7. Welding coordination (EN ISO 14731)¶
Welding coordination personnel hold sufficient technical knowledge and experience for the work undertaken. IDM engages an external Responsible Welding Coordinator (RWC) to carry out welding engineering activities. The RWC’s tasks and responsibilities, per EN ISO 14731, are detailed in Annex A; the organisational position is shown in Annex B.
CL2 competence and external arrangement (to confirm). For EN 15085-2 CL2, the RWC must hold comprehensive technical knowledge (IWE/EWE level or equivalent) covering all materials in scope. Where the RWC is external, the appointment must be contractually embedded in IDM’s organisation with defined authority and availability, which the certification body will assess. The proposed external RWC (Axis NDT) is to be verified against these requirements before issue.
Deputy and availability. A deputy welding coordinator is nominated so that no essential welding task is suspended by the absence of the RWC. The appointment record states the RWC’s committed availability, the response time for a referred decision, the escalation route into IDM where that response time is not met, and the tasks the deputy may and may not discharge. [TBC — deputy not yet nominated]
Appointment record. The RWC appointment, the scope of delegated authority set out in Annex A, and the competence evidence relied upon are held as a controlled record and reviewed on any change of personnel, scope or certification level.
Internal welding coordinator¶
IDM appoints an internal Welding Coordinator who performs the day-to-day coordination tasks allocated in Annex A under the authority of the RWC. The internal coordinator does not hold the responsibility of the RWC and does not approve any task marked A in Annex A.
Competence. The internal coordinator’s competence for the allocated tasks is assessed and recorded by the RWC against BS EN ISO 14731 before appointment. A welder or operator qualification does not of itself demonstrate coordination competence. Training needs identified at assessment are recorded and closed out.
Independence where the coordinator also welds. Where the internal coordinator is also a production welder, the following applies without exception:
- The internal coordinator does not carry out or sign the inspection required by Annex A tasks B.12, B.13 or B.14 on any weld they personally made.
- Those inspections are performed by another competent person or by the sub-contract NDT organisation, and referred to the RWC where no independent person is available.
- The internal coordinator takes no part in the confirmation, prolongation or re-validation of their own welder qualification; those decisions rest with the RWC alone.
- Where a weld made by the internal coordinator is the subject of a non-conformance, the investigation is referred to the RWC.
Current position at Rev 4: the proposed internal coordinator is N. Collins-Hopkins, whose own welder qualification continuity position is among those outstanding with the RWC. The appointment is not recorded until that position is resolved and competence is assessed. [TBC]
The RWC role includes: liaison with IDM personnel, NDT personnel, external bodies and inspectors; generation and qualification of WPSs; maintenance and monitoring of the welding quality management system; review and maintenance of standards; and investigation of weld failures.