Over the years, I found that it really needs to be headed off at the design level, with the modeling software (or designer for structural welds) assigning weld numbers on the isometrics/drawings. The initial investment far outweighs the cost of having field engineers spend their days drawing up hard copy weld maps or playing with PDF stamps.
What if it is already to the point of having to draw up weld maps during production welding? The current weld mapping system requires a weld map for each individual weld but now we are looking for a way to make it easier to map the welds, possibly not individual but some other way. Is it feasible to write an "all encompassing" weld map to record the required data and track it by welder number or date of production?
Yes. During my shop audits for large equipment manufacturers a weld map is created for the entire component and each weld is then tracked by welder ID number on an Excel spreadsheet. Very organized - you don't need elaborate software.
If you are already "in progress" then issue each welder his OWN hand scriber (looks like a Dremel with a vibrating tip).
Each marks HIS OWN weld with a ID number: His initials + date + sequence number.
So, RC-03-21-2013-125 is unique and permanently marked on each weld.
Inspection results are written up against each unique weld ID.
gmwylie - how many shortcuts you can take is really dependent on what attributes need to be tracked, and what the intended purpose of the weld map is.
If I have an item on a drawing with a few welds that comprise a given component (for example, a pipe support), I may be able to lump all of those fillet welds together as weld XYZ, record my welder stencils/weld material ID, and have a single inspection report for all the welds associated with that support. I may do something similar to a pipe spool, but number each individual weld joint. Likewise for a widget, etc.
However, lumping welds together isn't always ideal, especially if I'm relying on that weld map for progressing/statusing completion (i.e., I have no idea how much of my widget is really complete, because my inspection now encompasses ALL welds on that item, and my weld map just shows it as being incomplete.) However, if all you care about it being is a permanent record, then you can arguably take a drawing, draw an arrow on it, and record your pertinent information without even assigning a weld number.
Hard stamping/scribing also has its merits as racookepe1978 has mentioned, though you can run into problems depending on scale of production, especially when you realize you've missed an inspection and the part is covered in dirt/insulation/refractory linings.
