Weld inspection.

[Qpro1]

Is it not welding inspector’s duty to clean the welds (oily sand or dirt from welds) before examining welds? We have a CWB certified welding inspector(CANADA). He is not agreeing to do so. I am asking to all experienced professionals, what the industry practice is.

 

[racookpe1978]

Industry (turbine and powerplant piping, powerplant structural and mechanical) practice is that the welder cleans and grind the weld area to bright metal BEFORE welding, welds, cleans up the weld area FOR inspection AFTER welding, and then protects the weld area sufficiently AFTER welding to allow inspection. Grit, weld debris, slag, balls, beads, and the like are ground clear, wirebrushed clear. Flaw grinding ( visible bubbles, air pockets, over-strikes, excess reinforcement or whatever) are also done before inspection, but recognize that this "smears" the weld area and can hide surface flaws.

What? Is the welder not willing to clean off slag or weld beads? Seems like a sorry thing to PO the inspector of the product you are trying to "sell" as a professional job.

Now, when the inspector gets there (after welding) HE is supposed to wipe clean the area with solvent and do a final cleanup FOR the inspection itself, and is supposed to remove ALL inspection chemicals (dye penetrant residue, pink overspray, mag particle adhesive or lubricant, and all of HIS rags and flamable debris!

Let's say there is a 6 week delay after welding and the area has rusted. Then, the PM better have a budget to either re-grind the weld to bright metal. But the inspector is NOT a "grinder" and should NOT be a grinder and polisher. After all, what he grinds off is removing weld metal.

 

[Ron]

The first level of quality control is with the welder himself/herself. He or she cannot adequately do so unless they first clean the welds themselves. Inspectors should not be required to clean welds before inspection.

(I am a former CWI and ASNT Level III...thus I've inspected many, many, many welds!)

 

[TehMightyEngineer]

Not sure what the industry standard is but to me it's the welders responsibility to clean the welds, he's responsible for the weld passing inspection and any welding flaw must be addressed by the welder. Thus, dirt or other obscuration of the weld that prevents inspection is no different to me than a bad weld; in both cases the welder needs to fix it until the inspector approves it.

Maine Professional and Structural Engineer.
(Just passed the 16-hour SE exam, woohoo!)

 

[darthsoilsguy2]

oily sand... dirt....... sounds like this is an in-service inspection (or very very lousy welding practice). if the weld is new, absolutely the welder's responsibility to clean/inspect their work first.

for in-service equipment, the contract/proposal is what matters. i've got examples of projects where the client cleaned for the inspection, where myself and coworkers have cleaned, and projects where we subbed the cleaning out under our contract. Anytime i am responsible for access or cleaning, there is a lot of discussion upfront. The word "Inspection" does not include cleaning, but a well-written proposal should also exclude "Cleaning/Preparing Welds" and project expectations should be discussed upfront.

 

[Qpro1]

Thank you very much guys, for your inputs .

 

[69Firebird]

It gets even more touchy if there are labor unions involved.