Overview

Not all welding jobs require the use of welding procedures but the higher skilled and typically higher paying jobs do. The higher the quality a product has to have, the more value it has to the owner because it can do things such as handle more stress, temperature, corrosive environments and possibly last longer. A stainless steel handrail, where weld joints are barely visible, is much more appealing to look at than a handrail you might have attempted to make the first day you ever welded.

As a welding student you should know what a welding procedure specification (WPS) is and how to use it for both welding certification tests and job interviews. Not knowing how to read a WPS may close doors to jobs in your career or make it harder to get through a job interview if they asked you what your thoughts were on a WPS for a typical fabrication of theirs. Will you know how to read it and get excited about making what is on the WPS? Or will you not know what to say?

A WPS is often compared to a recipe for baking or cooking when it is explained. You don’t always need a recipe to bake or cook, but if you ever want to make that favorite barbeque or meal that matches the taste and texture of the original, you need to follow that recipe. Some people may not want to give up their recipe. Try getting the recipe for your favorite beverage, or the recipe for your favorite restaurant meal. Those are closely held company secrets.

The same thing goes for welding procedures. You don’t always need a recipe or a welding procedure. You might be making small works of art, such as a rose using the GTAW process, or cutting and welding plates together for lawn art. These items don’t have strict requirements other than the eye of the beholder. But, if you weld on something that could injure or kill someone if it fails, then you may be required by law, contract, or insurance, to follow a qualified WPS. If you build a building that can’t be insured due to inadequate quality control, then it is worthless to the builder because they will have a difficult time selling it. Also, if you weld something that injures or kills someone and you didn’t follow basic quality assurance of a WPS, you will likely get sued and face other serious legal issues. If you own your own welding business, you might lose it all.

Like a recipe, a WPS may not be public because it has company sensitive information in it. This chapter uses a NASA WPS because a manufacturing company’s WPS that is publicly available is very difficult to find. Here we will discuss how a WPS is developed and how it is used so you are prepared and confident when you are asked to read one.

Attributions

1. Chapter opening image: John C. Stennis Space Center Standard Procedure for Welding Copper Tube by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John C. Stennis Space Center in the Public Domain; United States government work