7. Welding

The welding operation is of a special nature: due to the transformations made to the material, it is not possible to simply inspect the welded joints in the final phase of execution. The quality of the welds is produced during the manufacturing process, and requires the implementation of specific procedures and controls.

We will confine ourselves here to examining the key points in the process:

• quality management in welding ;

• staff qualifications ;

• weld qualification procedures ;

• non-destructive testing.