The S355 grade would cover the lower minimum specified yield grade steels within group 1. The user should also consider the application requirements with respect to subgrade (quality) when qualifying butt welding qualifications. For example, a qualification on S355 with a J2 subgrade impact tested at -20 degrees would cover all the other subgrades i.e. J0 and J2 which are 0 degrees at room temperature respectively.
Most contracts will require a Level 2 qualification.
The correct standard for qualifying a submerged arc welding operator is BS EN ISO 14732. BS EN ISO 9606 only covers hand held welder qualifications and therefore should not be used
Annex Z A (PED) has excluded the use of option C for revalidation. Also, other standards / contracts may restrict its use. Option A or B is preferred.
The applicable welder qualification standard would need to satisfy the application standard for the product to be followed. The certification issued would need to meet with the requirements of the listed standard in the official journal. BS EN ISO 9606-01 2017 now has a relevant annex in place.
The BS EN ISO 15614-01 2017 specification introduce a new concept where it identifies two possible levels for welding qualification tests, it would appear to the user that he can take the “pick” of level 1 or level 2. However, it is not just as simple as choosing a level, the user would need to firstly consider the application standard and his contractual obligations. The new BS EN 1090-02 (2018 version) identifies level 2 to be applied when qualifying welder procedure tests.
A RWC would need to be appointed by a manufacturing organisation to oversee their fabrication and welding activities, as the title implies, the RWC is the responsible person. Standards such as EN 1090-01 and 15085 require this nominated individual. See RWC assessment page.
The use of standard welding procedure specification (SWPS) would only be allowed where the contract specification permits, in some cases standards such as EN 1090 only allow SWPS’s for certain materials and execution classes, however the contract specification would still need to be satisfied, therefore SWPS’s would not be allowed in all cases.
A welder qualification test is required wherever specified, this could be in an application standard and/or contract specification.
A welding procedure qualification test (WPQR/PQR) will be required wherever it is specified. This could be in an application standard and/or contract specification.