Eng

OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104

Revision: 01
VISUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURE Edition: 10/15
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VISUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURE

(VT)

Signature

0 07/09/2015 Creation Anis Samet Ezzeddine BEN KRAIEM Anis Samet

01 30/10/2015 Revision Anis Samet Ezzeddine BEN KRAIEM Anis Samet
Rev. Date Description Issued by Verified by Approved by
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OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104
Revision: 01
VISUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURE Edition: 10/15
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SUMMARY

1. SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................................3
2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS ..........................................................................................................................3
3. AIDS TO VISUAL INSPECTION .....................................................................................................................3
4. EQUIPMENTS ..............................................................................................................................................4
5. PERSONNEL ................................................................................................................................................4
6. LIGHTING ....................................................................................................................................................4
7. PRIOR TO WELDING ....................................................................................................................................4
8. DURING WELDING .......................................................................................................................................5
8.1 Inner run cleaning ......................................................................................................................................5
8.2 Inter pass temperature ...............................................................................................................................5
9. AFTER WELDING .........................................................................................................................................6
10. REPAIR ....................................................................................................................................................6
11. EVALUATION ...........................................................................................................................................6

APPENDIX 1: VISUAL INSPECTION REPORT

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OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104
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1. SCOPE

This procedure relates to the visual inspection requirements for the weld of new construction, adjacent base metal and
the control of the parameters and features of the weld and how these are recorded, in order to ensure full compliance
with the relevant approved welding procedures, codes and specifications. Visual inspection will be performed to 100%
of pipeline girth welds, prior to, during and post welding.

2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

- BS EN ISO 17637-2011: non-destructive testing of welds-visual testing of fusion-welded joints

- SNT-TC-1A, 2011 edition: American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Recommended Practice.

- ISO 9712, 2012 edition: Non-destructive testing. Qualification and certification of NDT personnel.

3. AIDS TO VISUAL INSPECTION

Direct visual examination may usually be made when access is sufficient to place the eye within 24 inches of the
surface to be examined and at an angle not less than 30 to the surface to be examined.

Aids to visual inspection should be used whenever practicable to facilitate the assessment of imperfections or the
examination of welds not directly visible. These aids may be in various forms depending on the type and location of the
weld being examined.
For local examination of a weld that is directly visible to the eye, a small hand lens used in conjunction with a pen
torch, while varying the direction of the light is usually very revealing. In such cases, the hand held lens shall have a
magnification of 3x to 5x.

4. EQUIPMENTS

All equipment to be used to assist visual inspections shall, where applicable, be fully calibrated and have a valid
calibration certificate.
When it is required to measure the dimensions of a weld edge preparation, a weld or an imperfection or the material
parameters, the following devices may be used:
Welding gauges
Caliper
Magnifier
Ruler
Torch lamp
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OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104
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5. PERSONNEL

Visual welding inspector shall be suitably qualified to a recognized international standard for the inspection and shall
check the welding activities referring to the appropriate WPS, Quality Plans, Specifications and Codes to ensure full
compliance.

Visual Inspectors personnel shall have as minimum requirements one of the following qualifications or equivalent:

ASNT Level II Visual Inspection (American Society of Nondestructive Testing)

CSWIP 3.1 Welding Inspector (Certification Scheme for Welding and Inspection Personnel)

All visual examination personnel shall have a minimum of 2 years experience on visual examination. They shall be
capable of reading standard Jaegar Chart J1 letters with or without corrected vision. The far vision acuity shall be
20/40 or better. Yearly eye examination shall be conducted.

6. LIGHTING

The inspection area shall be adequately illuminated, with a minimum level of 1000 lux, for proper evaluation. If artificial
lighting is used such as a torch, the direction of the light shall be capable of being varied so that any imperfections can
be revealed and glare or dazzling of the inspector avoided.

7. PRIOR TO WELDING

Before welding starts, the Inspector shall:

Have adequate knowledge of the applicable standard

Have adequate knowledge of the welding procedure specification (WPS) to be used
Have a knowledge with working drawing

The inspector shall check as a minimum:

Examine the welders qualification

Review materials and welding consumables to be used.
Check base metal for discontinuities.
Check weld preparation
Check fit-up and alignment of weld joints.
Check preheats, if required.

Weld Preparation: Check that the form and dimensions of the weld preparation are in accordance with the data
supplied using appropriate measuring devices.
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Fit Up: Check that the fit-up (gap and alignment) of the parts to be welded, including any backing material, is in
accordance with the data supplied.
Welding consumables: check the identification of the welding consumable against the appropriate welding procedure
specification.
Preheat: 75 C preheat temperature will be checked at not less than 75mm from the weld line. The pre-heating
temperature may be checked by the use of temperature indicating crayons or paints, thermometers, thermocouples,
pyrometers or a combination of these methods.

8. DURING WELDING

During welding, there are a number of items, which require control so that the resulting weld will be satisfactory. Visual
examination is the primary method for controlling this aspect of the fabrication. It can prove to be a valuable process
control tool. Some of the aspects of fabrication, which can be checked, include:

Welding technique
Welding consumable
Preheat temperature
Direction of welding
Inter pass cleaning and temperature
Sequence of weld passes.
Quality of weld root bead.
Subsequent layers for apparent weld quality.
Welding process amperage, voltage & polarity
Travel speed and heat input
Cleaning between passes.

Any of these factors, if ignored, could result in discontinuities that could cause serious quality degradation.

8.1 Inner run cleaning

Check that each run of weld metals cleaned before it is covered by a further run. Particular attention shall be paid to
the junctions between the weld metal and the fusion faces.

8.2 Inter pass temperature

Check the conditions specified in the welding procedure for inter pass temperature.
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9. AFTER WELDING

Finished weld appearance

Dimensional accuracy
Post-weld heat treatment (if required)

The basic purpose of final weld inspection is to assure the welds quality.
Check that all slag has been removed, by manual or mechanical means. The surfaces of the finished welds shall be
sufficiently free from coarse ripples, grooves, overlays and abrupt ridges and valleys to permit proper interpretation of
radiographs and other required non-destructive examination.
Melt through and repaired burn through areas are acceptable provided the areas do not contain cracks, crevices,
excessive oxidation and the root convexity and concavity limits are not exceeded.
The weld and adjacent parent metal shall be examined for any local hot spots or cracking caused by stray arching.
Weld seam and heat affected zone (HAZ) shall be examined for flaws against the acceptance standard. In some
cases, visual inspection may not be sufficient to determine the full extent of a surface flaw (crack/porosity) and the use
of other testing methods may be required before the flaw can be assessed.

10. REPAIR

The weld fails to comply wholly or in part with the acceptance criteria, the unacceptable defects shall be removed. The
following items shall be checked during the repair operation.
Ensure that the specified means of removing the defect (e.g. chipping, grinding, machining, thermal cutting or thermal
gouging) shall be used correctly, when a thermal process is employed. Check that if pre-heating is specified and is
correctly applied.
Partially removed weld: Check that the cut out portion is sufficiently deep and long enough to completely remove the
defects. The ends and sides of the cut should gradually from the base of the cut to the surface of the weld metal. The
width and profile of the cut should allow adequate access for re-welding.
Completely removed weld: when a section of material containing a faulty weld has been removed, check that each
weld preparation is repaired in accordance with the welding procedure.
Re-welding shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant repair welding procedure and full
re-inspection shall be made for the repaired weld.

11. EVALUATION

The weld shall be evaluated according to the acceptance standards of the BS EN ISO 17637-2011.
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OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104
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Table 1: Acceptance criteria

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OPERATIONAL DOCUMENT Code: DO-TEC-104
Revision: 01
VISUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURE Edition: 10/15
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APPENDIX 1

VISUAL INSPECTION REPORT