AS/NZS 1554.1 allows welders to be qualified in accordance with a number of Standards, as per Clause 4.12.2.2:
It should be clearly understood that AS/NZS 1554.1, which covers welding requirements for structural steel fabricated and erected in accordance with AS/NZS 5131 and designed in accordance with AS 4100 and AS/NZS 5100.6, allows the fabricator to make the choice as to which Standard they will qualify welders to (unless specified otherwise in the contract or client specification).
AS/NZS 2980 was recently revised (2018) and a significant number of industry concerns stem from the changed provisions and reference to AS/NZS ISO 9606-1.
The welding Standards committee (WD-003) have a stated intention to phase out AS/NZS 2980 and move to AS/NZS ISO 9606-1. No official timeframe has been set on that transition.
The format of the Forum was a breakfast meeting hosted by David Ryan of ASI. Approximately 31 fabricators and related stakeholders (welding service providers, certification representatives, ASI personnel etc) attended.
The structure of the forum comprised:
Prior to the Forum, ASI garnered from a range of stakeholders their feedback and perceptions as to the current industry issues/concerns/queries on welder qualification and the relevant Standards. This feedback was assembled and rationalised to a set of concerns presented for discussion at the forum. The key concerns, and outcomes of the discussion have been highlighted and are presented below.
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Based on the Adelaide Forum and the results of the survey, ASI intends to prepare an analysis and discussion paper. It is expected that ASI will present the analysis and discussion paper to Standards committee WD-003 to inform and drive the future direction of welder qualification in Australia.
As a related but separate initiative, development of the forum has highlighted the deficiencies in the Standards engagement process, with many fabricators not being aware of changes to Standards or planning for future direction, and finding it difficult to understand how they can become engaged and voice their concerns. ASI intends to engage with Standards to facilitate and drive improvements in Standards process.
Tabulated below are the questions/comments presented before and during the Forum, and a summary of the clarifications obtained. In some cases ASI has also provided a comment to stimulate further discussion, based on the sentiment evident from the Forum.
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Adoption of international Standards (such as ISO 9606.1) will not offer the claimed opportunity for local welders to participate in international projects, but rather further open the doors for international fabricators to bring product into Australia and further decimate our industry
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