How welding qualification ranges are worked out from a test weld

Thickness: procedure and welder ranges are different numbers

The single most common mistake is applying one thickness range to everything. Procedure qualification, welder qualification and deposited weld metal each carry their own band.

For procedure qualification, AS/NZS 1554.1 Table 4.11(A) item (o) uses 0.5 to 2.0 times the thickness of the thinner test plate, and Clause 4.1.2(k) removes the upper limit at 36 mm and above. The full procedure story, including electrical tolerances, lives in the WPS, PQR and WQR guide.

Welder qualification follows its own tables. Do not copy the procedure thickness band onto the welder certificate without checking Table 4.12.2(A) and the test route used.

Procedure butt welds below 36 mm

0.5 to 2.0 times the thickness of the thinner test plate (Table 4.11(A) item (o))

Procedure butt welds at 36 mm and above

No upper limit applies (Clause 4.1.2(k)(ii))

Production weld

Must fall inside both the qualified procedure range and the welder's approved range

Welder position ranges are not the procedure position ranges

AS/NZS 1554.1 says this outright: the positional qualification limits of the welding procedure are not applicable to welder qualifications. They are separate calculations from separate tables, and treating the procedure position range as the welder position range is a frequent audit finding.

Welder position coverage comes from Table 4.12.2(A), which sets the range of approval by welding position for plates and pipes, butt welds and fillet welds separately. As a general principle position coverage is directional: a more difficult position extends downward to easier ones, but vertical and overhead do not cross-qualify each other, so a shop that welds in both usually tests in both.

Pipe is handled by diameter rather than by position alone, and the rule is unusually generous above 100 mm.

Pipe test piece, outside diameter 100 mm or less

Qualifies d to 2d

Pipe test piece, outside diameter above 100 mm

Qualifies 0.5d to unlimited

Hollow sections

d is the dimension of the smaller side

Steel type

A qualification with any one steel covered by the standard qualifies any other steel it covers (Clause 4.12.2.3)

Automatic and semi-automatic operators

A qualification with an approved consumable extends to other approved consumables on the same process (Table 4.12.2(B))

Two routes to qualify a welder

Clause 4.12.2.2 accepts welders already qualified under a recognised welder qualification standard, provided the evidence refers to joints and positions as close as practicable to the production work. Welders qualified to AS 1796, AS/NZS 2980, AS/NZS 3992, NZS 4711 or ISO 9606-1 are deemed qualified.

Clause 4.12.2.3 covers everyone else: the welder welds a test piece for the procedures required on the job. The test weld needs a minimum examination length of 300 mm, is examined visually and by macro test, and must satisfy the acceptance levels of Clause 6.2.2. Grinding or repair of the capping passes of a test weld is not permitted, which is worth telling the welder before they start rather than after.

Process and material group are qualified one at a time

A qualification is tied to the welding process used, identified by its ISO process number: 111 for MMAW, 135 for GMAW, 136 for FCAW, 141 for GTAW, 121 for SAW. Some standards allow grouping of related processes, but that grouping is never automatic and ForgeQM does not apply it silently. If a shop moves from 135 to 136, that is a new qualification question, not a paperwork detail.

Material group works the same way. AS/NZS 1554.1 covers carbon and carbon manganese steels; quenched and tempered steels fall under AS/NZS 1554.4 and stainless under AS/NZS 1554.6. ForgeQM blocks a 1554.1 qualification from being applied to stainless or quenched and tempered material unless an override is recorded with a reason.

Essential variables invalidate procedure support, not just the welder card

A production weld needs a procedure that still covers every essential variable, and a welder whose approved range covers the joint. Step outside either and the qualification no longer supports the weld.

Electrical tolerances are process dependent. Under AS/NZS 1554.1 Table 4.11(A), current is plus or minus 15% for MMAW and GTAW, and plus or minus 10% for SAW, GMAW and FCAW. The full procedure EV list is in the WPS, PQR and WQR guide.

Current

Plus or minus 15% for MMAW and GTAW; plus or minus 10% for SAW, GMAW and FCAW

Voltage

Plus or minus 15% for MMAW and GTAW; plus or minus 7% for GMAW, FCAW and SAW

Travel speed

Plus or minus 15%

Preheat

A decrease of more than 20 degrees C below the qualified value

Reapproval is the part registers usually miss

Welder qualifications are not permanent, and AS/NZS 1554.1 Clause 4.12.2.4 lists three separate triggers for reapproval. Only the first is the familiar continuity rule.

The second trigger surprises people: for welders not qualified to AS/NZS 2980, NZS 4711 or ISO 9606-1, changing employer invalidates the qualification, and the new employer has to qualify the welder again. A shop that hires an experienced welder and files their previous in-house certificate has not met the standard.

A register that stores only the issue date cannot see any of this, so it will show qualifications as current when they are not. ForgeQM tracks continuity alongside the certificate so a lapse is visible before the weld is made rather than during an audit.

• Six months or more have elapsed since the welder was employed on the relevant welding processes
• The welder changes employment, unless they are qualified to AS/NZS 2980, NZS 4711 or ISO 9606-1
• There is some specific reason to question the welder’s ability