welder position

Date 08-25-2010 12:27

meetarun72
AWS D1.1 Table 4.12 Welding personnel performance Essential Variable Changes Requiring Requalification (5) To a vertical welding progression not qualified (uphill or downhill).
Not unless you qualify him for downhill
Marshall

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 08-25-2010 12:29

I agree with Marshall. Welder needs to recertify in downhill progression to be qualified to weld downhill.

By 803056

Date 08-25-2010 13:31

Here's the rub, the chicken or the soup.

The welder has to be qualified to weld using downhill progression.
The welder has to be qualified to a WPS.
Downhill progression is not prequalified, so the WPS has to be qualified by testing, i.e., a PQR is required with all the NDT and mechanical testing required by D1.X.
Once the WPS is qualified the welder can then be qualified to the WPS.

A quick read of D1.1 makes it sound easy, but there has been an official interpretation on the subject, the gist of which I've provided.

Best regards - Al

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 08-25-2010 13:44

agreed but...with one exception. [AWS D1.1:2010 clause 3.7.1(1)]

By 803056

Date 08-25-2010 14:21

That is exactly the paragraph and the wording I referenced when I asked for an interpretation.

(1) Undercut may be repaired vertically downwards
when preheat is in conformance with Table 3.2, but not
lower than 70°F [20°C].

The information I posted was the response I received from the D1.1 Secretary/Committee.

I made the inquiry because it wasn't clear to me if either the welder or the procedure had to be qualified for downhill progression. The inclusion of Clause 3.7.1 (1) in Clause 3 leads you to believe it is prequalified. That isn't the case based on the response I received.

Best regards - Al

By waccobird (****)

Date 08-25-2010 14:47

Al
That has always been my take also as AWS D1.1 Table 4.5 PQR Essential Variable Changes Requiring WPS Requalification (30) Vertical Welding: For any pass from uphill to downhill or vice versa.
Marshall

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 08-25-2010 14:51

So, just because the code allows undercut to be repaired in the downhill progression, doesn't mean a welder who has not qualified to a proper WPS that has been tested through the PQR process can just go over the undercut to repair it. He would have to go over it uphill or in what ever position he is qualified to with a prequalified WPS.

Bottom line of the OP's question though, IMHO, previous posts are correct that a vertical uphill qualified welder is not qualified to weld vertical with a downhill progression. He must re qualify and that will be a totally different test to get the PQR, WPS, and then be qualified.

Thanks for sharing your information from the committee Al. Gives a very official meaning to the application of this question.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By Skaggydog (**)

Date 08-25-2010 19:31

So, when you qualify an undercut repair with a downhill pass do you test it as a CJP? Would there ever be any call to back gouge it?