INTRODUCTION

Today product innovators and entrepreneurs want the designers,

technologists and engineers involved in manufacturing and fabrication to
produce the intended marketable product in the shortest possible time with
superior quality and at the least cost.

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Welding today can claim the second best meteoric growth next to IT in
Technological perspective. It is all pervasive – from minor household
equipment to gigantic structures in buildings, bridges, tunnels, rail road,
motorways, mining sea faring ships, air ships, inter planet voyage vehicles,
satellites and not to speak of IT equipment, welding is used as the major
assembly process and technique. Products differ from manufacturer to
manufacturer and products have different models and variations of design.

This has been the outcome of years of toil of Innovators, entrepreneurs,

technologists and engineers covering a wide range of design, technology,
machineries, equipment, process, consumables and automation. In
association of these developments, codes and specifications, quality
management systems, testing and inspection, operator training and testing
are also developed.

The outcome of these efforts and toil cannot be articulated and documented
in this limited scope. But at least an attempt can be made to frame the
overall scenario prevailing at present.

1. DESIGN

Product design in respect to weld design has become a sophisticated process.

In place of manual design and use of empirical formulae applicable over a
wide range of materials and service conditions with standard consumables,
computer soft wares have been developed for specific material, specific
service condition, specific loading condition and other factors. It is of course
essential for the designers to have in depth knowledge of materials and their
behavior, structural stress analysis, computer soft wares and of course
practical applicabilty of design.

2. WELDING PROCESS

Starting from the year 1887 (?) when Lavoisier discovered use of Oxygen
and used it in industry for welding; and later on with the introduction of
coatings on bare rod electrode in 1907, welding processes have been
innovated to cover a very wide range of application. Soldering and Brazing,
Gas welding. SMAW, MIG/MAG, TIG, Electro Slag welding, SAW, PLASMA,
Electron Beam welding, Resistance welding, Friction Stir Welding, Orbital
Welding are only a few to name.

3. WELDING MACHINES

Gas welding Torch, Transformers, Rectifiers, Inverters, Pulsed Welding sets,

Spot and seam Welders, Plasma welding setup, Electro Slag Machine, All
these Welding equipment have again multi variation models in Moving Core,
Fixed Core, Thyristor Controlled, Engine driven Motor Generator sets.

Manufacturers of these machines are very many and capacities and range of
parameters covered are wide. Obviously, the parts of these machines
manufactured by different manufacturers are of different shapes, sizes and
designs.

4. MECHANIZATION AND AUTOMATION

Along with the technological advance of the processes dependence on

manual operation is being reduced with a target of eliminating it altogether.
Use of Templates, Jigs and Fixtures, Manipulators, Rotators, Positioners,
Hydraulic Clamping, Electronic Indexing, Robotic welding are the outcomes
applied for increasing production and productivity.

5. MANUFACTURING SET UP – PREPARATION

Efficiency and Effectiveness of a welded joint in a job executed by any
process or technology solely depend upon the accurate preparation of the
joint and the fitment prior to welding. Shearing, Machining, Gas Cutting,
Plasma Cutting, Bending, Sawing manually conducted before are being done
by CNC machines to conform to the Joint Specification as accurately as
possible as per WPS.

6. INSPECTION/ QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE – CODES

& SPECIFICATIONS

Possible defects in a weld conducted by any process are more or less same
with less or more in extent. In order to attain the ultimate objective of defect
free welding (Six Sigma?) it is necessary to use proven Codes and
Specifications. These codes and specifications direct the weld producing
organizations to formulate Inspection procedures, Quality Control and Quality
Assurance Guidelines. IS, BS, ISO, DIN, ASME, AWS are a few only to
mention from a large contingent

7. OPERATORS AND SUPERVISORS – KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL

Whatever may be the welding process, machineries and equipment,

automation in use, knowledge and skill of the supervising staff and most
importantly of the operators or welders are of prime importance. Today, skill
development through structured National Operational Specification
curriculum, National Certification of Vocational Training are available at a
minimum or no cost at all to willing young generation and experienced
workforce.

8. WELDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Welding as an operational entity covers a plethora of subjects and that to in

great details. It starts with the customer contract and covers the total supply
chain till customer satisfaction. The need for a Welding Management System
like ISO 9001 has been felt earlier and now in a position to accept and
implement.
All the above mentioned scopes, criteria, variables, implications are in one
hand opened up opportunities to the knowledgeable to access for the best,
but on the other hand creates confusion to others not so well equipped.

RESULTING FIRE FIGHTING AT ALL STAGES

WHAT WE NEED TO APPROACH FOR THE BEST WELDING

PRACTICE

The BEST PRACTICE in welding can be simply defined as the most EFFECTIVE
and EFFICIENT method to weld a joint. The term “EFFECTIVE” refers to the
method which utilizes the resources to the optimum extent and the term
“EFFICIENT” refers to the method of Right First Time with minimum wastage.
In addition an approach for Continuous Improvement will pave the way for
adopting the BEST PRACTICE in Welding.
CONCEPT OF “LEAN WELDING” IN RELATION TO THE BEST PROCESS

“Lean” is a manufacturing concept designed to provide the optimum

framework for efficient and effective production. The lean production system
focuses on the reduction of waste from the value stream in order to remain
competitive. Lean manufacturing is lean because it provides a way to do
more and more with less and less—less labor, less equipment, less time, and
less space—while coming closer to providing customers with exactly what
they want.

Standard, Uniform and Single Welding Process

The Approach to Best Welding Practice may start with lean welding becoming
the Focal Point when the organization may commit to use a Standard Single
Process for all criteria described above starting from design to welding
management system in the whole of the supply chain in operation. The steps
may be stated in the following order:

1. Welding Management System – ISO 3834 is the ideal to adopt for

global application.
2. Standardize the Design Codes, Specification and Auto Cad system.
Eliminate manual and Rule Of Thumb processes.
3. Standardize the Welding Procedure Specifications and WPR in single
format.
4. Standardize the Welding Process – the most difficult decision to
make. Selection of a single welding process apparently is not
possible in a manufacturing situation. Even if we select two or three
processes out of many for specific applications still it is acceptable.
But there must be a rationale behind the selection by calculating
percentage use of different types of weld, positional approach and
productivity factor. Selection of SMAW or MIG/MAG, SAW,
Resistance Welding, TIG, FSW, Plasma or Electron Beam Welding for
specific application may definitely be selected, but should be
confined to the specific application only.
5. Once the welding process/processes are identified and selected, the
next important part is to Standardize Machinery and Equipment for
that specific process. For example, if 80 percent of the weldment
need MIG then we must select one make, one model, one capacity
specific units of single type of Power Packs, Wire Feeders, Torches
for all the weldment to be covered by MIG irrespective of current
and voltage requirement for different joints.
6. Once the machinery and equipment are standardized, all
consumables are also to follow suit – one brand, one type, one size
of electrode from one supplier, one type of gas or gas mix, one
type, one brand and one size of slag from one vendor.
7. Standardizing Jigs, Fixtures, Rotators, Manipulators, Positioners,
Clamping devices and arrangement should run parallel. It is
understood that for each specific job or part or subassembly
different types of Jigs-Fixtures are needed, but locating, holding
positioning means and devices must be standardized.
8. Lean Welding requires minimum wastage of materials and
consumables, less labour, low production time. As the correct
Fitment for a Joint depends solely upon the preparation process and
accuracy, standardization and automation is desirable to eliminate
manual preparatory methods and introduce CNC Gas, Plasma,
Shearing, Bending, Slotting, Punching, Drilling, Edge Planning
operations.
9. Calibration of machinery. Output of Machines and equipment
diminishes with use and age; meters on the machines and the
Regulating Knobs will not indicate correct setting of parameters.
Such a condition impedes productivity quality, and operator’s
morale, increases degree of supervision, delivery period and cost.
Outputs of all the Welding Sets in terms of steady current and
voltage is essential. Any fluctuation or variation in these parameters
will adversely affect quality production and productivity. Even a
skilled worker working with such variations will not be able to
produce a good weld.
10. Safety, Maintenance and Inspection of Arc Welding Equipment in
Use. Standardized Welding Machinery, Equipment and Accessories
after calibration needs regular inspection and maintenance to
sustain exposure to optimum uses with minimum probability of
failure. In addition, the health and safety of the operators are
ensured by this process of Inspection and maintenance of work
equipmentProcess related benefitsAs welding is standardized
through standard fit ups, single process with, in standard positional
set ups on new welding technology, numerous process-related
benefits are generated, such as:
o Eliminating variability in primary power fluctuation (with
Grouping as in Auto-Line technology)
o Ability to limit or “lock-in” functionality within scope of
specific requirements
o Multi-MIG process capability using one type of wire and one
type of gas mixture.
o Ability to weld thick or thin metal with same set up.
o Improved travel speed with lock in function.
o Less heat input through pulse(recommend Pulsed MIG, if
MIG is selected) operation
o Better puddle control with locked in current and voltage
o Reduced distortion due to low heat input
o Less spatter with current control
o Improved arc stability through reduction of controlled
parameters locked in.
o Operators are confident to produce high quantity weldment
with quality.
o Welding Training will be simplified and of shorter duration
on knowledge and use of limited brand machines and
accessories focusing more on techniques and productivity.
o Provide flexibility to deploy welders with Standard
productivity in different Work Stations having Standardized
Set Ups.
o Immediate improvement of operator performance (higher
production rates with fewer errors and better morale).
o Eliminate sources of variability in quality and productivity
between welding stations in different shifts.
 o Maintenance planning and execution is greatly simplified
and streamlined by drastically reducing parts count;
maintaining 200 to 300 Welding Sets of the same design
enables maintenance to become very proficient.
o Change the typical vendor-supplier relationship into a
vendor-partner relationship where each party contributes
more to the value chain and benefits accordingly.

Vendor – Partner Relationship

The traditional relationship between a Manufacturer and the suppliers of

Machineries, Accessories and Consumables is just a buyer and a seller for a
particular transaction. The main interest common to both the parties is the
PRICE and the payment. Instead, understanding each other’s needs, goals
and long-term objectives must be given priority over price and delivery

Once such a relationship starts it should develop into a joint venture of Lean
Journey to include:

 Supplier-managed inventory for accessories and spares at Vendor’s

stores.
 Planning and building inventory to customer requirement for a long
span, rather than to a short forecast.
 Daily on-line inventory replenishment for delayless supply.
 Ability to build and ship even customer specific products in one day
 Same-day shipping of replacement parts
 Building facilities for some circuit boards to be built in-house.
 A flat, responsive and reactive organizational structure.
 Employees at supervisory levels empowered to make decisions.
 Line employees/ operators engaged in production, inspection and
maintenance empowered to manage their own business areas.

Welding system performance is important, but more value should be placed

on finding a responsive welding partner with similar organizational
philosophies, structures, objectives and goals. This type of relationship,
where both parties are aligned for mutual success, enables the parties to
manage better the challenges that arise with any product’s use.

Making of a Welder

The most important part in the approach to best welding practice is making
of an Welder and his performance on the job. Today most of the fabrication
and production work with welding as a major or minor process are
outsourced. Work is contracted out to contractors. Engagement of a
Contractor must be based on his knowledge of welding and fabrication and
an attitude towards continuous improvement

In most of the Manufacturing Workshops we will find:

1. Skilled Welders, qualified as per ASME / EN / AWS / IS standard and

performing welding to the best of their knowledge and ability
producing good quality welds to the specified productivity norms –
very few in number !
2. Skilled Welders, qualified as per ASME / EN / AWS / IS standard and
performing welding in a lackadaisical attitude producing average
quality welds with some rectifications to production norms – many
in number!
3. Semi-skilled Welders without formal qualifications through tests and
certification engaged in welding producing good quality welds to the
productivity norms – quite a few in number!
4. Semi-skilled Welders without formal qualifications through tests and
certification engaged in welding producing poor quality welds with
large number of rectifications and naturally with below par
productivity norm – few only in number!
5. Unskilled workmen engaged mainly as Manual Welder for tacking
work in the fitment of parts and components in Jigs and Fixtures
prior to welding – quite a few in number !

In an IDEAL situation the percentages of the above categories working with

strict supervision should be:
 CATEGORY IDEAL SITUATION

I 60

II 25

III 10

IV 3

V 2

In addition to “Off The Job Training”, to sustain continuous improvement in

weld quality and productivity it is imperative and absolutely necessary to
facilitate a continuous “On The Job Training” to all the Welders. The Training
Contents at different stages of Welding are outlined below:

1. ON THE JOB – Functions, Operations, Safety

 Setting the Welding Set Up

 Striking the Arc
 Maintaining the Arc for Welding
 Gas Flow – Setting, Regulating, Adjusting

2.INSPECTION – Before Welding – Check

 The JOB
 Jigs / Fixtures / Rotators / Manipulators
 Safety at Work – Follow up

3.During Welding – To Carry out welding properly

  Welding to start on the extension piece or on the joint itself.
 In Butt welding electrode should be forced for penetration
 For Root welding, a 2.5 dia. Electrode in SMAW and 1.2 mm wire in
MIG/MAG are effective.
 Correct weaving motion and direction of travel to be selected for
effective Bead shape and form.
 Craters to be removed by back tracking weld beading.
 Ends of joint should be locked.
 Welding size must as per WPS – No oversize beading should be
encouraged / entertained
 Torch angle to be maintained at 90 deg. to horizontal and 20 deg. to
vertical in the direction of travel for best result.
 At the beginning of the working shift it is better to make a trial run
on a scrap plate for adjustment of settings.

4. AFTER WELDING – CHECK

 Visual Checking
 Size of Weld
 Defects on the surface
 Appearance of Beading
 P. Test procedure and conduction
  Rectification of
defects

5.PERFORMANCE EVALUATION – SELF AND PEER – 12

POINT ANALYSIS

 Starting Time of Work

 Finishing Time of Work
 ARC ON Time
 Length of Welding / Vol of Weld Deposit made
 Weld Position worked
 Volume of Consumables used
 Scrap / Wastage / Rework
 Supervision Needed
 Cleanliness of Machines and Workplace
 Safety Awareness
 Team Working
 Making Reports

CONCLUSION

Welding Technology is advancing at a very fast pace. For every welding

process innovators are introducing newer sub processes every day with
special applications as well as for generalized techniques. Welding engineers
must take lead to introduce a systematic approach for the Best Process of
Welding applicable for the product. Lean Welding as defined in this article is a
vast subject covering all the aspects of product manufacturing through the
special process – WELDING. Organizing such an approach initially may cost
time, energy and money, but in the long run it will pay back with rich
dividends.

DIAGRAMS TO SHOW A FEW WELDING PROCESSES, POSITIONERS &

FIXTURES

Few Welding Processes

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Rotators Positioners & Fixtures