THE WELDING INSTITUTE

Duties of a Welding Inspector:

It is the duty of a welding inspector to ensure that all operations concerning welding are
carried out in strict accordance with written, or agreed practices, or specifications.

This will include monitoring or checking a number of operations including:

Before welding:

Safety:

Ensure that all operations are carried out in complete compliance with local, company, or
National safety legislation (i.e. permits to work are in place).

Documentation:

Specification. (Year and revision)

Drawings. (Correct revisions)

Welding procedure specifications and welder approvals.

Calibration certification. (Welding equipment/ancillaries and all inspection instruments)

Material and consumable certification

Welding Process and ancillaries:

Welding equipment and all related ancillaries. (Cables, regulators, ovens, quivers etc.)

Incoming Consumables:

All pipe/plate and welding consumables for Size, Type and Condition.

Marking out preparation & set up:

Correct method of cutting weld preparations. (Pre-Heat for thermal cutting if applicable)

Correct preparation. (Relevant bevel angles, root face, root gap, root radius, land, etc.)

Correct pre-welding distortion control. (Tacking, bridging, jigs, line up clamps, etc.)

Correct pre heat applied prior to tack welding.

All tack welding to be monitored and inspected

Welding Inspection – Duties of a Welding Inspector 2.1 Rev 09-09-02

Copyright  2002 TWI Ltd
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE

During welding:

Pre-heat values. (Heating method, location and control)

In-process distortion control. (Sequence or balanced welding)

Consumable control. (Specification, size, condition, and any special treatments)

Process type and all related variable parameters. (Voltage, amperage, travel speed)

Purging gases. (Type, pressure/flow and control method)

Welding conditions for root run/hot pass and all subsequent run, and inter-run cleaning.

Minimum, or maximum inter-pass temperature. (Temperature and controlling method)

Compliance with all other variables stated on the approved welding procedure.

After welding:
Visual inspection of the welded joint. (Including dimensional aspects)

NDT requirements. (Method and qualification of operator, and execution)

Identify repairs from assessment of visual or NDT reports. (Refer to repairs below)

Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) (Heating method and temperature recording system)

Re-inspect with visual/NDT after PWHT. (If applicable)

Hydrostatic test procedures. (For pipelines or pressure vessels)

Repairs:

Excavation procedure. (Approval and execution)

Approval of the NDT procedures (For assessment of complete defect removal)

Repair procedure. (Approval of re-welding procedures and welder approval)

Execution of approved re-welding procedure. (Compliance with repair procedure)

Re-inspect the repair area with visual inspection and approved NDT method.

Submission of inspection reports, and all related documents to the Q/C department.

Welding Inspection – Duties of a Welding Inspector 2.2 Rev 09-09-02

Copyright  2002 TWI Ltd
 THE WELDING INSTITUTE

Responsibilities of a Welding Inspector:

To Observe

To observe all relevant actions related to weld quality throughout production.

This will include a final visual inspection of the weld area.

To Record

To record, or log all production inspection points relevant to quality, including a final
map and report sheet showing all identified welding imperfections.

To Compare

To compare all reported information with the acceptance levels/criteria and clauses
within the applied application standard.

Submit a final inspection report of your findings to the QA/QC department for
analysis and any remedial actions.

Welding Inspection – Duties of a Welding Inspector 2.3 Rev 09-09-02

Copyright  2002 TWI Ltd