Fabrication standards - a ready answer

From 1 July 2014, all fabricators of aluminium and steel structures will have to abide by the new EN 1090 code. They will then be obliged by law to undertake CE marking. Originally scheduled to take effect from July 2012, the implementation deadline has been extended by 24 months. Nevertheless, the new code is already in force and clients may insist on compliance with it. EN 1090 code introduces the concept of Execution Class. There are four execution classes which range from Execution Class 4 – the most onerous – through to Execution Class 1, which is the least onerous. The main reason for giving four execution classes is to provide a level of reliability against failure that is matched to the consequences of failure for the structure, the component or the detail. Each Execution Class contains a set of requirements for fabrication and erection, and these requirements may be applied to the structure as a whole, an individual component or a detail of a component. But manufacturers of metal structural components are obliged to have themselves certified – that is, audited – to prove that they meet the requirements for obtaining a certification number in support of their CE marking. This CE conformity assessment requires five steps: researching information on the standard and on the relevant execution classes; giving employees the necessary training in light of this information; introducing a quality assurance system; drawing up welding procedure specifications (WPS – right); and being audited by a certification body. A central precondition for an enterprise's receiving certification – and thus being authorised to perform certain types of welding work – is the generation of so-called welding procedure specifications (WPSs) for sample applications. These WPSs contain detailed information and data on the executing enterprise or institution, the workpiece, the weld preparation and the design of the joint; detailed data on the weld process, weld filler metal and gas, and various other information on, for example, the welding system. The process of creating these specifications – complete with specimen welds and the testing process at the certification body, all the way through to having the WPS signed and sealed by the testing agency and the tester – requires considerable know-how. German welding equipment supplier Fronius has stepped into the breach to offer a ready packaged welding system of TransSteel welding supply together with a Certificate of Conformity Package that includes 50 WPSs. These are focused on steel joins of between 4 and 25 mm thick in steel grades S235 and S355. In one case, a German company operating in the Execution Class 2 area says that it saved 14 man-days and €5,000, even though, at the moment, it uses just six of the 50 WPSs. The company had undertake other activities in parallel, such as having nine of the firm's fitters and welders take additional exams to extend their qualifications, while two others renewed their qualifications as IWS Welding Foremen. Adjustments to the quality system were also necessary, but, clearly, the Fronius package appears to offer a good aid to fabrication companies that are confronting this standards/CE marking issue.