I am only repeating what other respondents have said before in this forum, so none of this is new. What is sometimes overlooked is that the "code" requirements are the minimum requirements that must be met. This is a basic premise applicable to design, materials, fabrication, or inspection.

As a manufacturer, the minimum code requirements must be met or exceeded to meet customer expectations. If the manufacturer is uncomfortable with meeting the bare bones minimum requirement, then it is their responsibility do what is necessary to "sleep comfortably" at night. The lawyers only come out of the shadows when something goes boom in the night and people are hurt or contract requirements are not met.

The question about ASME and FCAW versus GMAW comes up every couple of months. Compare the two processes from an equipment prospective. They both use the same power supply, they both use the same wire feed mechanism, and in some cases, they use the same shielding gases. The major difference is the electrode, and it is the electrode type (solid versus cored or tubular) that ASME Section IX uses to differentiate the two processes.

What welding variables are key to setting up the welding process? Arc voltage, wire feed speed, and electrode extension are the three welding parameters that have to be controlled. Amperage is the most useless bit of information available to the welder and probably causes the most harm in trying to set up GMAW or FCAW system, but it is listed on every WPS.

Every beginning welder (me included) learned to control the arc length and set the amperage. In the case of semiautomatic welding, it is common to see two welders working together trying to set the welding parameters. The one welder welds and shouts commands to his partner to up the voltage, turn down the amperage, no, no down on the volts, up on the amperage, and so on until the welder is satisfied. The connection between wire feed speed and electrode extension is missed because no one takes the time to properly instruct the welder. The three variables that are constant, once set, are arc voltage, wire feed speed, and electrode extension. If the WPS would simply list those three parameters (within narrow useable ranges) the ordeal of setting up the process would be painless and there would be consistency between the welding stations. 

I mean no disrespect to the gentlemen that sit on the ASME Section IX committees, but I can only imagine a limited few of them have ever welded for a living. They pare the requirements down to minimize the cost and impact of qualifying welding procedures and welders so as to minimize the wailing of the manufacture's bean counters while still keeping public safety in mind. There are bound to be differences in opinion between "non-welders" and welders as to what is important to control the process and maintaining product integrity.

It is up to the manufacturers, either through their engineering or quality control departments, to recognize that simply meeting the code requirements may not be sufficient to properly control their welding operations. It is very easy to write a WPS that meets ASME requirements that are totally useless. In my humble opinion, the same problem exists with the AWS published SWPSs that can be purchased for a price.

There is a tremendous amount of information to be "learned" by going through the mechanics of qualifying a welding procedure and finding out what works and what doesn't work. Those lessons are never learned if the manufacturer simply buys the "canned" WPS. It's like learning to ride a bicycle. You can read the book several times, but until you actually get on the bike and experience a fall or two, you will never learn to ride. Can you imagine yourself learning to ride for the first time, pedaling furiously while dear old Mom or Dad, running beside you, leafing through the pages of "How to Ride A Bicycle for Dummies" trys to give you direction on how to ride without crashing into the neighbor's house. That's what happens everyday in welding industry. I, for one, am thankful. It keeps me busy and it keeps food on my family's table. :(

The lesson of the day is that if you think you need more control or tighter controls over your operations, then by all means do so. The posting in the forum a few days ago about the code requirements for filler metal storage is a great example. "Does the code list requirements for filler metal storage?"

"No, but since you had to ask the question, there must be a need to address it in your facility."

"Do you have to qualify welders on both carbon steel and stainless steel when meeting the requirements of ASME?"

"The short answer is no, but if you believe the differences in skills needed to weld the two base metals are significant, then by all means, test the welders on both carbon steel and stainless steel."

"Do I have to qualify my welders for GMAW and FCAW separately to meet ASME Section IX?"

"The short answer is no, but if you believe the differences between the two welding processes are significant, then by all means, test the welders on both GMAW and FCAW."

You are the person that has to be able to sleep peacefully at night. When one of your vessels goes boom in the middle of the night, your company (and possibly you) will be the entity to answer to the lawyers. 

Enough of "Al's Rant of the Day".

Best regards - Al