ASME IX ,,, Tack welder certs, & QW322 ????

Date 10-10-2009 19:46

This old man needs some ammunition before next weeks meeting and an on going process of crossing all the " t's " and dotting all the " i's " for an upcoming ASME audit early next year. For the last 20 years numerous shop personnel have been in charge of welding QC and little or no understanding of code records maintenance, ( if you could see some of the PQRs and WPSs entries, you would know what I'm talking about ), a little like myself but I've been working with AWS codes for the last 25 years, I have Section 9, 2007 with 2008 updates. I remember seeing where ASME does not recognize or indorse " tack welder " qualifications, but I can not find it, HELP. I am also a bit confused concerning QW-322, at psesent there is a chart on the wall listing all the welders and just the process they used each week, that is susposed to be all that is required to stay current with welder qualifications according to the owner and their past practices, I find that that hard to accept based on my current level of understanding with the code, there is a lot don't agree with but I'll start with this for now, HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!

By repair2 Date 10-23-2009 05:12 Edited 10-23-2009 14:29

ASME 9 as far as the pressurised systems regulations are concerned can be considered as equivalent to EN ISO 15614-1 /EN 287. However it may not be contractually acceptable. The advantage in using ASME is that generally fewer procedure tests are required particularly when welding pipework.

By jon20013 (*****)

Date 10-23-2009 11:08 Edited 10-23-2009 11:11

I don't think you'll find your answer in ASME IX but rather in the constructing codes of ASME. I include the following from B31.3 because that's primarily what we work to here but in my experience, virtually all of the ASME Codes have similar language:

328.5 Welding Requirements
328.5.1 General
(a) Welds, including addition of weld metal for alignment [paras. 328.4.2(b)(4) and 328.4.3(c)(3)], shall be made in accordance with a qualified procedure and by qualified welders or welding operators.

[NOTE: para. B deleted intentionally]

(c) Tack welds at the root of the joint shall be made with filler metal equivalent to that used in the root pass. Tack welds shall be made by a qualified welder or welding operator.

It stands to reason that if tacks are to be incorporated into the final weld, they would have to be made by qualified welders but in another scenario, if bridge materials are used and tacks are made outside of the weld groove and then completely removed, would they be required to be made by qualified welders? This is purely hypothetical, but I would put that in my ammunition pile for answering questions.

EDIT: Regarding QW-322. Your company must show some evidence that each welder has performed satisfactorily with each PROCESS (notnecessarily material) they are qualified in. Evidence means some form of documentation, attested to by a representative of your company.