CERTIFICATION TO ISO 3834 FOR FABRICATION INDUSTRY

1.0 Introduction

Manufacturing processes such as fusion welding are widely used to produce many products,

and for some companies, these are the key production features. Products may range from

simple to complex; examples include pressure vessels,, domestic and agricultural equipment,

cranes, bridges, transport vehicles and other items it is therefore important to ensure that

these processes carried out in the most effective way and that appropriate control exercised

over all aspects of the operation.

2.0 Comparison between TSO 9001:2008 and ISO 3834.

ISO 9001 standard developed in order to apply a consistent Quality Management System.

However, surface coating, painting, composite manufacture, welding and brazing considered

as "special processes" because the quality of the manufactured product cannot be readily

verified by final inspection. In the case of welded products, quality cannot be inspected

directly in the product, but has to be built in during fabrication, as even the most extensive

and sophisticated non-destructive testing does not improve the quality of the product.

2.1 ISO 9001:2008 clause no 7.5.2 requires:

The organization shall validate any processes for production, and service provision where

subsequent monitoring or measurement cannot verify the resulting output and, consequently,

deficiencies become apparent only after the product is in use or the service has been

delivered.

Validation shall demonstrate the ability of these processes to achieve planned results. The

organization shall establish arrangements for these processes including, as applicable,

a) Defined criteria for review and approval of the processes,

b) Approval of equipment and qualification of personnel,

c) Use of specific methods and procedures,

d) Requirements for records (see 4.2.4), and

e) Revalidation.

EN ISO 3834 is a standard independent of the type of construction manufactured that

provides a method to demonstrate the capability of a Manufacturer to make products of the

specified quality, both in workshops and at field installation sites. Therefore, applicable

measures for different circumstances identified, such as the following:

• in contractual situations for the specification of welding quality requirements;

• by Manufacturers to establish and maintain welding quality requirements;

• by committees, drafting manufacturing codes or application standards to specify

appropriate welding quality requirements.

• By organisations assessing welding quality performance, e.g. third parties, customers,

or Manufacturers.

Consequently, these International Standards used by internal and external organisations,

including certification bodies, which could offer certification services by assessing the

Manufacturer's ability to meet customer, regulatory or the manufacturer's own requirements.

3.0 Application of ISO 3834 certification

The EN ISO 3834 is an international standard created by welding professionals of the

Technical committee ISO/TC 44, Welding and allied processes. Type of industries covered.

Products may range from simple to complex. Examples include pressure vessels, domestic

and agricultural equipment, cranes, bridges, transport vehicles and other items.

EN ISO 3834 standard defines quality requirements suitable for fusion welding processes of

metallic materials, for welding -both in workshops and on site. It is appropriate when

demonstration of a manufacturer's capability to produce welded constructions in accordance

with specified criteria is required. Such criteria specified in one or more of the following:

• a specification;

• a product standard (e.g. EN 1090, EN 12732, EN 12952, EN 13445 & EN 15085)

• Regulatory requirement

4.0 Certification.

EN ISO 3834 provides a method to demonstrate the capability of a manufacturer to

produce products of the specified quality. It was prepared such that:

• it is independent of the type of construction manufactured;

• it defines quality requirements for welding in workshops and or on site;

• it provides guidance for describing a manufacturer's capability to produce

constructions to meet specified requirements;

• It provides a basis for assessing a manufacturer's welding capability.

EN ISO 3834 consists of the following parts, under the general title Quality

requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials:

• Part 1: Criteria for the selection of the appropriate level of

quality requirements

• Part 2: Comprehensive quality requirements

• Part 3: Standard quality requirements

• Part 4: Elementary quality requirements

• Part 5: Documents with which it is necessary to conform to claim conformity to the

quality requirements of EN ISO 3834-2, EN ISO 3834-3 or EN ISO 3834-4

• Part 6: Guidelines on implementing EN ISO 3834 [Technical Report]

The Manufacturers generally select one of the three levels (as specified in part 2, 3 and 4 of

the standard) based on the following considerations regarding their products:

• the extent and significance of safety critical products;

• the complexity of manufacture; -

• the range of products manufactured;

• the range of different materials used;

• the extent to which metallurgical problems may occur;

• the extent to which manufacturing imperfections, e.g. misalignment, distortion, weld

imperfection, can affect product performance.

ISO 3834-2 - Comprehensive quality Level

This part is applied to constructions in which the failure of welds may lead to total product

failure with successive significant financial consequences and a major risk of human injury.

The product may be subject to pronounced dynamic loading in addition to high static loading.

Manufacture can be complex and the range of materials could include high performance

metals as well as materials such as structural boiler steels and aluminium alloys that require

enhanced controls to avoid the occurrence of deleterious fabrication imperfections.

ISO 3834-3 - Standard quality level

This part can be applied to constructions in which failure of welds could impair the intended

use of the construction and the operational unit in which it forms a part. The product would

have a normal safety risk and the financial consequences would not be extreme. The

manufacturing technique would be conventional without reliance on high performance

materials and the production processes would be well established.

ISO 3834-4 - Elementary quality level

This part is applied to constructions in which failure of welds would not fundamentally

impair the intended use of the constructions. Additionally, failure would not be expected to

have any adverse effects on the safety of people and would only have minor financial

consequences. The materials used would be simple as well as the manufacturing technique.

5.0 Interpretation of the Requirements of ISO 3834.

5.1 Technical and contract requirements. (Clause no 7.2 of ISO 9001:2008.)

• Attention should be given to the product standard to be used together with any

supplementary requirements, and to statutory and regulatory requirements.

• A possible way to demonstrate the Manufacturer's compliance with these normative

requirements is the registration of the subject review by filing cither the minutes

meeting or the relevant checklist.

• The aspects given in the standard not intended to be exhaustive; consider further

matters relevant to a particular contract or design requirement.

• The intent is to ensure that the manufacturer properly understands the technical

requirements and that the product be manufactured in accordance with the contract.

Welding coordination according to ISO 14731 should be specified for this activity.

5.2 Sub contracting: (Clause no 7.4 of ISO 9001:2008.)

The manufacturer should ensure that

• any sub-contracted welding-related activities, including welding, NDT, inspection,

heat treatment, maintenance of equipment and calibration, comply with the

requirements of the contract specification to the satisfaction of the welding

coordinator with assigned responsibilities in this area.

• Sub-contractors who deliver welding or ancillary services may comply with the same

or a higher level of EN ISO 3834 as the main contractor. However, a lower level may

be appropriate in particular cases, depending on the extent of the sub-contract and the

services or products provided.

• It is the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that the welding or related activities

are properly controlled according to relevant items of EN ISO 3834.

• More extensive supervision and surveillance may become necessary if the initial

audits reveal excessive non-conformance.

5.3 Welding personnel - (Clause no 6.2 of ISO 9001:2008.)

5.3.1 - Welders and welding operators

Welders and welding operators shall be qualified by an appropriate test. Whenever no other

specific Customer's requirement is applicable, the standards reported in the following the

applicable codes such as ASME Sec IX or EN 228/ EN 15642 standards apply.

All qualification records shall be filed in the last upgraded revision and properly controlled,

moreover, if the production welds are of the required quality and if the test records (e.g. half-

yearly Documentation about radiographic or ultrasonic inspections or fracture tests, etc.) are

filed, prolongation of the certificate time of validity may be obtained, It should be noted that

the standards referenced in table 1 consider the figure of the examiner or examination body as

a person or organisation .appointed to verify compliance with the applicable Standard without

giving any specific guidance on it. As a consequence, many different situations can be

considered:

• Qualification is issued by a person without any recognised qualification;

• Qualification is issued by a qualified person (IWE, IWT, IWS, IWI-P4), with

reference to his/her Qualification diploma (and relevant stamp);

• Qualification is issued by the Manufacturer's qualified welding coordinator

(IWE, IWT, IWS) in the name of the Manufacturer itself;

• Qualification is issued by an independent third party, possibly authorised by the

customer or by a national accreditation body.

However, specification of the examiner or examining body for the approval of welders and/or

welding procedures shall be a contractual requirement or, otherwise, a fabrication code

requirement.

5.3.2 Welding coordination personnel

Welding coordination is the key activity for achievement of the desired quality for the welded

product as the welding coordination personnel has responsibility for quality activities, as

reported in ISO 14731/EN 719.

Typical tasks for the welding coordinator are:

• contract and design review;

• evaluation of weldability and relevant choice of base material (if applicable) and

welding consumables;

• assessment of possible Subcontractors;

• welding (and allied activities) production planning;

• equipment management;

• welding and testing;

• welding documents control and management

Welding coordination according to ISO 14731 addresses the management and execution of

those manufacturing and technical activities undertaken to control the welding. Many

technical bodies such as IIW, CSWIP, AWS provides for guidelines for the qualification of

International Welding Engineers, Technologists, and Specialists, corresponding to the three

above-mentioned levels.

EN ISO 3834-2 and EN ISO 3834-3 require application of ISO 14731, which presents "the

human aspect" of welding control and, as such, is an important standard. Within the system,

one or more persons, normally employed by the manufacturer, perform each control activity,

e.g. control of maintenance of welding equipment. EN ISO 3834 identifies requirements for

each element of welding control, in allocating these welding coordination tasks and

responsibilities.

ISO 14731 uses the term responsible welding coordinator to identify the person or persons

having an adequate level of welding technical knowledge for the range of products

manufactured. All manufacturers should appoint at least one responsible welding coordinator.

The expectation is that a responsible welding coordinator is the person nominated by the

manufacturer as having the competence to make decisions and to sign documents, which

affect product quality. The responsible welding coordinator has an overall responsibility for

monitoring welding activities and for taking action when welding has not been correctly

performed.

5.3.3 Inspection and testing personnel

Welding inspection activities require qualified personnel. Therefore, at least NDT personnel

should be adequately qualified according to EN 473/ISO 971 or SNT TC 1C.

IWI provides for a guideline regarding training courses for the following three levels of

welding inspectors:

• Category C (International Welding Inspector - Comprehensive)

• Category S (International Welding Inspector - Standard)

• Category B (International Welding Inspector - Basic)

However, it shall be noted that for some test or checks (e.g. welding parameters, dimensional

checks, visual testing, etc.) the welder or welding operator can be considered as an inspector

himself.

5.4 Equipment - (Clause no 6.4 of ISO 9001:2008.)

The Manufacturer shall have available equipment adequate to his products and production

volume. All the equipment shall be included in a list, which may be considered both as a way

to provide potential customers with information on the Manufacturer's capabilities and

productivity and as a tool for the equipment management.

EN ISO 3834 requires that a list of key equipment and facilities be prepared and maintained

up-to-date. The equipment and facilities should be monitored to ensure they are adequate to

manufacture the products concerned.

It is expected that the manufacturer will have implemented a system for the identification,

control, maintenance and calibration (where relevant) of all production equipment, including

having designated the individuals responsible for these activities and detailed the

arrangement to prevent production use of defective equipment.

5.5 Welding and related activities

5.5.1 Production planning - Clause no 7.1 of ISO 9001:2008.)

Quality plans and manufacturer plans its production activities to be properly define all the

activities to be performed with relevant sequences, processes and procedures, and personnel

allocation. The typical result of such an activity is the "production and inspection plan",

which will cover the production of each component (if relevant) throughout all the

manufacturing stages; in some cases, this is to be registered as a production document.

Moreover, it can be delivered to the final customer together with the product, whenever this

is contractually required.

5.5.2 Welding procedures and instructions (Clause no 4.2.3 of ISO 9001:2008.)

The Manufacturer shall prepare the Welding Procedure Specification(s) (WPS) and shall

ensure that these are used correctly in production. The welding procedures applied during

production shall be as specific as possible, in order to clearly identify actions and parameters

to be used for the required joint. However, if the relevant WPS contains data too detailed and

not useful for the welder, dedicated work instructions may be used directly derived from such

a WPS containing only the necessary data. These instructions have to refer directly to the

welding procedure specification they derived from, e.g. by referring to the relevant WPS

number.

5.5.3 Welding related document control (Clause no 4.2.3 of ISO 9001:2008.)

In order to demonstrate the achieved quality of the welded product, all the welding related

documents (e.g. WPS, WPQR, Welder's Qualification record, etc) shall be properly

controlled. This involves the preparation and maintenance of a procedure for the management

of such documents, in order to identify issuance responsibilities, distribution methods,

availability, and method for withdrawing obsolete documents. Even if it is not a normative

requirement, a commonly adopted method to control documentation is the production of a

written procedure, produced or approved by the welding coordinator to be kept by the

Manufacturer quality assurance department or directly by the welding coordinator himself.

5.6 Welding Consumables (Clause no 7.5.5 of ISO 9001:2008.)

Welding consumables are a basic element in the quality of a welded joint. As an example,

covered electrodes, which have absorbed humidity due to incorrect storage or management

procedures, can seriously affect the quality of a welded joint causing cold cracks, porosity,

etc. Therefore welding consumables such as filler metals, shielding gases,

5.7 Storage of parent materials (Clause no 7.5.5 of ISO 9001:2008.)

The material shall be stored in a way, which prevents from adverse effects (this applies also

to client supplied material). Moreover, some materials seem to be quite similar but possess

very different properties; thus, identification shall be maintained at least during the storage.

A written procedure to be prepared or approved by the welding coordinator should be made

available to the material warehouse as well as the production personnel. Such procedure

should give guidelines to avoid the deterioration of required properties that could adversely

affect or the performance of material during service, such as contamination of carbon steel

with stainless steel.

5.8 Post-weld heat treatment (Clause no 7.5.2 of ISO 9001:2008.)

Post-weld heat treatments as heat treatments in general can be considered as special

processes. Hence, the Manufacturer is anyhow responsible for the quality of the final product

and has to manage properly all the activities relevant to the heat treatment,

In particular, a PWHT procedure shall be produced by the Manufacturer or by the potential

supplier, though approved by the Manufacturer's Welding Coordinator according to the

Customer or Standard/code requirements. It has to be compatible with the parent material, the

welded joint, the construction etc.

Moreover, the heat treatment shall be recorded during the process to evidence that the

specification has been followed as well as to ensure the traceability for the particular product.

5.9 Inspection and testing (Clause no 8.2.4 of ISO 9001:2008.)

In order to guarantee the application of all the fabrication procedures and the required

properties for the product, appropriate inspections and tests shall be implemented during the

manufacturing process

All the procedures or instructions relevant to inspection and testing shall be made available to

the inspection personnel, and properly controlled.

For some tests or checks (e.g. welding parameters, dimensional checks, visual testing, etc.)

the welder or welding operator itself shall be considered as inspector.

Although EN ISO 3834 refers to 'inspection' and 'testing', it does not specify criteria for

organizations performing these activities. The results of inspections and tests carried out by

the manufacturer, or by sub-contractors, and presented as objective evidence to confirm

satisfactory process controls and/or achievement of specification requirements should be fully

assessed in the certification.

The EN ISO 3834 Assessment Team should confirm that the manufacturer's and/or sub-

contractor's facility and personnel providing inspection and testing services are conducted

and controlled in a technically competent manner which provides confidence in the results

obtained, and can therefore support- the conclusions made, regarding process control

adequacy and specification compliance.

Compliance with ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO/IEC 17025 as appropriate would provide such

confidence.

5.10 Non-conformance and corrective actions (Clause no 8. 3 and 8.5.2 of ISO

9001:2008.) As previously stated, ISO 3834 is a process standard, which refers to welding fabrication,

however containing some elements relevant to the management system. Therefore,

non¬conformances refer to either product defects or aberrations from the contract (however

concerning the product itself). Therefore, the Manufacturer has to consider proper procedures

to resolve non-conformances and avoid further accidents in the future avoidance of

recurrence of non-conformances).

In particular, if repair welding is needed, repair specifications shall be produced or approved

by the welding coordinator, and shall be made available to the repairing site (note that

qualification, according to any standard, is not required). After repair has been accomplished,

the items shall be re-inspected, tested and examined in accordance with the original

requirements.

Depending on the criticality Of non-conformity, the manufacturer shall carry out root cause

analysis and then initiate a corrective action in order to avoid recurrence.

5.11 Calibration and validation of measuring, inspection and testing equipment

(Clause no 7.6 of ISO 9001:2008.)

In general, calibration of welding equipment instruments (e.g. ammeters, voltmeters) is only

required where the quality/repeatability of the weld depends on accurate and repeatable

setting of parameters such as current, voltage, speed, gas flow, pulse characteristics, etc., the

"instrument" to be calibrated shall be, the "intuition and experience" of qualified and skilled

welders.

Elaborate procedures for calibration of instruments will be in some cases impossible to apply

or however, if applicable, will simply add costs without increasing the quality.

In general, calibration of instruments is required for automatic welding machines,

temperature recorders for heat treatment, NDT equipment, etc.

Moreover, calibration is necessary in other situations. Instruments for inspection and testing

and for control of e.g. PWHT should be calibrated at regular intervals. New welding

processes and new power sources,

A good reference for the management of calibration of welding and related processes for

Manufacturers applying ISO 3834 is the EN 17662 standard "Welding - Calibration,

verification and validation of equipment used for welding, including ancillary activities". A

key issue of the standard is the discussion of the influence of various process variables on the

resulting output and, in particular, of the possibilities of verification of the output by

subsequent monitoring, inspection and testing.

5.12 Identification and traceability (Clause no 7.5.3 of ISO 9001:2008.) Identification of pieces and parts, and the possibility to retrace their position during the

manufacturing stages and when delivered to the customer is one of the most effective way to

achieve quality of the product and to have feedback about its functionality.

However, it shall be noted that identification and traceability can imply expensive procedures

and are therefore not required by the ISO 3834 standard. However, they can be required by

standards, fabrication codes or by the customer himself.

Whenever required, it shall be maintained during the manufacturing process, which means

that for every piece or component it shall be possible to retrieve its history by marking the

parts and controlling the relevant documentation. Documented systems to ensure

identification and traceability of the welding operations shall include:

EN ISO 3834 does not always require identification and traceability. Where the manufacturer

has taken on, or is likely to take on, contracts where traceability is required, an appropriate

instruction are to be implemented. Such an instruction should not create confusion with items

for contracts, which do not require traceability.

When traceability of consumables is required, it is expected that the various batches used in a

weld will be recorded, but that it is not necessary to record the location of various batches of

approved welding consumables within multi-run joints.

5.13 Quality records (Clause no 4.2.4 of ISO 9001:2008.)

Quality records shall be retained for a minimum period of five years in the absence of any

other specified requirements. When required by the contract the records related to the

welding shall be issued to the customer.

Quality records shall include, when applicable:

• Record of requirement/technical review.

• Material certificates;

• Welding consumable certificates;

• Welding procedure specifications;

• Equipment maintenance records;

• Welding procedure approval records (WPQR).

• Welder or welding operator qualification certificates;

• Production plan;

• Calibration records

• Non-destructive testing personnel certificates;

• Heat treatment procedure specification and records;

• Non-destructive testing and destructive testing procedures and reports; •

Dimensional reports;

• Records of repairs and non-conformance reports.

6.0 Certification process

Certification process for ISO 3834 is more or less same as ISO 9001:2008. It expects the

system specifically related to the welding aspects, as given above. The assessment is

conducted by the competent assessors, in QMS as well as has in depth understanding on

welding. The EN ISO 3834 Assessment Team in evaluating the competence of the

manufacturer's Welding Coordinator should take special care. This important aspect of EN

ISO 3834 can be properly evaluated in a peer review and challenge process in which the

Welding Coordinators are interviewed and their work examined.

The peer review process involves the examination of specific contract(s) to assess compliance

with the customer's specification in, for example, the following areas :

• selection/development of welding procedures

• welding sequences

• NDT and heat treatment

• approval of personnel

• traceability

• quality control and acceptance

• sub-contracting