Objective:
The objective of this project is for TRU to adapt their current software to meet NAVSEA welding practices requirements, while proving system functionality, savings and data availability.
Summary:
Proper management of weld lifecycle requires input from multiple individuals, documents and specifications. Such quality assurance procedures can be expensive, inefficient, and difficult to administer.
NAVSEA welding practices can be broken into four categories: welding requirements, record of welding, NDT requirements and record of NDT. Requirements is the information a qualified welder or welding operator needs before starting a job to make the proper weld for a given location. This information is found across places like weld procedure specifications (WPS), blueprints, engineering notes and codes. Records are data collected after the job is complete about what materials and process were used, by whom to create a weld. The information that becomes part of a welds record includes filler and base material certifications, welder qualification records and sign offs by supervisors and QA representatives. The data collected can be quite copious and each inspection may generate several sheets of paper records. Over the course of a project these records may occupy several hundred pages.
To effectively cover all areas of welding practices, we completed our first project to satisfy all the requirements of 009-12 and for the second phase we would like to expand to encompass more parts of the weld process including WPS, integration of NDE/NDT gauge(s), welder qualifications and management by exception to create business intelligence.
By taking advantage of existing technology, the Navy and Commercial Shipbuilding communities can improve the efficiency of managing and collecting their weld lifecycle data. Use of a data base software application can allow for access to all relevant documents in a single place for each weld. Cross referencing capability of the database will also connect the driving requirements for individual variables that can be found in specific documents. In short, all the requirements and records for a weld and the documents driving those welding practices are connected and accessible from a single software application.
Key Deliverables / Benefits:
This project will offer private and public yards the ability to manage the welding process in one streamlined system. It will seamlessly integrate the gauge(s), have information available to flow into other systems of record, create business intelligence, make data accessible and improve the reporting process.
Overview
Project Team:
- TRU Solutions LLC
- EWI
- Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Fincantieri Marinette Marine
- Huntington Ingalls – Newport News Shipbuilding
February 2024 – February 2025
NSRP ASE Investment: $149K
