EN ISO 15612:2018 PDF

Overview

EN ISO 15612:2018 (Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials - Qualification by adoption of a standard welding procedure specification) defines how a manufacturer (user) can adopt and apply a standard welding procedure specification (SWPS) developed and qualified by another organization. The standard applies to welding of steels and aluminium and its alloys and sets out the limits, documentation and responsibilities for both the organization issuing an SWPS and the user adopting it. It is part of the ISO 15600-series framework (see ISO 15607) for welding procedure specification and qualification.

Key topics and requirements

• SWPS origin and basis: An SWPS must be developed from one or more Welding Procedure Qualification Records (WPQRs) qualified to ISO 15614-1 level 2 or ISO 15614-2 (or technically equivalent tests).
• Range and variables: The SWPS must specify allowable ranges for all relevant welding variables in accordance with the relevant ISO 15609 part. Users must not exceed those variable limits and may only restrict (narrow) them.
• Limits on use:
  • SWPSs shall not be issued for parent material thicknesses over 50 mm.
  • Applicable parent material groups follow ISO/TR 15608 (steel and aluminium subgroups); joints between dissimilar groups are generally not permitted except for specified subgroup combinations.
• User obligations:
  • Implement welding coordination per ISO 14731, or qualify at least one welder/welding operator per ISO 9606-1 / ISO 9606-2 / ISO 14732 (or equivalent) using the SWPS to demonstrate competence.
  • Enter company name on the SWPS, have a designated employee sign and date the SWPS/WPS, and maintain traceable documentation.
  • Users may reformat SWPS content into their internal WPS layout but must reference the original SWPS.
• Additional SWPS content: The issuing organization may include production-related constraints such as joint preparation, fit-up tolerances, restricted positions, consumable specification (manufacturer/trade name), power source type, preheat/interpass control and repair welding rules.

Applications and users

• Intended for manufacturers, welding coordinators, quality managers, welding engineers and procedure authors who need to adopt pre-qualified welding procedures to save time and reduce duplication of tests.
• Practical where common, repeatable welding processes for steels and aluminium are used across suppliers, fabricators and multi-site operations, enabling consistent production WPS implementation while retaining traceability of qualification evidence.

Related standards

• ISO 15607 (general rules matrix)
• ISO 15609 (WPS format)
• ISO 15614 (procedure testing / WPQR)
• ISO 9606-1 / ISO 9606-2 (welder qualification)
• ISO 14731, ISO 14732, ISO/TR 18491

Keywords: EN ISO 15612:2018, SWPS, standard welding procedure specification, welding procedure qualification, ISO 15607, welding of steels and aluminium, WPQR, welding coordination.