In March this year, Standards NZ announced the withdrawal NZS 4703. As from 1st April 2011, NZS 4703 will be superceded by the joint Australian/New Zealand standard AS/NZS 2980: 2007 Qualification of Welders for the Fusion Welding of Steel.

As its name implies, NZS 4703 was originally developed for the dairy industry where welders are required to be able to produce high-quality full penetration butt welds on stainless steel tube. However, it has also proved well-suited for welder qualification in a range of other stainless steel fabrications.

While the change to AS/NZS 2980 will mean some changes for users of NZS 4703 (and NZS 4711), the actual test and qualification process will not be radically different. This is because when AS/ZNS 2980 was last revised back in 2007, the essential requirements of NZS 4703 were incorporated into the Standard as Appendix F Welder Qualification Test for Stainless Steel Tube for the NZ dairy industry.

While the process of welder qualification will be very similar, there will be some administrative changes. The key differences for those familiar with NZS 4703 include:

• The welder qualification (i.e. the certificate) will no longer be issued by a Standards NZ-approved test authority, instead by an "Examining Body"
• The test will need to be witnessed by an Examiner who is appointed by the examining body
• The qualification is valid for 2 years, unlike NZS 4703 where the qualification is valid initially for 1 year, and for 2 years re-qualifying

On the technical side, there are also some changes:

• When welding a test piece, the welder is to follow a welding procedure. A pre-qualified welding procedure to AS/NZS 1554.6 Welding Stainless Steels for Structural Purposes will meet this requirement. This can be provided by the employer, the testing organisation, a training organisation, or the test piece can be used to qualify a procedure as well as the welder qualification
• Qualification covers a material group or groups, a pipe diameter, and a thickness range.
• The branch test that is mandatory in NZS 4703 is optional in AS/NZS 2980. As this type of joint is rarely, if ever used today, most agree that this will reduce the cost of welder qualification without any reduction in the standard of welding required

At this time, HERA does not see any significant issues with the transition to AS/NZS 2980 which has been available as a joint standard since 2007, and there will be no reduction in the standard of welding required.

Welder qualification remains the responsibility of the fabricator (or in a training situation, the training provider). A typical procedure for anyone requiring welder qualification to AS/NZS 2980 will be:

• Choose a testing organisation as your examining body, as you now engage a NZS 4703 testing authority
• The examining body will appoint an examiner to supervise and witness the welding of test piece. The examiner need not be an employee of the testing organisation provided they are suitably qualified.

Suitable qualifications for examiners are set out in AS/NZS 1554: a CBIP Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) or a person with at least the qualifications of a welding supervisor such as IWS or AS 2214

• The test piece is assessed. Reports on both destructive and non-destructive tests must be issued by the authorised signatory of an organisation accredited by IANZ to conduct these assessments to this standard
• Examining body issues the Certificate to the welder

Although the test piece must be welded within the essential variables of a procedure, the welder qualification they obtain will usually have a wider range of approval than that welding procedure. On the job, they can weld to any welding procedure within the range of their AS/NZS 2980 certification.

If you require more information on AS/NZS 2980 or assistance with welding procedures, contact the NZ Welding Centre by email or call 09 262 4840.