Planning welding production resources and activities
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to plan welding production resources and activities, in accordance with approved procedures. You will need to produce plans for significant welding and related activities requiring multiple stages in their execution, and this will cover such areas as welding production trials and operations, welding equipment changeover and replacement, welding equipment installation and commissioning, welding equipment maintenance, lifting and moving large components and assemblies, welding equipment capability studies or equipment replacement programs, and checking and testing completed welds. You will also be required to establish the activities that must be carried out, and the methods and resources to be used, and you will be expected to produce a detailed plan of operation. You will be required to complete the work within agreed timescales, whilst ensuring that the activities within your control conform to organisational and legal requirements.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for planning the welding and related activities. You will report any problems with the activities that you cannot personally resolve, or that are outside your personal authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with a minimum of supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work, and will provide an informed approach to applying the appropriate techniques and procedures for the planning of welding and related activities. You will understand the welding activities within your area of responsibility, their technology and application, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the planning process to the required standard. You will understand your organisation's methods of operation in sufficient detail to enable you to make informed decisions.
You will be aware of any health, safety and environmental requirements applicable to your area of responsibility. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- collect the information needed to prepare the plan
- identify health and safety issues and safe working practices and procedures that must be followed
- identify the operations to be carried out and determine their sequence
- establish which methods are required and what resources are to be used
- identify any special requirements and incorporate them in the plan
- estimate timescales required
- prepare and record the plan
- inform the appropriate people when the plan is completed
- deal effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- how to access information on health and safety regulations and guidelines relating to the welding and related activities to be used and plans being produced
- the implications of not taking account of legislation, regulations, standards and guidelines when producing the welding plans
- the importance of proper planning of the welding activities, and the factors to be taken into account
- the welding processes being planned, and their technology (such as basic principles of fusion welding, AC and DC power sources, power ranges, manual metal arc (MMA), MIG, MAG or flux cored-wire arc welding, tungsten arc welding (TIG), submerged arc, oxy/fuel gas and plasma welding, electron beam, resistance welding, laser and friction welding and other relevant fusion welding processes)
- materials and their behaviour during welding (such as structure and property of metals; heat treatment requirements; types of steel and cracking phenomena, cast iron, copper, nickel, stainless steel, aluminium and their alloys; joining dissimilar materials)
- construction and design of welded joints (such as design principles of welded construction, joint design, behaviour of welded structures under static and dynamic loading)
- general principles of welding components and structures (such as use of jigs, fixtures and manipulating devices; residual stresses and distortion; types of defect and their avoidance; quality control during manufacture)
- types and features of welded joints in plate, tube and sections (including fillet and butt welds, single and multi-run welds, welding positions, weld quality)
- how to obtain information on welding and related activities, and the types of information that will be available
- how to access and use the appropriate information and documentation systems, and your organisation's regulations, guidelines and procedures
- extracting information required from drawings and welding procedure specifications (such as interpretation of welding symbols; scope, content and application of the welding procedure specification) to include symbols and conventions to appropriate British, European or relevant International standards in relation to work undertaken
- the types of data that should be included in the welding plans (such as activities to be carried out, sequence in which they must be carried out, timescales, resource requirements, health and safety issues)
- the factors to be taken into account when determining the welding technical requirements, especially those relating to health and safety and working conditions
- the types of resource that are associated with the different types of welding and related activities
- the products (or assets) involved in the activity being planned, and their availability
- the development of the welding production plans (to include both master documents and working instructions, along with their purpose, content and status)
- how to prepare the plans (to include the structure, style, clarity and compliance with relevant standards)
- the process used in the organisation to validate the plans produced
- the control procedure for ensuring that the plans are maintained and kept up to date
- the procedures for changing the plans, and why control procedures are used
- the importance of maintaining records of the plans; what needs to be recorded, and where records are kept
- who needs to be informed about the welding plans
- the organisational procedures for providing information to different people, and the various ways of presenting this information
- the importance of providing the right information at the right time
- the types of problem that can occur during the implementation of the plan, and how these problems can be rectified
- the sources of technical expertise if you have problems that you cannot solve
- the extent of your own responsibility, and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Carry out all of the following when determining and producing the welding production plans:
- use the correct issue of company information, including drawings if applicable
- check that all essential information and data needed to produce the plans are available
- collect relevant information on the welding requirements, operations, methods and resources
- determine the availability of resources required
- ensure that health and safety regulations and safe working practices are taken into account
- ensure that the influence of working conditions is recognised and included in the plans
- present the plans in the appropriate formats
Produce welding plans which consider five of the following:
- welding production trials
- welding production operations
- welding equipment changeover and replacement
- welding equipment maintenance activities
- welding equipment installation and commissioning
- welding equipment capability studies
- research and development
- lifting and moving large components and assemblies
- checking and testing of completed welds
Prepare plans that include the use of all of the following resources:
- people with the necessary skills and qualifications
- space
- materials (both raw/parent materials and consumable)
- facilities
- welding equipment (to include welding plant, jig/fixtures)
- utilities
- ancillary equipment (such as fume extraction, measuring and test equipment)
- support services (such as material treatment, NDT and mechanical testing, lifting and moving equipment)
Prepare plans that include all of the following:
- description of the activities to be carried out
- the timescales to be met
- the sequence in which the activities will take place
- any special requirements that must be met
- the documentation to be used (such as drawings, specifications, quality assurance)
- details of health and safety issues
* *
Ensure that plans include relevant regulations, standards and guidelines from all of the following, as appropriate:
- organisational guidelines and codes of practice
- customer/client standards and requirements
- health, safety and environmental requirements
- national and international standards
- recognised compliance agency/body's standards
* *
Record the plans, using two of the following methods:
- specific company documentation
- electronic mail
- written or typed report
- computer based presentation/media
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
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