welding Inspection 1.3

Aids to Visual Inspection (to BS EN 970)

When access is restricted may use:

a mirrored boroscope
a fibre optic viewing system
} usually by
agreement
Other aids:
welding gauges (for checking bevel angles, weld profile, fillet
sizing, undercut depth)
dedicated weld-gap gauges and linear misalignment (high-low)
gauges
straight edges and measuring tapes
magnifying lens (if magnification lens used it should have
magnification between X2 to X5)

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Welding Inspectors Equipment 1.3

Measuring devices:
• flexible tape, steel rule
• Temperature indicating crayons
• Welding gauges
• Voltmeter
• Ammeter
• Magnifying glass
• Torch / flash light
• Gas flow-meter

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 Welding Inspectors Gauges 1.3

10mm 10mm 1

5m
5m

m
m
m

m
2

m
12
4mm
G.A.L. G.A.L.

12
4mm
3

3mm

3mm
4
T L

9m
S.T.D. S.T.D.
9m

m m

m
m

16mm 5

6m

6m
16mm
6

Fillet Weld Gauges

HI-LO Single Purpose Welding Gauge

IN
0 1/4 1/2 3/4
1
0 M
5 M 1/
10 2
MM 15
MMIN 15
20
50
60
40

TWI Multi-purpose Welding Gauge Misalignment Gauges

Hi-Lo Gauge

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 Welding Inspectors Equipment 1.3

Voltmeter Ammeter

Tong Tester
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 Welding Inspection 1.3

Stages of Visual Inspection (to BS EN 970)

Extent of examination and when required should be defined in
the application standard or by agreement between the
contracting parties

For high integrity fabrications inspection required throughout

the fabrication process:
Before welding
(Before assemble & After assembly)
During welding
After welding

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5

Before Welding
Preparation:
Familiarisation with relevant ‘documents’…
• Application Standard/Code - for visual acceptance
requirements
• Drawings - item details and positions/tolerances etc
• Quality Control Procedures - for activities such as material
handling, documentation control, storage & issue of
welding consumables
• Quality Plan/Inspection & Test Plan/Inspection Checklist -
details of inspection requirements, inspection procedures
& records required

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5

Before Welding
Welding Procedures:
• are applicable to joints to be welded & approved
• are available to welders & inspectors
Welder Qualifications:
• list of available qualified welders related to WPS’s
• certificates are valid and ‘in-date’

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5
Before Welding
Equipment:
all inspection equipment is in good condition & calibrated as
necessary
all safety requirements are understood & necessary
equipment available
Materials:
can be identified & related to test certificates, traceability !
are of correct dimensions
are in suitable condition (no damage/contamination)

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5
Before Welding
Consumables:
in accordance with WPS’s
are being controlled in accordance with Procedure
Weld Preparations:
comply with WPS/drawing
free from defects & contamination
Welding Equipment:
in good order & calibrated as required by Procedure

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5
Before Welding
Fit-up
complies with WPS
Number / size of tack welds to Code / good
workmanship
Pre-heat
if specified
minimum temperature complies with WPS

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.5

During Welding
Weather conditions
• suitable if site / field welding
Welding Process(es)
• in accordance with WPS
Welder
• is approved to weld the joint
Pre-heat (if required)
• minimum temperature as specified by WPS
• maximum interpass temperature as WPS

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.6

During Welding
Welding consumables
in accordance with WPS
in suitable condition
controlled issue and handling
Welding Parameters
current, voltage & travel speed – as WPS
Root runs
if possible, visually inspect root before single-sided welds are
filled up

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.6

During Welding
Inter-run cleaning
in accordance with an approved method (& back gouging)
to good workmanship standard
Distortion control
welding is balanced & over-welding is avoided

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.6

After Welding
Weld Identification
• identified/numbered as required
• is marked with welder’s identity
Visual Inspection
• ensure weld is suitable for all NDT
• visually inspect & ‘sentence’ to Code requirements
Dimensional Survey
• ensure dimensions comply with Code/drawing
Other NDT
• ensure all NDT is completed & reports available

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.6

After Welding
Repairs
monitor repairs to ensure compliance with Procedure, ensure
NDT after repairs is completed
PWHT
monitor for compliance with Procedure
check chart records confirm Procedure compliance
Pressure / Load Test
ensure test equipment is suitably calibrated
monitor to ensure compliance with Procedure
ensure all records are available

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Typical Duties of a Welding Inspector 1.6

After Welding
Documentation
ensure any modifications are on ‘as-built’ drawings
ensure all required documents are available
Collate / file documents for manufacturing records
Sign all documentation and forward it to QC department.

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 Summary of Duties
It is the duty of a Welding Inspector to ensure all the welding and
associated actions are carried out in accordance with the
specification and any applicable procedures.
A Welding Inspector must:
Observe
To observe all relevant actions related to weld quality throughout
production.

Record
To record, or log all production inspection points relevant to
quality, including a final report showing all identified imperfections

Compare
To compare all recorded information with the acceptance criteria
and any other relevant clauses in the applied application standard

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