Do you know that you have to document everything before, during, and after welding to make records of all the procedures you have done? If not, then you should make the documentation to keep records of everything in WPS and PQR.
Now along with the process of welding, when you are working on a large-scale project, all you have to do is write a detailed summary of all the steps you have taken to complete the weld. As already mentioned, you can do this by writing WPS and PQR.
These are the proper documents in which you all the process of welding, equipment used, how they were used, and what type of weld is done, everything is mentioned. Now, one by one, we will discuss both of them and discuss how to write such documents.
Contents
What is WPS?
WPS is welding procedure specifications written in a documented form to explain the standard welding procedure. Just like you follow a recipe to make a certain dish, here WPS serves as a recipe for welders.
All the instructions and work directions are mentioned clearly so that welder can use them to work on his project. These instructions and procedures mentioned in WPS are first tested and evaluated and then they are declared as the standardized procedures for a certain type of weld.
How to write WPS?
While making WPS, you can add text, images, and brief explanations because it acts as an instruction guide for welders. There is a total of four steps you need to follow while writing welding process specifications:
Things you need to complete the weld
Here, for the welding technique you are going to use, you have to make a list of all equipment and machinery that you will need during welding. Along with the type of metal, and filler material, including all consumables, everything is mentioned here explicitly.
Adding important information to the preliminary welding procedure specifications
Now you have to start writing welding procedure specification records after you have listed all the required equipment. Also, mention all the necessary steps you need to take before welding.
Procedure qualification record of the welding process
If you are wondering what is a procedure qualification record, no need to worry, we will let you know in a short time. Here you need to test the PWPs you have made earlier and make changes and improvements to them if required.
Making a final WPS
After making all the changes and adjustments, you need to develop final welding procedure specifications. In this document, you will have to mention everything including:
- The equipment and consumables you need
- Information related to welding
- The type of welding technique you are going to use
- The final and expected result
- After you will explain all these steps briefly in the document, your WPS is complete and ready to be worked on.
What is PQR?
Now when you are welding, documenting the actual weld parameters you are using is known as a procedure qualification record of welding. Further, this document is used to make another document known as the welding procedure specification sheet.
PQR is mainly concerned with the procedures of welding. It varies from company to company because each of them has its standard method of welding.
How to write PQR?
In WPS where we have to write all the information in a brief and explained way. However, the process qualification record is a little different from it.
PQR is a page with empty lines having empty checklists. These checklists are filled and marked by the welding inspectors during the inspection of welding.
Why do we need PQR?
While WPS is mainly for welders to follow, PQR is mainly for inspectors to keep a record of the whole welding process. The main purpose of writing this document is to check whether the standards are being followed by welders during welding or not.
Evidence of fulfilling welding procedures
PQR acts as evidence that all the essential steps that were supposed to be completed during welding are followed by the welders. All the parameters described in WPS for the welding procedure are listed in the form of checklists and verified in this document.
Conclusion
Both of these documents are directly related to each other and we need to work with them side by side. We are going to conclude all the things we have discussed here in a short paragraph below.
First of all, we write welding procedure qualification records from which we write WPS. hence, PQR is an important requirement whenever you are writing WPS. We generalize all the details in WPS, whereas in PQR we have to be specific to the details.
In the last step, we finalize both the documents, and the welding procedure is inspected based on PQR. While the welders follow WPS to complete the welding process. And inspectors use PQR to check all the requirements of the process have been fulfilled.