You give the welder the WPS, not the PQR.
The dimensions of the weld should be detailed on design documents. (See 4.3.4)
The acceptance criteria should be made aware to the welder but is the responsibility of the inspector.
A code by itself is NOT a suggested practice for operations. A written quality system would be expected in most cases. Within that system, policies and procedures for training should be addressed. The code contains requirements that may or may not help your organization assure quality.
Companies should have in-house training requirements for assuring personnel meet their requirements. A JOB CARD may or may not give them the information they need. There is nothing that prohibits you from writing joint specific WPS's with supplementary info including acceptance criteria and other requirements.
Of course that is one persons opinion.
Well, it was ONE man's opinion, now it is TWO.
It doesn't really matter what the code is, the welders should be given a work specific WPS developed from the applicable PQR unless it is Pre-Qualified. It is not their job to go through the Contract Documents, all the applicable codes, and the Engineered as well as shop drawings and come up with the appropriate joint configuration, dimensions, allowable parameters for the welding from the PQR and Table from the code, etc.
If they are to be productive and do their job to the best of their ability they need a support crew that takes care of those items for them.
Leg length is calculated by the detailer based upon the throat and calcs from the engineer. Sure, the formula is included in many of the codes but it isn't up to the welder to run that info. That should have been done before a shop drawing ever got to them.
Discontinuity allowances will change from code to code and job to job as well. That info should be in a pre-production meeting and included in job specific packets available on the work floor. Then, those things are not really the job of the welder who should just be doing their best on every job. QC is to find and evaluate those items for correction. Yes, the welder is the first line of QC as far as I am concerned, BUT, that doesn't mean they have to stop and look everything up all the time to see if they need to correct an undercut or porosity.
Having said all of that, No, don't assume they don't know anything besides info you give them. But, also don't expect more from them than is reasonable. None of us knows everything. Inspectors are expected to know where to find information, not be able to answer every single question off the top of their head. Same with welders, they know how to weld for your shop's work. Some items they can find for themselves. But, don't expect them to know how to do their job and QC's job too.
Training is a major responsibility that shops in many sectors of the welding industry are totally ignoring. They just hire and throw to the wolves and see what happens. If they don't like it, they fire and start over. Most industry problems are the result of very poor management and stupid (yes, I said it) attitudes on the part of those who need to be working to improve their people not just expect to be able to hire the best available and get immediate top performance and results.
I like the statement: CFO= 'What happens if we spend time and money to train these people and they leave?' CEO= ' What happens if we don't and they stay?'
It takes money to make money. It takes training to get quality AND production.
He Is In Control, Have a Great Day, Brent
I approach the problem this way:
The WPS provides the basic information needed to set up for the work. A separate annex, referenced by the WPS, lists the base metal specifications, grade, product form, thickness, and minimum preheat and interpass temperatures based on base metal thickness. Another annex, also referenced by the WPS depicts the weld details such as the groove details and fillet weld details with permitted working tolerances. A third annex, referenced by the WPS or traveler (depending on the shop's operations) provides detailed acceptance criteria.
The WPS and three annexes provides the welder with just about everything needed to make a code compliant weld.
The level of detail included in the specific annex is dependent on what the contractor is building, the applicable code, etc. There is no such thing a one shoe fits all. I just reviewed some "canned" WPSs purchased from an on-line "expert." They are absolutely useless. They provide no useful information to the welder unless he has a copy of the code book in his welding booth and knows how to read and apply a code.
Al
For the past month or two, I am having to treat everyone on the job as a 5 year old and explain everything in great detail as to what I expect to see when I return for my final weld inspection. I have recently been introduced to people who claim they have been in this business for 40 plus years and still do not understand basic fillet weld symbols or what paperwork is required for welder certification or WPSs.
...holy cow, there are places out there that are just as you describe
