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Back to Articles | How to write a

Welding Procedure Specification
(WPS)
Jun 6, 2016 • Tiago Pereira

How to write a
welding proce‐
dure specification
(ISO 15614-1)
One of the most important documents in regards
to welding is the WPS (Welding Procedure
Specification) and many people working with
WPS look at them like they are just an issue, or
something that only the engineers and quality
control technicians have to worry about, but is it a
hard thing to create and/or look at? Let’s break it
down into parts.

Which you can download in the button right

below
 DOWNLOAD FREE WPS
TEMPLATE

This article will be related to ISO 15614-1 and

ISO 15609-1. I shall cover ASME IX on a future
article. Let’s get started with a summary of the
essential variables:

Essential Variables

Base Material Groups (§8.3.1)

Base Material Thickness (Table 5 for Butt
Welds, Table 6 for Fillet Welds – §8.3.2.2)
Throat thickness is also essential for
fillet welds
Diameter, for pipes (§8.3.2.3)
Branch Angle (for branch connection welds
– §8.3.3)
Welding Process (§8.4.1)
Process Mechanization (§8.4.1)
Welding Positions (§8.4.2)
Weld Type (§8.4.3)
Product Type (§8.4.3)
Filler Material Classification (§8.4.4)
Type of Current and Polarity (§8.4.7)
Heat Input (§8.4.8) – if there are hardness
and/or impact requirements
Preheat Temperature (§8.4.9)
Interpass Temperature (§8.4.10)
Postheat Temperature (§8.4.11)
 Post Weld Heat treatment (§8.4.12)

Note: Take a look at §8.4.5 for process specific

essential variables

Header

Some of these informations are not related

directly to ISO 15609-1, but your clients will want
you to specify which project this WPS is related
to and, as such, you should also include your
client’s company in there.

The biggest and most relevant piece of

information here is the WPS Number (in this
case I’ve named it “Sample WPS (ISO)”, but you
should use your own designations.

There should also be spaces where logos should

go. In this specific example I have two logo
spots, in which the left one should be your
company’s logo, leaving the right space for your
ISO 9001 certification body, or your client’s logo.

Basic Information

Most WPS will be backed on a PQR (Procedure

Qualification Record) and this information should
always be stated in the WPS. All you need to do
is reference the PQR number which will allow
any reader of your WPS to trace back to the
original qualifying document.

The standard is also related to the PQR, in this

case it is ISO 15614-1, but ISO 15609-1’s WPS
format is relevant to other standards, such as
ISO 15614-2/3/4/5 or even ISO 15613.

As you already know, PQRs always have

approval ranges based on what was welded for
the approval of that specific test. One of the main
points in how to elaborate a WPS is that you may
use these approval ranges to limit your
specification, but in some cases you need to
specify accurately what will be welded on the job.
The first example for this is the product type:

This WPS is meant for piping work. Sometimes

the PQR will approve welding Pipes and Plates.
This means you could technically use a WPS for
piping and plating / structural work. That is not
the point of the welding procedure specification
though, as you should specify the details so that
there is no room for doubts when a welder
interprets this document.

The same goes for the weld type, in which some

standards will approve welding fillet welds by
performing a butt weld test. Like the product type,
you should specify which type of weld will be
made with this WPS, and only choose a single
option.

Welding processes are pretty straightforward.

Just type in the processes used in the PQR / the
ones to be used in production.

Base Material Details

The base material details are also quite

straightforward. Keep in mind that this is
WeldNote’s WPS format and as such you do not
need to place the fields exactly where I’ve put
them.

First of all i’ll cover the base materials

themselves, which are intertwined with the
groups. These groups are what define which
base materials should be welded with this WPS.
These group definitions can be found at ISO/TR
15608, but if you’d like to know what group a
material belongs to, you should check out
ISO/TR 20172 and ISO/TR 20173.

NOTE: You may notice that the base material’s

grade and specification come from an american
standard (ASME / ASTM). While using ISO
standards, it is preferable to use ISO
designations for this steel (e.g. EN 10028-7
X2CrNiMo17-12-2), but while preferable, it is not
mandatory, as long as the base material groups
are correct.

In this case, the thickness range is exactly the

approval range limits of the PQR. While this is
perfectly acceptable in regards to standards, you
should restrict the limits of your WPS in order for
them to be accurate with the amperage, voltage
and travel speed parameters (you would not want
to weld a 3 mm plate with the same parameters
you would use for a 24mm plate).

The same goes for the diameter, but i’d say this
one is more lenient. My suggestion would be to
use a WPS for small thicknesses and small
diameters, and a WPS for bigger thicknesses
and bigger diameters (more, if the project has a
lot of different pipe or plate sizes).

Always use a range of thicknesses and

diameters though, even if they are a bit strict.
You wouldn’t want an inspector to come to your
shop floor and order you to stop using a 15mm
WPS because the welder is welding a 15.2mm
pipe (which has already happened before).

Welding positions are quite important, and you

should plan for them ahead of time. The safest
way to go at it is to put them all in your WPS, as
it is approved by the PQR, but the best way to
proceed is to define which are the positions to be
used in the shop floor, which will mostly be PA,
PC and PH.
Filler Material Details

Getting into the filler materials or consumables,

in my experience there have been some
misconceptions on some of the requirements
here.

The specification and classification of the filler

material should be exactly as the standards
(AWS, ASME or ISO) say. This is for a 316
stainless steel and as such I’ve chosen the
ER316L for both TIG and MAG processes.

NOTE: Like the base materials, in the filler

materials you should preferably use ISO
specifications and classifications. But once again
it is not something required.

The commercial name for a given filler material

is not mandatory as per ISO 15614-1, it is not an
essential variable unless you are using the
following processes: 111, 114, 12X, 136 and 137,
so according to §8.4.5 only the “fluxed”
processes require your WPS to have a filler
material commercial designation in them, and
even then, it’s only when impact tests are
required, even if that is true for most cases.

In regards to the diameter or filler material size,

according to ISO 15614-1, you can change it, so
long as you take into consideration the heat input
requirements and, as such, I would recommend
you to have 2 to 3 options here (e.g. 2.0mm and
2.4mm for the TIG rods).

You can find the symbol for the gas designations

in ISO 14175, I1 means 100% Argon and M21
means a mixture of Argon with 15 to 25% CO2.
This information will probably come in your gas
certificate along with the commercial name,
which is something that is not at all required to
put in your WPS, however, you probably want to
put it, especially if you work with more than one
gas supplier. Why? This way your welders will
know exactly which gas tank they should pick up
and avoid any problems with your client about
the specified gas for the job at hand.

Flow rates are important, they make the

difference between a welder being able to control
the torch easily and assuring a sound weld, with
no oxidation either on the root or the top side,
which means this value should be thought out
and based upon previous experience, for both
the shielding and backing gases.

Joint Details

While the joint details are only intended to give

some guiding lines for the welders, their
importance should not be underestimated. It is
very hard to define exactly the number of passes
on the weld layer configuration, and as such
you should have, at most, a range of the
maximum number of layers to be made. The
groove design should have important
information such as the root gap, root face and
groove angle (which could mean it’s meant for
fitters and tack welders).

Preparation methods do not need a lot of

details, you should just specify if this welded joint
is going to be grinded, machined, etc.

The weld details are an essential variable so

they are of the utmost importance, but you just
need to specify whether the joint will have
material, gas or no backing, or if it will be welded
in a single side or both sides. You may mention
the fact that it could be a single or multi layer
weld, but that is not so important, as that
information will already be available on the
welding passes themselves.

Welding Parameters

Now we’ve reached into the most important part

of the WPS. The detailed description of how each
pass should be welded. This should be filled in
with care, with information based upon your
company’s welding experience and your
certifications.
Pass #: This is pretty straightforward as
you only need to specify which layer you’re
referring to. You may put a range of layers
(e.g. passes 3 to 6) or if you’re referring to
the remaining passes until the capping
layer you may use “passes 3 to N” or “3+”.

Process: Name the processes to be used

for the specific welding pass

Filler Material: The filler material should

always be metallurgically, physically and
chemically compatible with the base
material and should be chosen prior to this
WPS elaboration. In this case you just
have to associate it to the corresponding
welding process and pass.

Diameter: The fact that the filler material

diameter or size is not an essential variable
gives you some freedom in what to insert
here, however, as the heat input is an
essential variable, you will need to take
care in selecting a proper diameter. The
rule of thumb is to use a small diameter for
the first passes, and raise the diameter as
you weld more layers. On higher layers you
can raise the amperage, voltage and travel
speed to gain some productivity while
maintaining the heat input levels, but for
that you also need a larger rod, electrode,
or in the case of semi-automatic
processes, a higher wire feed speed.
Current: These parameters are the most
critical to assure a sound weld. Amperage
has a direct influence on the heat input and
also defines how a welder will control his
puddle. In case of a semi-automatic
process you will not control the current
directly. You will, however, be able to
control the voltage and wire feed speed.
You should either use previous experience
to define these values, or hire an
experienced consultant to help you with
them.

Voltage: If you are using a manual welding

process, you cannot control the voltage, as
this value is defined by the height of the
welder’s hand, relative to the pipe being
welded, and as such you should set a
considerable range of values, regarding to
your welders’ skills and usual techniques.
In the case of semi-automatic welding, the
voltage is a set value that will remain the
same throughout the welding pass, and
should be defined, like the current, with
previous experience in mind, or with the
expertise of an experienced consultant.

Polarity will have a big influence on the

deposit rates of your weld, but it will also
influence your penetration. On ISO 15614-
1 you are not allowed to change this
parameter from the PQR, although you
should always use higher penetration
polarities for the root passes (DC- for TIG
and DC+ for the other processes) and
higher deposit rates polarities for some of
the filling passes and or capping passes
(DC+ for TIG is not really recommended in
this case, but DC- in other processes is
doable)

Wire Feed Speed: Only applicable to

semi-automatic and automatic processes,
like the voltage and the current, it is
something that should be based on
previous experience or from an
experienced consultant’s knowledge.
Selecting a wire feed speed from your
PQR’s parameters is also a viable option.

Travel Speed should always be accounted

to an acceptable heat input, however, if you
are using manual welding, you can have a
wider range of values, as you will have to
take into account that each welder has
different techniques and may reach sound
welds with very different travel speeds.

Heat Input is a critical value that has to be

calculated. All the other parameters have
to boil down to bring this to acceptable
values, as it will be a way to determine if a
weld is sound or not. Calculate this with the
following formula
Additional Details

There are some additional details that are,

nonetheless, relevant to making WPS according
to ISO 15609-1 and ISO 15614-1. Although less
important, they should be mentioned. The most
important here would be the torch angle and
number of electrodes. The torch angle will
directly influence the morphology of the weld
bead.

The oscillation is mostly used for machine

welding, but you can define the limits of the
weaving that a welder should restrict himself to.
Details of back gouging are only relevant if you
are performing welding from both sides, and
could have some information of the electrode
used, how much thickness and width to be
gouged, etc.

Pulse weld details is similar, but only if you are

welding with a pulsed transfer mode / current
type, and should have the current minimum and
maximum peaks, with the period between pulses,
etc. Stick-out has an effect on the heat
developed on the electrode, causing it to
eventually raise or decrease the deposit rate.

Thermal Parameters
The thermal parameters are usually pretty
straightforward, even if they are of the utmost
importance (they are straightforward from a WPS
standpoint, but if you have to specify a welding
procedure before it is qualified it becomes a
serious design issue, as it will take into account
your company’s resources and shop areas, as
well as material types).

The preheat temperature is stated on your

PQR, and according to ISO 15614-1 it should not
be lower than what is stated there. As such you
could opt to go with the minimum value or if you
find there is an extra need for preheating, you
may do so (e.g. higher thickness requiring a
higher temperature).

The interpass temperature is especially

important when you’re dealing with austenitic
stainless steels, but should not be disregarded
for any other material (I would recommend about
150 for austenitic, and 300 for carbon steels).

Post weld heat treatment is perhaps one of the

most important aspects of your welding, if it is
verified to be necessary. In high thicknesses it is
mandatory in pretty much every welding code, in
Cr-Mo steels as well, in order to prevent the
forming of cracks due to three dimensional
cooling rates or the high temperability of these
Cr-Mo steels.
The time field is the duration of the heat
treatment at the highest temperature, usually 1 to
2 hours, depending on the steel and application.
The method is dependant on your company’s
resources. If you have to perform work outdoors
you won’t have an oven readily available and as
such you may have to use an oxypropane torch.
The heating and cooling rate should be around
100ºC / h, especially for the cooling rate, which
should not be too high.

Revisions and Approval

Finally, the revisions should be numbered (or

lettered), with the signatures of the persons
responsible for writing the wps, verifying it and
approving it, to be provided to your client to sign
and approve it themselves.

I hope this has been helpful, if you’d like to read

more, you may follow us on facebook, twitter and
linkedin, or subscribe to our newsletter.

You may also check our other blog posts here.

Best regards,
Tiago Pereira
CEO at WeldNote, Welding Management
Software
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