Accurate and Consistent Parameters
Can You Guarantee That Your Parameters Are Accurate — Everytime?
In our line of work, welding fabrication, we are always looking for ways to keep our weld quality consistent. This isn’t always an easy task. We are often training new welding operators, occasionally with limited experience, and our challenge was – how do we ensure that the new welders are welding at the same consistency and quality that we require?
And, we always have to consider quality issues at an even higher level – weld breaks. If a weld breaks and you have no way to determine if your parameters were met and followed, we could open ourselves up to a lawsuit. However, if we can guarantee that our parameters were absolutely held, the weld break would be an accident, not negligence.
We found a solution that has worked well for our welding company. We use “lockouts” found on many newer wire feed equipment. This technology allows us to pre-select a minimum and maximum amperage and voltage setting for our welds, which allows each welder to fine tune the arc to his or her liking and still guarantees that all of our welds are performed within certified parameters.
By using the “lockout” feature, out of parameter conditions cannot be caused by the welding operator. This has increased our production and made our company much more efficient. It not only ensures our weld quality, but it also takes away a lot of set-up time from our operators that were trying to find the “right” parameters for a particular project.
Does anyone else have ideas for ensuring weld parameters and weld quality, especially when you lack highly skilled welding operators? Let me know. Vote on the poll question and post your comments.
Average (Not Rated)
December 21st, 2006 at 12:04 pm
To keep it simple: 1. Qualified Weld Procedure Specifications (WPS) or Standard Weld Procedure Specifications (SWPS), 2. On site CWI, 3. Quality Assurace personnel to ensure that the WPS is being followed, and last but not least; 4. Welders certified/qualified to the Weld Procedure Specification(s) being used. To my knowledge and my opinion as a CWI/CWE, if you follow these steps then you satisfy your end of the deal and handling a lawsuit will be easier (keep in mind I am not a legal advisor). This is also the ‘recipe’ for ensuring quality, consistent welds. I see it all the time, companies with NO WPS and/or welders not qualified/certified to those WPS’s being used. I hope this helps!!
January 19th, 2007 at 12:24 am
With all due respect to to person writing the article, I believe he struck on the actual problem in the sentence “Does anyone else have ideas for ensuring weld parameters and weld quality, especially when you lack highly skilled welding operators?”. If you have assembly line “operators” doing your welding, then that’s the problem, in my opinion. One should either let a machine handle the welding entirely, or one should have skilled welders (or both). Plain and simple. Problems arise when companies try to cut costs to the point of legally and morally unconscionable degrees in the name of ’streamlining’ and being ‘competetive’. Whatever happened to good old American quality. I’ll tell you what happened to it. It went the way of the dodo bird because of CEOs and their underlings who decide to make stock values go up by farming the work out to the lowest common denominator rather than using skilled workforce. Think about it!