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Arc Welding 101: Reading between the lines of AWS D1.1

Q: I am a weld inspector and one of my clients builds control panels. A potential customer of theirs requested that they conform to AWS D1.1 standards on a control panel. This seems odd to me. Can a company become AWS D1.1-certified? Is there a certain process they have to go through to become a D1.1 facility?

John

A: Companies are not AWS-D1.1-certified or AWS-D1.1 facilities. Either they comply or they don’t, and it’s up to weld inspectors like you and me to ensure that. It’s not uncommon for contract documents to call for compliance to AWS D1.1 when the work being requested falls outside the limitations of AWS D1.1. The code is so accepted throughout industry that oftentimes those calling it out are unaware of its requirements. The code has become somewhat of a boiler-plate.

The AWS D1.1 Committee recognizes this. The Limitations of D1.1 noted in Clause 1 at 1.2 states, “The code may be suitable to govern structural fabrications outside the scope of the intended purpose.” It then goes on to say that the user may be better off looking into the requirements of other D1 documents that are more practical for the application (I used a little creative license in that last line).

In your case, AWS D1.3 and AWS D1.6 are far more applicable. Focusing your procedure and welder qualification on these codes first will help you comply with AWS D1.1 and, second, save your company or the company you are working with boatloads of money.

You could certainly review the job requirements and develop the requirements to AWS D1.1, but you would find yourself doing procedure qualification reports (PQR) and welder qualifications that may not have been required if you had used the prequalified procedures laid out in AWS D1.3 and AWS D1.6.

Using documents like AWS D1.2, D1.3, D1.4, D1.5, and D1.6 when your welding doesn’t quite fit in a D1.1 box is certainly considered acceptable when your contract documents read “All welding shall comply with AWS D1.1.”

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Braun Intertec

Paul Cameron

Braun Intertec

4210 Highway 14 East

Rochester, MN 55904