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This standard identifies the competencies you need to operate resistance spot, seam or projection welding installations, which have already been prepared for production in accordance with approved instructions, or welding procedures. You will be expected to check that the installation has been approved for production and that sufficient supplies of all required materials and consumables are present and correct, and ready for production operations to be performed.

You must operate the installation safely and correctly in accordance with instructions and approved procedures and achieve a weld quality and tolerances that meet the product specification. The production output may be inspected by visual and non-destructive testing methods to check that the specified quality is being achieved. You must continuously monitor the operation of the installation and make any necessary adjustments to equipment settings in line with your permitted authority in order to produce the welded joints to the required specification. Meeting production requirements will be an important issue and your production records must show consistent and satisfactory performance.

Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for operating the welding installation and to report any problems or adjustments to the installation that you cannot resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with minimum supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions and the quality and accuracy of the work that you produce.

Your underpinning knowledge will provide a sound basis of your work, enabling you to adopt an informed approach to applying welding procedures and instructions. You will have an understanding of how the resistance welding process works and is applied in mechanised form, and will know about the equipment, materials and consumables in adequate depth to provide a sound background to the process operation and for carrying out the activities to the required specification. You will understand the safety precautions required when working with the machine and its associated tools and equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.

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1. work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
2. follow the relevant joining procedure and work instructions
3. confirm that the machine is set up and operating correctly, ready for the joining operations to be carried out
4. check that the parent material, components, consumables and joint preparation comply with specifications
5. carry out and monitor the machine operations in accordance with specifications and job instructions
6. achieve joints of the required quality and specified dimensional accuracy
7. make sure that the rate of output is as specified
8. deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that you cannot solve
9. shut down the equipment to a safe condition on conclusion of the joining activities

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1. the specific safety precautions to be taken when operating resistance welding installations (working with machinery; the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); machine guards; operation of machine safety devices; stopping the machine in an emergency; closing down the machine on completion of the welding activities; statutory requirements, risk assessment procedures and relevant requirements of HASAWA, COSHH and Work Equipment Regulations; safe disposal of waste materials)
2. the hazards associated with resistance welding machines and how they can be minimised (dangers from live internal electrical components, fumes, hot metal, expulsion of hot particles, moving parts of machines)
3. the basic principles of resistance welding; terminology used in welding
4. mechanised and automated welding basics (types of installation; machine functions; control systems; safety features)
5. the key components and features of the equipment used (power source; electrical parameters such as arc voltage, current, electrode pressure and welding time; systems for parameter control; how variation in the parameters influence weld features, quality and output)
6. extracting information required from drawings and welding procedure specifications (to include symbols and conventions to appropriate British, European or relevant International standards in relation to work undertaken)
7. operation of the machine controls and their function; clamping and transfer of components, equipment care procedures
8. setting up and aligning the workpiece
9. monitoring the installation during the welding process; recognition of problems and action to be taken
10. problems that can occur with the welding activities, materials and weld defects
11. weld inspection and test procedures used including destructive and non-destructive methods
12. organisational quality systems (standards to be achieved; production records to be kept)
13. personal approval tests and their applicability to your work
14. the extent of your own responsibility and whom you should report to if you have problems that you cannot resolve

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1. Confirm that the installation is ready for operation to include checking all of the following:

   1. the installation has been approved for production
   2. supplies of components and consumables are adequate and correctly prepared
   3. machine settings comply with instructions and the welding procedure specification
   4. all machine functions operate correctly
   5. all safety equipment is in place and functioning correctly

2. Operate one of the following resistance welding installations:

   1. spot welding
   2. seam welding
   3. projection welding

3. Produce welded components in the specified materials and forms that cover both of the following:

   1. two different material thicknesses
   2. two different joint configurations

4. Monitor the process operation, electrode condition and machine function and make adjustments to required parameters and mechanisms to include all of the following as is appropriate to machine type:

   1. welding current
   2. welding and squeeze times
   3. electrode pressure cycle
   4. welding speed (seam)
   5. weld pitch (spot)
   6. mechanical functions

5. Produce welded components which:

   1. achieve a weld quality as specified in the application standard
   2. spot and projection welds are correctly located
   3. seam welds are of the correct dimensions
   4. meet the required dimensional accuracy within specified tolerance

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​Additional Information

You will be able to apply the appropriate behaviours required in the workplace to meet the job profile and overall company objectives, such as:

• strong work ethic
• positive attitude
• team player
• dependability
• responsibility
• honesty
• integrity
• motivation
• commitment

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3

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31 Mar 2020

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Current

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Original

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Semta

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SEMFWE3-17

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Engineering, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, Metal Forming, Welding and Related Trades

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5213

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engineering; welding; fabrication; machine welding; resistance welding machine; spot welding; seam welding machine; projection welding machine; parameters; weld condition

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