Welding inspection practice and reporting
The final domain asks whether you can plan, witness and record inspection so another person can reconstruct exactly what happened.
Core rules
- The inspection and test plan lists each operation, the standard, the acceptance criterion, the record, and whether the point is hold (work stops) or witness.
- Pre-weld: WPS and welder qualification valid for the joint; consumable certificates and drying records; fit-up; preheat measurement.
- During welding: root condition before capping, interpass temperature, heat input, cleaning between passes, back gouging.
- Post-weld: NDT to the specified method and extent, dimensional checks, PWHT records, hardness.
- The report must state standard, technique class, acceptance level, result, date, inspector and equipment calibration status.
Worked example
A record reading only that VT was carried out and the weld was acceptable cannot be tied to any criterion. A defensible entry reads: WPS 123 rev. 2; welder 45, ISO 9606-1, valid to 06/2027; S355J2 to S355J2, 20 mm; preheat 120 °C measured to ISO 13916; VT to ISO 17637, quality level C of ISO 5817, accepted with one recordable pore; RT to ISO 17636-1 class B, no unacceptable indications.
Traps
Signing off without a technique or acceptance class; quoting NDT results without the standard; missing calibration expiry on gauges and meters; closing NCRs without objective evidence; omitting heat input where the WPS sets limits.