Assisting in producing fillet welded joints using a manual/semi-automatic welding process
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to assist in producing fillet welds in marine plate, sheet or sections, and/or fillet welded joints in pipe/tube, using a manual/semi-automatic welding process such as manual metal arc (MMA), MIG, MAG, TIG, flux-cored wire, inner shield or oxy fuel gas welding equipment, in a marine environment, in accordance with instructions and/or approved welding procedures. You will be required to check that all the necessary workholding equipment and manipulating devices are available and are in a usable condition. You will 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 welded joints to the required specification. You must be able to demonstrate your capability to produce the fillet welds of the required quality and this could be through tests according to BS 4872, EN 287 or EN 9606.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the welding activities undertaken and to report any problems with the welding equipment or 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 produce.
Your underpinning knowledge will be sufficient to provide a sound basis for your work and will provide an understanding of how the particular welding process works. You will know about the equipment, materials and consumables, in adequate depth to provide a sound background for the 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 joint preparation complies with the specification
- check that joining and related equipment and consumables are as specified and fit for purpose
- assist in making the joints as specified using the appropriate thermal joining technique
- assist in producing 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 (to include general workshop and site safety, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), fire prevention, protecting other workers from `arc eye', safety in enclosed/confined spaces; fume control)
- statutory requirements, risk assessment procedures; accident procedures and relevant requirements of HASAWA, COSHH and Work Equipment Regulations
- the correct handling and storage of gas cylinders (such as manual handling and use of cylinder trolleys, 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
- how to recognise and deal with emergencies and the procedures to be followed (such as methods of safely evacuating and closing down compartments in the case of fire or other major incident)
- the manual/semi-automatic welding process selected and an awareness of the different types of welding equipment (such as basic principles of fusion welding, AC and DC power sources, ancillary equipment, power ranges, care of equipment, terminology used in welding, flame setting)
- how to extract the information required from drawings and welding procedure specifications (such as interpretation of welding symbols, scope, content and application of the welding procedure specification)
- 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)
- the types and features of welded joints in pipe (such as fillet and butt welds, single and multi-run welds, welding positions, weld quality)
- methods of setting up and restraining the joint, to achieve correct location of components and control of distortion (such as 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 a range of joints in the various joint positions (such as 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 welding activities and how these can be overcome (such as causes of distortion and methods of control, effects of welding on materials and sources of weld defects; methods of prevention)
- the organisational quality systems used and weld standards to be achieved; weld inspection and test procedures used (including visual and non-destructive tests)
- the disposal of waste materials in a safe and environmentally friendly way
- 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
- reporting lines and procedures, line supervision and technical experts
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Prepare for the fillet welding process, to include carrying out all of the following:
- obtain the appropriate equipment for the welding activities to be carried out (such as type, current capacity)
- check the condition of, and correctly connecting welding leads, earthing arrangements and electrode holder
- connect all required hoses, regulators and/or flow meters and safety devices
- set and adjust welding conditions/parameters, in accordance with the welding procedure specification
- prepare the work area for the welding activities (such as siting welding screens, positioning fume extraction equipment)
- ensure that the components are correctly set up with regard to specified joint preparation, and are secure
- obtain and wear appropriate personal protective equipment
Use welding and related equipment for one of the following welding processes:
- manual metal arc
- TIG
- flux cored wire
- MIG/MAG
- plasma arc
- oxy/fuel gas welding
Use consumables, as specified in the welding procedure specification, covering either: two types of electrode from:
- rutile
- basic
- cellulosic
- nickel alloy
- stainless steel
- other specific type
or two types of filler wire from different material groups
Assist in producing fillet welded joints in two of the following forms of material:
- plate
- sections
- pipe/tube
- sheet
- other specific form
Assist in welding 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)
Assist in producing 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 and verify 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