That's a scary response if I ever read one.
It is usually what isn't known that kills people. It is usually decisions made by individuals not qualified by education or experience that hurt us the most often.
I had a project a couple of weeks ago. An engineer asked me to assist him to inspect an amusement ride. An original shop weld had failed and was repaired by someone that was unknown to the current owner. Let's step back and fill in a few blanks before continuing the story. This amusement ride was a "repossession" that was purchased by the current owner. The inspection is mandated by state statue, i.e., the ride has to be examined by a licensed engineer. That's where I got into the act.
A main structural weld had failed at some point and it was repaired. The term "repaired" is being used loosely at this point. The weld was "butt ugly". The weld was a wide weave that contained slag inclusions that extended from one side of the weld to the other, porosity, and undercut. Someone attempted to repair the welds with "high viscosity" paint to fill the voids, slag, and undercut, some of which was nearly 1/8 inch deep.
I rejected the repairs which immediately sent the owner over the edge. "You can't reject that weld, it's not broken! This ride is built like a battleship. It will never break and if it did, what's the worst that can happen? A kid will feel a big bump at the worst!"
My reply was that although it was built like a battleship, it clearly failed at some point and it needed to repaired by a welder that knows how to weld.
The engineer agreed that he would not approve the repair of the ride unless the repair welds were removed and rewelded by someone that was qualified to do so.
As you can imagine, as the welds were excavated the picture changed somewhat, because other welds that were supposed to be CJP were not and they had to be repaired as well. The owner was jumping up and down at that point because he can't use the ride at an event on the 4th of July and we're costing big money!
Just another example of someone (the owner) trying making decisions they were not qualified to make. In this case endangering the well being of untold numbers of children.
How many people could be affected by one of your welds should it fail? Are you qualified by education, training, and experience to make decisions about how much weld is required to prevent a weld from failing in service? Do you know for sure the owner will not change the operating conditions sometime in the future? Consider for one moment that the owner most likely assumes you welded the fitting and other components in the system per the appropriate code and per the contract drawings.
As I said in my opening statement, "a scary response if I ever read one" and a good reason to have well qualified welders and inspectors on every project.
Best regards - Al