Tack welding fillet joints in marine steelwork
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to produce tack fillet welds in plate, sheet, sections, pipe/tube, using a manual welding process such as manual metal arc (MMA), MIG, MAG, TIG, flux-cored wire, inert shield or oxy/fuel gas welding equipment, in accordance with instructions and/or approved welding procedures. You will be required to check that the workholding equipment and manipulating devices required are available and are in a usable condition. You will also be expected to check the welding equipment to ensure that all the leads/cables, hoses and wire feed mechanisms are securely connected and free from damage.
In preparing to weld, you will need to set and adjust the welding conditions, in line with the instructions or welding procedure specification. You must operate the equipment safely and correctly and make any necessary adjustments to settings, in line with your permitted authority, in order to produce the tack welded joints to the required specification.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the tack welding activities undertaken and to report any problems with the welding equipment, or tack welding activities that you cannot resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work to instructions, 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 be sufficient to provide a sound basis for your work and will provide an informed approach to applying manual arc tack welding procedures and instructions. You will know about the equipment, materials and consumables, in adequate depth to provide a sound background for the tack welding operations to be performed and for ensuring that the work output is produced to the required specification.
You will understand the safety precautions required when working with the welding 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.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
- follow the relevant joining procedure and job instructions
- check that the tack welded joint preparation complies with the specification
- check that joining and related equipment and consumables are as specified and fit for purpose
- make the tack welded joints as specified using the appropriate thermal joining technique
- produce tack welded joints of the required quality and of specified dimensional accuracy
- shut down the equipment to a safe condition on completion of joining activities
- deal promptly with excess and waste materials and temporary attachments, in line with approved and agreed procedures
- deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the safe working practices and procedures to be observed when working with the selected welding equipment (including general workshop and site safety, fire prevention, protecting other workers from `arc eye', safety in enclosed/confined spaces; fume control; accident procedure; risk assessment procedures and relevant requirements of HASAWA, COSHH and Work Equipment Regulations)
- the correct handling and storage of gas cylinders (including manual handling and use of cylinder trolley, leak detection procedures, relevant British Compressed Gas Association (BCGA) codes of practice, cylinder identification, gas pressures, cylinder and equipment safety features, emergency shutdown procedures)
- the hazards associated with the selected welding process (such as live electrical components, poor earthing, arc radiation, fumes and gases, gas supply leaks, spatter, hot slag and metal, grinding and mechanical metal/slag removal; elevated working, enclosed spaces, slips, trips and falls) and how they can be minimised
- the personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE) to be worn when carrying out welding as part of the marine fabrication activities (such as gloves, eye/ear protection, safety helmets, respiratory protection)
- the manual welding process selected and an awareness of the different types of welding equipment
- how to obtain and interpret information from job instructions, drawings and welding specifications, in relation to the work undertaken
- the consumables associated with the chosen welding process (such as types of electrodes and/or filler metal and their application; types of shielding gas and their application, gas supply and control; correct control, storage and drying of electrodes and filler wire)
- methods of setting up and restraining the joint to achieve the correct location of components and control of distortion (including edge preparation, use of jigs and fixtures, manipulators and positioners, tack welding size and spacing in relationship to material thickness and component size, use of temporary attachments, pre-setting)
- preparing the welding equipment and the checks to be made to ensure that it is safe and ready to use (such as electrical connections, power return and earthing arrangements; equipment calibration before use, setting welding parameters, care and maintenance of the equipment)
- the techniques of operating the welding equipment to produce tack welds in the various joint positions (including fine tuning parameters, correct manipulation of the welding gun or electrode, safe closing down of the welding equipment)
- why tool/equipment control is critical and what to do if a tool or piece of equipment is unaccounted for on completion of the activities
- the importance of complying with job instructions and the welding procedure specification
- problems that can occur with the tack welding activities and how these can be overcome
- personal approval tests and their applicability to your work
- the extent of your own authority and whom you should report to if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Prepare for the manual welding process, including carrying out all of the following:
- obtain the appropriate equipment for the tack welding activities to be carried out (such as type, current capacity)
- check the condition of, and correctly connect welding leads, earthing arrangements and electrode holder (where applicable)
- connect all required hoses, regulators and/or flow meters and safety devices (where applicable)
- set and adjust welding conditions/parameters in accordance with welding procedure specification
- prepare the work area for the welding activities (such as siting welding screens, positioning fume extraction equipment)
- ensure that the workpiece/component is correctly set up with regard to specified joint preparation and is secure
- obtain and wear appropriate personal protective equipment
Use welding and related equipment for one of the following manual welding processes:
- manual metal arc
- TIG
- cored wire
- MIG/MAG
- plasma arc
- oxy/fuel gas
Produce fillet tack welded joints in two of the following forms of material:
- plate
- pipe/tube
- sections
- sheet
- other specific form
Produce tack welded joints according to approved welding procedures, in good access situations, in two of the following BS EN ISO 6947 positions:
- flat (PA)
- vertical Upwards (PF)
- horizontal (PC)
- vertical Downwards (PG)
- horizontal Vertical (PB)
- overhead (PE or PD)
Produce tack welded components which:
- achieve a minimum weld quality equivalent to the level given in the relevant European / International Standard (such as BS EN ISO 5817 and EN 30042 / ISO 10042) required by the application standard or specification
- meet the required dimensional accuracy within specified tolerance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
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