Expired GTAW, Missing FCAW: Reading a WPQ Against the Job
Welder R.O. holds shop performance record W-22, issued 14 months ago, from a test on 6 in NPS Schedule 40 pipe (0.280 in wall) in the 6G position, GTAW root plus SMAW fill/cap, P-No. 1 to P-No. 1, DCEP. The qualification log shows GTAW last used 8 months ago and SMAW last used 2 months ago, on 3/8 in fillet welds on structural brackets. There is no FCAW entry anywhere in the shop's records. Monday's release is 24 in NPS, 0.750 in wall, P-No. 1 pipe in a fixed 45° position: GTAW root with ER70S-6 and FCAW fill with E71T-1. The foreman says, "He's 6G qualified, so he's covered for all positions, and the WPS takes care of the rest."
1. Evaluate the position and diameter coverage of the 6G test against the 24 in fixed 45° work.
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Position and diameter are the parts that are covered.
- 6G is the most restrictive position test. Under QW-461.9, a 6G test on pipe covers all positions a welder would meet in production, including the fixed 45° inclined pipe in this job.
- The diameter rule also works in the shop's favor: a test on pipe of 2-5/8 in OD or larger qualifies for all pipe diameters. A 6 in test coupon therefore reaches 24 in NPS without a new diameter test.
- What the position/diameter argument does not rescue is process and thickness: the record covers GTAW and SMAW only (no FCAW), and a 0.280 in coupon tops out at 2T = 0.560 in of groove thickness, well short of 0.750 in. Position coverage is not the same as job coverage.
2. Is the welder's qualification current for each process? What exactly must be done before he can run the GTAW root?
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Treat the processes separately, because continuity is tracked per process.
- GTAW: last used 8 months ago. Under the six-month continuity rule (QW-322), the GTAW qualification has expired. Expiration is not a paperwork gap to be waived - he must be requalified by test before he welds production GTAW, and the new test should be run on a coupon thick enough to cover 0.750 in and in a position that covers the fixed 45° work.
- SMAW: last used 2 months ago. Continuity keys to use of the process, not to position or product type, so the fillet work on brackets keeps SMAW current even though the original test was a groove test. Filing the evidence of that use (dates, joints, WPS references) is what makes the claim defensible at audit.
- Renewal of an expired qualification is a fresh qualification. Old test results and prior production history do not extend it.
3. What has to happen on the procedure side and on the performance side before the FCAW fill can be run?
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Two separate approvals are missing, and neither substitutes for the other.
- Procedure side: a WPS must be qualified for the actual combination being used - GTAW root plus FCAW fill - with the correct F-Numbers for ER70S-6 and E71T-1 and for the thickness range that includes 0.750 in. A WPS written only for GTAW + SMAW does not cover the FCAW passes merely because the base metal and joint are the same; the process and filler metal are essential variables (QW-403 to QW-404 series, QW-409).
- Performance side: the welder holds no FCAW qualification. A qualification earned with one process does not authorize another, so he must be tested and certified for FCAW, and the test coupon must cover the 0.750 in wall.
- Records: issue a new performance record under the employer's name (QW-484 style) covering each process, the position and diameter ranges, and thickness range, and have it certified. The shop, not the welder and not the customer, owns and certifies the qualification.