Welding Fabricator Certification Scheme
Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
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Compliance with AS/NZSISO 3834:2008
• An Overview of the Scheme
Fabricators are being encouraged to embrace the ISO 3834 “Quality Management system” as a
means of establishing confidence in their Fabrication & Welding operations.
A wider range of major organizations are requesting contractors apply a reliable and effective
system of traceability to their business welding activities. E.g.
Bhpbilliton
BP
Alcoa
Caltex
Water Corporation
ENI
Also there is a reference in the new forthcoming Australian Welding Standards for fabricators
to embrace AS/NZS ISO 3834 Quality Management System.
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
Maintaining a competitive edge
The development of European and International Standards is having a profound
effect on manufacturing and fabrication companies. To be successful in this
business environment you have to comply with a bewildering array of
requirements which seem to change on a regular basis.
Many companies have achieved certification to ISO 9001 with respect to their
quality management systems. But where significant use is made of a special
process like welding, such certification is unlikely to provide the required
demonstration of capability of the company to manufacture products to the
required quality.
ISO 3834 can overcome this shortfall and boost the manufacturing company’s
ability to sell its products in a competitive market. Compliance to ISO 3834
provides a “one-stop-shop” to achieve market recognition of the company’s
capability.
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
People are the key to ISO 3834
Entitled ‘Quality Requirements for Welding’ the standard provides details on how
to control the various welding and welding-related operations to achieve the
desired quality consistently. A key feature of the standard is the requirement to
ensure that people with welding responsibilities are competent to discharge
those responsibilities. This is achieved by the incorporation of another
standard: ISO 14731 “Welding Co-ordination – Tasks and responsibilities”.
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
• Compliance initially and then Certification to ISO 3834 – alone
or combined with ISO 9001?
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Independent certification to ISO 3834 benefits manufacturers by providing an
authoritative third party statement of commercial value. Compliance
/Certificationcan be achieved alongside an ISO 9001 certification or it can stand
alone. The stand-alone option may be attractive to companies in which the
welding operations are a critical part of their manufacturing process.
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
Benefits for certified fabricators
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Clear, high profile, independent verification of compliance by the AWI.
Confirmation of welding and fabrication capability and staff competence.
Improved client confidence leading to a reduction in external audits.
Entry of the company’s details on a well-publicized national register.
Increased national and international business potential.
Certification packages to suit individual company requirements e.g. Part 2,3 or
4.
ISO 3834 certification can be achieved alone or alongside ISO 9001
certification.
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
Benefits for clients of certified fabricators
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Professional independent assessment of suppliers.
In-depth, authoritative evaluation of fabricators capability.
Consistent assessment.
Uniform presentation of information and data
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
How is certification achieved?
•
The first decision to make is which level of welding quality requirements are
appropriate to your company
•
ISO 3438 contains three levels of requirements and the selection will depend
on the degree of complexity of your welding operations. Bear in mind that even
simple operations require appropriate control and this is catered for in the
category described in Part 4 of the standard.
Part 2 and 3 define requirements suitable for more complex welding
operations.
(The best option and recommendation is compliance to ISO 3834 Part 2
“Comprehensive quality requirements)
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
Steps to Compliance with Certification to follow
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Initially the QWS needs to be implemented and in place and applied for a
number of months or projects to allow all staff involved to apply and
understand the relevant areas and their responsibilities and to fine-tune the
system.
The final step is a formal application to the Accredited Third Party
Certification body who will apply a detailed assessment and audit.
It is best practice to have the system functioning for some time and tweaked
before the formal application is submitted to ensure a minimum of delay and
cost.
A one-on-one discussion with a qualified technical consultant to carry out a
preliminary site visit in order to evaluate:
(a)
Which level of compliance is appropriate Part 2,3 or 4,
(b)
The depth and extent of the company’s existing quality management system
(c)
The extent of documentation required to cover the quality manuals and
procedures.
(d)
ISO 3834 document requirements are listed in the following subheadings:
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
ISO 3834 Document Sub-headings:
• Contract review
• Design review
• Subcontractors (NDT,PWHT,Painting etc)
• Welders
• Welding coordination
• Inspection personnel
• Production and testing equipment
• Equipment maintenance
• List of equipment
• Production plan
• Welding procedure specification (WPS)
• Welding procedure approval
• Work instructions,
• Documentation
• Batch testing of consumables
• welding consumables
• Post-weld heat treatment
• Inspection and testing before,
during and after welding
• Non-conformance procedures
• Calibration and validation
procedures for inspection and
testing equipment
• Identification
• Traceability
• Quality records
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Compliance with AS/NZS ISO 3834:2008
Compliance Costs
Compliance cost will vary according to the size of the company, number of
locations and any existing certification.
A site/workshop visit will be required in order to evaluate these factors.
A surveillance audit by the technical consultant will follow to establish the full
extent of the company quality management documentation and system.
Also a oral examination is applied to the elected staff member/s who will fill the
role of the “Responsible Welding Coordinator” (RWC)
This assessment is to determine the depth of their technical knowledge and their
ability to fill this role.
Technical Consultant
Weldtraining & Procedure Services Mobile: 0433 174 575
Email: weldtraining@iinet.net.au
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