Standard Welding Procedure Specifications

(SWPS)
Basis for Establishing a Standard Welding Procedure Specification
(SWPSs)
(Excerpt from AWS B2.1/B2.1M:2014, Annex E)
The American Welding Society, acting under ANSI rules for consensus
standards, publishes AWS Standard Welding Procedure Specifications
(SWPSs) which are initiated by the Welding Procedures Committee of the
Welding Research Council (WRC). In initiating SWPSs for consideration as
AWS standards, the WRC Committee is guided by the successful service
experience in welded construction of the combination of base materials,
welding process(es), and welding filler metals covered by the scope of each
SWPS. An SWPS must meet the rules for qualification of AWS
B2.1,Specification for Welding Procedure and Performance Qualification, and
be approved by the AWS B2 Committee on Procedure and Performance
Qualification. All SWPSs are supported by Procedure Qualification Records
(PQRs) which meet the rules of AWS B2.1 and which in addition are intended
to meet the rules of the major codes which govern the intended applications
such as AWS Structural Codes (D1.1, D1.2, D1.3, etc.), AWS Sheet Metal
Welding Code (D9.1),ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX,
NAVSEA Technical Publication S9074-AQ-GIB-010/248,Requirements for
Welding and Brazing Procedure and Performance Qualification, NAVSEA
Technical Publication S9074-AR-GIB-010/278, Requirements for Fabrication
Welding and Inspection, and Casting Inspection and Repair for Machinery,
Piping and Pressure Vessels, MIL-STD-1689, Fabrication, Welding and
Inspection of Ships Structure, NAVSEA Technical Publication T9074-AD-GIB010/1688, Requirements for Fabrication Welding, and Inspection of
Submarine Structures, and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Naval Vessel
Rules (NVR).
The data to support a Standard Welding Procedure Specification are derived
from Procedure Qualification Records (PQRs) generated by the Welding
Procedures Committee of the WRC and PQRs received from industry and
government agencies. For all committee generated PQRs, the welding,
testing, and evaluation are performed under the direct supervision of the
WRC Welding Procedures Committee.
To be referenced as a supporting document for an SWPS, a PQR received
from an industry or government agency must be qualified and documented
in accordance with one of the nationally recognized codes or specifications
such as AWS D1.1 through AWS D1.6, AWS D15.1, AWS D14.1 through AWS

D14.6, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX, NAVSEA Technical
Publication S9074-AQ-GIB-010/248, Requirements for Welding and Brazing
Procedure and Performance Qualification, or American Bureau of Shipping
(ABS) Naval Vessel Rules (NVR). The Welding Procedures Committee of the
WRC reviews and validates these PQRs before entering the information
contained on them into a data bank.
It is the policy of the AWS B2 Committee that the range of conditions and
variables listed for an SWPS be more restrictive than permitted by
application of the full range of conditions and variables allowed by the B2.1
document or by other American National Standards (such as AWS D1.1
through AWS D1.6 or ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX).
The purpose of this policy is to restrict the WPS to a high probability of
successful application by all users. In judging the extent of such restriction,
the Committee is guided by the number and scope of the supporting PQRs,
including the specific material, thickness and value for each welding variable
used for the development of the PQR, and by known fabrication experience.
The minimum number of supporting PQRs required by the Committee is two,
but is usually in the range of two to fifty, the specific minimum number being
a Committee decision for each SWPS. It is the intent of the AWS B2
Committee to have SWPSs only for commonly welded materials and common
manual and semiautomatic welding processes.