A weld is made from a few things that all need to be traceable: its design (the welding procedure, with the joint design, process and thickness ranges), the two materials it joins (with their heat numbers and mill test certificates), the welders (tested, qualified and within continuity), the welding consumables, and the drawing it is on. Once it is welded, it is inspected, tested (NDE), repaired if it has a defect, and inspected again before it is accepted and handed over.

WeldTrace follows that workflow from planning a weld through to its completion and handover. This article covers the Welds page and what you can do from it; the next articles cover adding welds, the Weld Log, Bulk Update and visual inspection.

Click "Explain this function" next to a page title for a narrated walkthrough of that page, or the book icon beside it to open this article.

Step 1 - The Welds toolbar

Open the project and click "Welds" in the project's button bar. Buttons are greyed out when you do not have the privilege for them.

1. Add Weld: add one weld at a time with a form (see Add welds);
2. Multiple Entry: add or revise many welds at once in a spreadsheet-style grid (see Add welds);
3. Weld Log: allocate the WPS and welders, mark welds completed and record the materials, consumables and other traceability data (see Weld Log);
4. Update: make the same change to many welds at once (see Welds - Bulk Update);
5. Import: create welds in bulk from a CSV or Excel file (see Add welds);
6. Export: the welds list as a CSV file, ready to open in Excel;
7. Inspection: record the final visual inspection of many welds at once (see Visual Inspection of Welds);
8. Traveler: print a weld traveler for the welds you select, as a PDF file.

Step 2 - The Welds list

1. Count: the number of welds listed. When you search, it counts the welds that match;
2. Search: type part of a value to filter the list;
3. Search by: what the search looks in: the weld number, the drawing number, the tag number, the item (when the project groups its welds), or all fields at once;
4. Weld #: click a weld number to open the weld's details page. A repair weld keeps the number of the weld it repairs, with "-R1" or "-R2" added;
5. Info icons: the work pack the weld is in, the NDE request (test pack) it is in, and the instant messages about the weld (Pro plan). Click an icon to open it;
6. Tag # and Drawing # - Rev: the weld's tag and drawing; click one to open it;
7. Item: the item the weld belongs to. This column is shown only when the project groups its welds, and it carries the project's name for them: Item, Spool, Assembly or Piece. A dash means the weld is not in an item;
8. Joint Type and Size: the joint type and the weld size, in the project's units;
9. Status: how far the weld has got (see Weld status below).

Step 3 - A weld's details in the list

1. Click the arrow at the start of a row to open the weld's details without leaving the list: its WPS, the welders on the root, fill and cap, the work pack, test pack, pressure test and PWHT packs it is in, its category, materials and consumables, and its dates (planned, allocated, welded, inspected and tested) with the inspection and test results.

Weld status

1. Planned: the weld has been created, but it has no WPS and welders yet. In the Weld Log and the other grids it shows a calendar icon. The pre-weld and during-welding inspection stages can be recorded. NDE can be requested only if the project's "NDE for" setting is "All welds";
2. Allocated: the weld has its WPS and welders, and optionally the material heat numbers and consumable batch numbers, but no date welded yet. In the grids it shows a person icon. Entering the date welded moves it to Completed;
3. Completed: the weld has its WPS, welders and date welded. It is locked from further edits (see Weld Log, Edit Locked Welds) and shows a padlock in the grids. The final visual inspection can now be recorded, and NDE can be requested for either "NDE for" setting;
4. Inspected: the final visual inspection has been recorded;
5. Tested: the weld has been tested (NDE).

Repair welds created automatically, as the project's repair setting allows, show "-R1" or "-R2" after the number of the failed weld.

Creating, editing and deleting welds

Welds are created in any of four ways: one at a time with Add Weld, many at once with Multiple Entry, from a CSV or Excel file with Import, or automatically from weld maps, when you place weld bubbles on a drawing (see the Weld mapping article). Welds created by AI weld mapping are created when their drawing's review is finished.

Multiple Entry creates welds and revises planned ones, but does not allocate the WPS, welders or materials. The Weld Log records those, but does not create welds. Keeping the two apart keeps each task simple.

A weld number has to be unique on its drawing revision and tag, and, when the project groups its welds, in its item. Two spools of a drawing can each have a weld 1.

Welds are edited in the Weld Log. Completed welds are locked; a project administrator edits or deletes them through Advanced Search and Edit Locked Welds in the Weld Log.

Read the next article: Add welds