FUSION WELDING

In quality terms, Welding is identified as a ‘Special Process’ which means that it requires specialist management, personnel and procedures. In other words ‘Special Process’ is a process where the conformity to the resulting product cannot be readily and economically verified. This has led to a number of developments, notably the publications of ISO 3834 which prescribes requirements to provide assurance of welding and fabricating components and includes the feature of welding coordination.

ISO 3834 – Quality Requirements for Welding – provides a method to demonstrate the capability of a manufacturer or fabricator to meet quality requirements of a specification, a product standard, or a regulatory requirement. Conformity to the ISO 3834 standard provides global recognition and assurance of welding competence to the certified company and to owners, OEMs and clients.

Many companies have achieved certification to ISO 9001 with respect to their quality management systems. However, where significant use is made of a special process like welding, such certification is unlikely to provide demonstration of the specific code or industry specific demands that will meet an industry sector or client specification prerequisite.