A contractor's main experience was producing steelwork for the building and civil engineering markets, however due to economic pressures it was decided to look at entering alternative markets.

Mitchell Services identified the various industrial sectors that could be supplied and the improvements necessary to facilitate market entry.

A review of existing capabilities was completed and potential markets with growth potential identified. Various proposals were presented and the associated barriers to market entry identified. Barriers included existing working methods and internal systems, unsuitable control procedures and associated method statements. The contractor had no previous track record in the selected market.

Method statements, associated controls and working methods were prepared and implemented in accordance with the codes and standards used by the selected industrial market. Weld procedures and welders were qualified in accordance with the applicable specifications codes and standards.

The introduction and implementation of improved working methods and procedures satisfied the requirements of the selected industrial market resulting in the contractor successfully securing their first order.

A fabricator lost a long standing client and required to secure orders from another client. An alternative client from Europe was located which in turn resulted in commercial, technical and quality audits. The fabricator complied with the commercial, technical and quality requirements, however the client required a welding engineer qualified European Welding Engineer status before the fabricator would be entered on the approved global supplier list.

Mitchell Services provide welding engineering support services resulting in the fabricator securing a place as a global supplier and securing ongoing repeat orders.

A number of assignments have required project documentation to be reviewed for compliance with project specifications on behalf of main contractors.

One project involved the main contractor completing design and engineering from their UK offices for a multi-million dollar grass roots petrochemical facility located in the Middle East. Mitchell Services provided the welding engineering capability on behalf of the main contractor.

Main contractor specifications for fabrication, heat treatment, materials, and welding were prepared and approved for construction. All vendor method statements including assembly, fabrication, heat treatment, materials, welding procedures and associated documentation was reviewed for compliance with project specifications.

In addition to this project Mitchell Services has provided welding engineering support services on various new build and refurbishment projects for the oil, gas, nuclear and process industries.

A contractor secured an order for the site construction of three large storage tanks in accordance with API 620 & API 650. Two tanks were constructed using carbon manganese steels and one tank was constructed using corrosion resistant alloys. Prior to project commencement the contractor required existing weld procedures to be reviewed for compliance. Many of the procedures had been qualified in the mid 1970's and contained omissions, errors and mechanical testing results were at the limit of the operating envelope. Some of consumables specified in the existing weld procedures were considered unsuitable for the application.

Project specifications were reviewed, weld procedure proposals and associated documentation required to cover the scope of work were prepared. All aspects of the weld procedure and welder qualifications were co-ordinated including consumable procurement, material preparation, monitoring, non destructive examination, post weld heat treatment, third party witness and detailed certification records. Weld procedures and welder qualifications were successfully completed in accordance with the project specifications.

Companies usually have weld procedures available that were previously qualified for particular applications or projects. Companies can have large numbers of procedures and may believe at the tender stage that they will cover the scope of work. These procedures may contain errors and omissions that are only identified when submitted for project acceptance. These assumptions that procedures will be considered acceptable in our experience have led in to delays at project commencement.

Existing weld procedure documentation has been reviewed for various companies in order to identify and withdraw unsatisfactory or duplicate procedures. In addition the production weld procedure specifications have been rationalised to present a co-ordinated, professional appearance.

A large diameter subsea pipeline end manifold had sustained damage and required a replacement Y piece to be manufactured and installed. The manufacture and installation of the replacement Y was urgently required to enable the pipeline to be returned back into operation.

This required the fast track preparation of all the method statements, the qualification of weld procedures and welders. All the activities for the successful completion of the repair were co-ordinated and resulted in the repair being completed on schedule.

Compliance with ISO 3834 is increasing requirement of application specifications particularly in the rail and structural steelwork sectors.

Steelwork contractors completing projects in accordance with NSSS 5th Edition are required to comply with ISO 3834 which in turn requires the installation of factory production control system. It is also a requirement to appoint a Responsible Welding Co-ordinator and supporting Welding Co-ordination personnel. In addition control procedures including qualified weld procedures and welders are required.

Mitchell Services has provided Responsible Welding Co-ordinator qualified to European Welding Engineer status to steelwork contractors. Factory production control systems have been installed at steelwork contractors together with full weld procedure and welder qualification documentation.

The implementation of these factory production control systems has assisted in contractors being awarded various contracts.

A fabricator experienced failures during the qualification of weld procedures using the MIG process for welding S355 steels. Existing weld procedures were reviewed and found to specify incorrect consumables and welding parameters for the application. Alternative procedures were qualified with the correct consumables and improved parameters.

The alternative procedure provided an improvement in mechanical properties and increased deposition rates. The weld procedures have been successfully implemented into production operations and the overall weld repair rates declined.

Welding Engineering Solutions