Welding certification and fabrication standards
Welding certification covers three separate things: the company’s quality system, the welder and the welding procedure. Before awarding a job in welding, fabrication or steelwork, purchasing teams usually ask for certificates. Here we explain what each one proves and what to check on the document.
¿Qué alcance tiene cada uno de vuestros certificados (procesos, materiales, clase de ejecución) y hasta cuándo es válido?
ISO 9001: quality management system
ISO 9001 certifies that a company runs a system to plan, control, record and correct its work. A certification body audits it and reviews it at regular intervals.
What it attests is the company’s way of working. Whether a given part meets its technical specification is shown by that part’s own tests and records.
EN 1090: structural steel and aluminium
EN 1090 governs how steel and aluminium structures are executed in Europe. It defines four execution classes, EXC1 to EXC4, which the design sets according to the consequences of a failure and the type of use. The higher the class, the more demanding the welding, materials, inspection and documentation.
For CE-marked structural components, the fabricator proves its factory production control with a certificate issued by a notified body.
What sets an EN 1090 certificate apart is the execution class it covers (EXC1 to EXC4), whether it is for steel, aluminium or both, and the four-digit number of the notified body that issued it.
EN ISO 3834: quality requirements for welding
The EN ISO 3834 series sets quality requirements for the fusion welding of metallic materials. It applies to the company: welding coordination, procedures, materials, control and records must be in place. Each welder’s qualification is separate, under EN ISO 9606.
It has three levels. Part 2 holds the comprehensive requirements, part 3 the standard ones and part 4 the elementary ones. The product standard, such as the one for structures or for pressure vessels, says which is required. The certificate states which part it covers and for which processes and materials.
ISO 9606: welder qualification
The ISO 9606 series qualifies individual welders. Part 1 is for steels, part 2 for aluminium and its alloys and part 5 for titanium and zirconium. It is cited as BS EN ISO 9606 in the UK and as UNE-EN ISO 9606 in Spain. ASME Section IX is the American equivalent that many specifications still name.
The certificate is personal. It carries the welder’s name, the process, the material, the thickness range, the position and the validity date. It lasts three years, provided the employer confirms every six months that the welder has kept welding within that range. A test in TIG on stainless steel does not cover MIG on aluminium.
A welder’s certificate only counts for the person named on it and the work it covers.
- That the name is that of the welder who will work on your plant
- That process, material, thickness and position cover your job
- That the six-monthly confirmations are signed and the date has not run out
WPS and WPQR: qualifying the welding procedure
The welder is qualified, and so is the procedure. The welding procedure specification (WPS) sets out the material, thickness range, process, filler, gas and parameters. It is backed by a test weld that has been tested and recorded, the procedure qualification record (WPQR).
ISO 15614 part 1 is used for steels, part 2 for aluminium and part 5 for titanium.
Pressure Equipment Directive (PED)
Directive 2014/68/EU applies to pressure vessels, pressure piping and accessories with a maximum allowable pressure above 0.5 bar. Whoever makes this equipment has to assess its conformity and apply CE marking. Depending on the category of the equipment, the manufacturer does the assessment itself or a notified body is involved.
For equipment that will be installed in Spain or Portugal, this is the directive that applies, not the UK regulations.
What to check on a certificate
Always ask for the PDF and go through these points, whichever standard it is. A certificate with no number, no scope or past its date proves nothing.
- The company name
- The scope: that it includes the activity you are buying, such as welding, fabrication or installation
- The expiry date
- The body that issued it, accredited by ENAC in Spain and by IPAC in Portugal, the counterparts of UKAS in the UK; for EN 1090 and the PED, a notified body
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