Ouch!
You have a problem child on your hands. I believe you have a better reason to have him removed from the project than vice versa.
As stated in a couple of earlier responses, AWS D1.1 does not address the number of repairs. Unless there is a clause in the project specification addressing or restricting the number of repairs on a welded joint, this individual is stepping way over the border.
It is not the third party inspector's prerogative to rewrite or modify the contract or project specification.
Again, with out knowing all the details, Monday morning quarter backing is always dicey. However in this case I would pass you concerns "up the ladder" to someone in your organization with higher authority. Voice your concern that the third party inspector is interfering with production and causing needless delay. If the TPI is having any heartburn about what you are doing or how you are doing it, he should be communicating his concerns to the EOR, the owner, or his client. They should be the parties communicating with your employer that there is a serious concern and they should be negotiating the "new requirements" if such restrictions, limitations, or conditions are not addressed in the project specification.
It sounds as if the TPI may have an ego a tad greater than his authority. In my twenty years plus as a TPI, I've never had the authority to "stop work". I have always had to pass my concerns on to the owner or his Engineer of Record. It was always the owner or his design professional that had the authority to issue a "stop work" order. You may be in a different situation, but the contract should clearly delineate who wields the power to stop work on the project.
I don't totally disagree with the TPI. If you have attempted to repair the same defect several times, it is time to step back and detemine what the root cause of the problem is rather than simply having the welder gouge the weld out again and again. How was the defect detected? Is the location of the defect in the same place each time. If UT was used, was it properly calibrated for distance and was the location of the defect, i.e., depth, properly determined? I'm sure you have considered those issues already, but there is no harm in double checking. Once again, you didn't provide much detail, but there are many things to consider when making a repair especially if the first attempt to make a "simple" repair proves to be unsuccessful.
I've been hired to write specific repair procedures to ensure the welder knew what he was expected to do and how to the repair was to be accomplished on critical repairs. In a some cases the proposed repair procedure was required by contract to be reviewed and approved by the "owner". The simple act of writing the repair procedure forces you, or at least it gives you an opportunity, to give due consideration to nature of the defect and how to remove it, prepare the area for welding, and the sequence of making the repair. Nothing forces you to think about a problem like writing it down on paper.
There are times when the contractor has asked for my opinion (as a TPI), but I always make it clear that I am only making a suggestion at their request and I am not "requiring" the contractor to do anything. The method and means is always the fabricator's responsibility, not mine. Likewise, the responsibility for success or failure is the fabricators.
There also those projects where the fabricator doesn't ask for an opinion and that is perfectly fine with me. In those cases I simply step back and let them sink or swim on their own accord. As a TPI, I am not the fabricator's welding consultant and it is important that I don't become part of the problem. There are plenty of consultants that are willing to help solve the problem if there is enough money involved.
Like your TPI, I have suggested specific training courses offered by AWS, ASM, or ASME. A recent project required me to review the WPSs for a piping system. The QC person clearly didn't know how to write a WPS or how to properly qualify a welding procedure. He asked where he could learn to develop welding documentation, so I recommended he attend an AWS CWI seminar and Walter Sperko's ASME Section IX course. He took my advice, he attended both courses, and he thanked me for suggestion.
For a closing comment, I suggest that you try to consider the TPI concerns. Your TPI may not have the best interpersonal skills and he may be over stepping his authority. It also sounds like he is stepping on some toes in his attempt to maintain a high level of quality on "his" project, but I'm sure he has the project's best interest in mind.
Good luck.
Best regards - Al
I can recall a few state DOT special provisions limiting the number of repairs on projects, and vthey had the power to request a requal based on workmanship.
And as far as the inspector being a problem child there was one case of an inspector preventing a job from shipping on a friday because of a problem he found on monday but didnt tell the shop, this man was banned from the shop.
MDK