TOTAL

WELDING
MANAGEMENT
Total Welding Management is a system focused on improvement.
It includes management principles, and a planning process with a
structured approach. When adopted by a company, it can improve
welding quality and productivity, thus helping the company
to become more competitive and more profitable.

Jack R. Barckhoff, P.E.

550 N.W. LeJeune Road, Miami, Florida 33126

iii
 TOTAL WELDING MANAGEMENT
Copyright © 2005, by the American Welding Society. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by
any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004115503
ISBN: 0-87171-743-3
The Barckhoff Welding Management System and the Barckhoff Method
are both copyrighted (1980) and later service marked by Jack R.
Barckhoff. Copyright law protects any references to Systems and
Methods used in this book.
The use of the Management System or The System refers to the Barckhoff
Welding Management System. The use of The Method refers to the
Barckhoff Method.

iv
 Introduction

This book is not about teaching welding. It is a completely new

paradigm for managing a business involving welding.
In this book, I will share a system that marries the science of welding
technology with sound management principles to form a Total Welding
Management System.
Whether it is a manual, robotic, or fully automated welding
operations, the same principles and concepts of The Total Welding
Management System and The Barckhoff Method will apply.
It has evolved from over 40 years of experience in working with
companies that do welding.
The implementation of this management system has resulted in
significant cost savings for most companies. Savings per welder has
ranged from $10,000 to $35,000 annually. Typical annual savings have
been $15,000 to $25,000 per welder per year. As an example, a company
with 50 welders can typically expect savings of $750,000 to $1,250,000 per
year. This management system has been applied to many companies and
over a broad variety of products.
Construction machinery, industrial fans, commercial lawn mowers,
ships and barges, storage tanks, hospital equipment, truck bodies and rail
cars represent some of the products to which the system has been
applied. It has also been applied to small, medium, and very large
companies. In any company where welding is an important part of the
business, Total Welding Management can help deliver improved
profitability.
Over more than the past thirty years, survey results of the welding
operations of many companies have shown productivity gains of
typically 20% to 50% using the Total Welding Management System.
This book will provide the details of this proven integrated
management approach that can help transform your welding operations
from a cost center to a profit center. This is especially timely in today’s
globally competitive business environment.
The Total Welding Management System includes the following:
1. A set of values, concepts, and management principles

1
INTRODUCTION

2. A method to identify, quantify, and harvest the total potential for

welding improvement in your company
3. A structure to manage improvement projects to assure results
4. The focusing of key company resources to service the welder for
welding quality and productivity improvement
5. A management reporting and control system to identify
deviations from performance standards so that Corrective Action
can be taken as required
6. A process for continuous improvement in weld quality and
productivity
7. Managerial, technical, and welding skills training for everyone
involved in the welding management system.
The Total Welding Management System incorporates all of the tools
and management processes required to make your welding operations
the best in the world.
Let’s begin by reviewing the background of its development.
From college, I started my career as a sales engineer with The Lincoln
Electric Company, a supplier of welding equipment and consumables.
During my first year, I went through an extensive training program to
prepare for this role. The training program consisted of
1. The science and theory of welding
2. Welding application engineering
3. Welding methods engineering
4. Extensive practical experience welding on the shop floor using a
variety of welding processes and methods
This training program, coupled with my engineering education from
Ohio State University gave me the foundation to begin a career in
welding.
At The Lincoln Electric Company, Mr. James F. Lincoln developed a
value-added cost reduction sales strategy. This approach involved
providing customers with technical services at no charge to help them
reduce their cost of welding. His idea was cost-reduction selling to
improve the sale of welding equipment, consumables and welding
supplies. This approach offered customers a much greater return on
equipment and consumables purchased than the competition.
As a young sales engineer attempting to deliver promised additional
value to customers, I spent considerable time on the shop floor with
welders, teaching them new welding processes and training them in new
welding procedures and techniques.
My approach was to improve weld quality and productivity by
taking the “blacksmith” mentality out of welding. This approach resulted
in lower weldment costs through better-controlled welding processes and
work methods, welding procedures, and better-trained welders.

2
 INTRODUCTION

As I began to teach these principles, welders better understood the

science behind the welding arc and how to control bead shape, size, and
quality. This also helped reduce training time. Once they understood the
theory of welding, I quickly discovered that they were able to learn and
apply new welding processes much faster.
At that time, many managers and engineers looked at welding as an
art or a mystery. This was different than their view of other
manufacturing processes. For example, in machining they understood
material feed rates, cutting speeds, metal removal rates, and how to
control with precision, the removal of metal. They did not understand the
variables of the welding process nor how to control various filler metal
deposition rates with the same precision.
Early in my career, I came to realize that there was ‘gold in them thar
weld nuggets’ and saw welding quality and productivity improvement
as the biggest opportunity many welding companies had to improve
their bottom line profitability.
From these experiences I began to see my job as something much
greater than selling welding equipment and consumables. I saw, in many
companies, an opportunity to transform welding from a process that was
often out of control and not understood, to one that was managed.
From these early experiences, I developed a passion for welding
management. Since that time, I have dedicated my life to helping
companies get control of their welding operations.
My efforts began on the welding floor, but today The Total Welding
Management System includes all aspects of welding from design through
quality assurance.
My early experiences as a sales engineer were frustrating. I worked
with welders on the shop floor, teaching them the science of welding and
getting some improvements. The personal satisfaction of working with
welders willing to learn and improve touched my soul. Improvements
came quickly and they were eager for more.
Since I had to work with many companies in my capacity as a sales
engineer, I would leave one to work with another. Upon my return, I
would find that improvements I had made were not maintained. Welders
would fall back into old habits, even though most of them had been very
receptive to learning and changing the way they were welding. When I
was not there, they did not have the daily support necessary to made
permanent change.
I came to realize that to gain sustainable bottom line improvements
there was a need for something more. A management system was needed
to identify opportunities for improvement, and put controls in place to
capture and maintain these improvements.

3
INTRODUCTION

Because of my passion for welding improvement, I left The Lincoln

Electric Company after twenty years to form Barckhoff & Associates, Inc.,
a welding management, consulting, engineering, and training company.
This allowed me to commit full time to the further development of the
principles, concepts and systems for welding management and help
companies improve their welding operations.
This book will lay the foundation for understanding the Total
Welding Management System to manage your welding operations for
quality and productivity improvement.
Some companies have been very successful in applying the principles
of the Total Welding Management System. They have improved their
company’s profitability through significant savings in welding costs.
Others have been moderately successful, gaining improvements of 10%
to 30% in productivity. Some have failed to achieve the full potential
savings. This book will show you how to plan for and achieve success as
well as explain why some have succeeded when others have not achieved
their potential.
The Total Welding Management System provides the way to plan
and control your welding operations. To illustrate relative unit cost
differences between welding operations that are in control and those that
are not, I have included Figure 1. This figure shows how the total unit
costs of welding change over periods of time between planned and
controlled welding operations and those that are not. As more of the
variables that affect welding are controlled, total unit costs of welded
products are reduced. This figure also demonstrates how costs are
reduced as improvement actions are taken and a welding management
system is put in place. The opportunity for cost reductions by gaining
control of your welding operations is significant.
The Total Welding Management System not only reduces manual
welding costs but also prepares your welding operations for automation
and robotics by putting in place the basic automation requirements.
These include consistency, repeatability, and control of product output.
These principles apply not only to arc welding but also to other forms of
metal joining, such as resistance welding, soldering, and friction welding.
The primary focus of this book is to
1. help take the mystery out of the welding process and move it to
an engineered science in your company,
2. show how to identify and quantify the potential for improvement
in each step of the process from design through fabrication,
welding and final assembly,
3. show you a set of concepts and management principles and a
management system that lock in improvements and build a
foundation so that gains can be sustained and increased over
time,

4
 INTRODUCTION

OUT OF CONTROL VARIABLES

UNIT COST

CONTROLLED VARIABLES

TIME

Figure 1. Reducing Unit Costs through

Control of the Welding Variables

4.
show you a management system including a cultural change to
the upside down organization to better support the welders in
your company, and
5. show you how to improve profitability with your current
technology and prepare you for welding automation and
robotics.
Often executive management has viewed welding as an art, a
mystery or black hole and therefore, walked around it leaving it to itself
and considering it a high cost center.
Your welding department does not have to be a mystery or a high
cost area. It can become a major profit center through the application of
these management principles, concepts, and system. They have passed
the test of time through application at many companies of all sizes.
In Chapter 12, an actual case study will show in detail how these
concepts and management principles have been implemented to establish

5
INTRODUCTION

a welding management system that resulted in improved performance

throughout the company.
In my experience, it is imperative for the company’s top executive to
actively provide leadership to bring about changes in the way their
welding operations are viewed and managed.
Upon completion of this book, you will have the understanding and
the tools to effectively manage your welding profit center.
Let’s begin the journey.

6
 Foreword

I met Jack Barckhoff in early 1983 when I was manager of

Manufacturing Planning for a large manufacturer of underground coal
mining machinery. At that time our business was facing a major
downturn, as our customers were experiencing lower demand for coal
and lower prices. Our backlog of orders for equipment shrank from over
two years to less than four months almost overnight as customers either
cancelled orders or deferred delivery dates. The 1980’s recession had hit
our business without warning. My responsibility at that time was to lead
a company-wide effort to find ways to improve productivity and
maintain profitability at much lower production levels.
Before the downturn, we thought we were pretty efficient. What we
discovered, as our backlog disappeared, was high production volume hid
many of our inefficiencies. As we ‘drained water from the swamp’ as our
production schedules declined, our inefficiencies began to surface. Our
customers now demanded less equipment at lower prices and we had to
find a way to respond.
The mining machines that we were producing had a lot of welding.
Over 60% of our production employees were welders. For us, Jack
Barckhoff showed up at the right time. After convincing our division
general manager that improving our welding operations was a way to
significantly improve our company efficiency and profitability, Jack and
his team conducted an initial Survey and Evaluation to identify
improvements and quantify the potential savings that we could realize,
through improving our welding quality and productivity. We were all
quite shocked by the magnitude of the savings when Jack presented us
with the survey results. His initial report also included specific and
detailed recommendations on where the savings were and what we had
to do to get these savings.
After a review of the survey data with Jack and our management
team, I was assigned by our general manager to be the project manager,
as our management was anxious to begin to realize the savings identified.
As I worked with Jack as the project manager of the welding
improvement project, and learned more about his welding management
system, I came to realize that Jack had developed a set of unique

xi
principles and management tools for welding quality and productivity
improvement. His system and method can lead companies that do
welding to improved profitability. His total welding management
approach, now called the Barckhoff Welding Management System, is
based on a set of beliefs and management principles that Jack has
followed for over 40 years with great passion. He has helped instill these
principles into many managers, engineers, supervisors and welders,
resulting in improved profits through better management of the total
welding process in their companies.
After twenty years of knowing and working with Jack, I am pleased
to see that Jack is writing this book to share his experiences and his
proven approach to welding quality and productivity improvement. As
you read this book, you will come to realize that Jack has truly helped
take the field of welding and welding management from an ‘art’ to a
management science. I am sure that you will find his insights and his
approach practical and applicable to your company.
In today’s global economy, all manufacturing companies are facing a
difficult, competitive environment. The timing of the book is even more
important now than it was twenty years ago when Jack and I first met.

Clint Vogus
Operations Manager and
Management Consultant

xii
 Contents
Dedication ........................................................................................................... v
List of Figures ................................................................................................. viii
List of Tables ....................................................................................................... x
Foreword ............................................................................................................ xi
Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................xiii
Author’s Notes ................................................................................................xiv
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
Chapter 1 The Managers Traditional View of Welding ......................... 7
Chapter 2 The Need for a Management System .................................... 15
Chapter 3 Principles of The Total Welding Management System ...... 29
Chapter 4 The Method: A Three Phased Approach
to Identify and Harvest Profit Improvement
Opportunities ........................................................................... 37
Chapter 5 The Welder Support System—The Heart of
Total Welding Management................................................... 47
Chapter 6 The Five Welding Do’s............................................................ 65
Chapter 7 The Four Critical Functions and Their Five
Key Results Areas .................................................................... 77
Chapter 8 Phase I—Survey and Evaluation—Identifying
Your Opportunities for Improvement .................................. 93
Chapter 9 The Six Managerial Steps...................................................... 109
Chapter 10 Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting.......... 123
Chapter 11 Phase III—Implement and Sustain—Getting
and Maintaining Results ....................................................... 133
Chapter 12 Case Study—The Knapheide Manufacturing Company ... 145
Chapter 13 Getting Started........................................................................ 167
Glossary of Terms .......................................................................................... 175
Index ................................................................................................................ 187

vii
 Chapter 1
The Manager’s Traditional View of Welding

“This art can’t be managed”

At the beginning of my career as a sales engineer, I had difficulty
getting the attention of executive managers to get involved in improving
their welding operations.
When I called on company presidents or general managers, they
often referred me to their production manager, welding engineer, or
welding supervisor. This was true even in companies where the majority
of the production workforce were welders. I struggled to understand
why managers would not get directly involved in the details of their
welding operations.
Top managers would readily get involved in other functional areas of
the company, but not welding. Issues such as the purchase of new
machining equipment or a new computer system, developing a new
product, building a new plant, company strategy, or human resource
policies all seemed of more importance.
Most executive managers did not understand how their welding
operations impacted their company’s profitability, or what they had to do
to improve welding quality and productivity in their company.
Some saw welding as a cost center and necessary evil rather than an
opportunity to improve profitability. Others saw welding as an art or a
craft that was highly dependent on the skills of the welders. These
managers thought of welding as an uncontrollable phase of their
operation and, therefore, not worth their effort to improve.
Most company executives did not see that if welding was viewed as
an engineered science rather than an art, it could be controlled and
managed. They tended to pass the responsibility for welding
management and improvement on to others. Other executives felt that as
long as the welding arcs were visible in the shop, everything was
satisfactory.
These views of welding were not accurate. I had shown that there
were great opportunities to improve the welding operations in most
companies through the direct involvement of top management.

7
CHAPTER 1

My challenge was to work with top managers and show them that
welding was not solely an art but a combination of science and art. It
could be managed but needed their understanding and leadership.
Engineering and welding skills were out of balance in many companies.
Welding had to be brought under more engineering control. There had to
be more of an engineered science approach to welding.
Company owners or presidents would often spend $100,000 on a
machining center to reduce a part cycle time by 5%. The same executives,
however, would be reluctant to spend a few thousand dollars to improve
their welding operations. As an example, by investing perhaps $10,000 to
upgrade a welding fixture and doing some welder training, productivity
could improve by 20%. An investment in welding typically yields a much
shorter payback time than larger capital investments such as new
machining equipment.
Some companies would spend $200,000 for a new computer system
including training, to improve shop scheduling and reduce inventory,
but would not invest in training to improve welding quality and
productivity. Improvements in welding generally do not take a lot of
capital investment. In fact, most welding savings require little or no
capital investment. Only when a company is in control of its engineering
and manufacturing disciplines, is it ready for capital investments such as
welding automation and robotics.
I talked with many company executives about how they could
increase the productivity in their welding operations. The productivity of
each welder could be improved by 30% to 50% by putting in place a
management system that could achieve typical annual savings of $15,000
to $25,000 per welder. The responses I got were varied.
Some executives would respond with enthusiasm, “You tell a very
convincing story.” Many would ask for more detailed information.
Others would say, “That sounds like a great program. Why don’t you
contact my welding department manager?” or, “Why don’t you send me
some information and I will have my engineer give you a call?”
Others responded, “The management system sounds like exactly
what we need—our welding operations are not very productive and we
do have a number of quality issues,” or, “Our welders are a different
breed...I am not sure that they can be managed using a system of
management—they must be managed carefully,” and “Welding is more
of an art; you can’t control it like machining or fabrication.”
Others would comment, “We tried a welding improvement program
several years ago and we did not see any results;” “We feel that it is too
difficult to control the welders;” and “The long-term answer to cleaning
up and controlling welding is in robotics and automation.”
These comments were far from my experience. I had learned that
most welders were very open and excited about learning the science of

8
 THE MANAGER’S TRADITIONAL VIEW OF WELDING

welding once they were told how this knowledge would benefit them.
Most had never been properly trained to understand the physics and
chemistry of welding. As an example, they did not understand the
molten pool and welding variables necessary to control the weld bead
shape, so they could not make judgments to change welding parameters
to improve weld quality, and produce more linear inches of weld per
minute, with less physical effort.
I found that both welders and supervisors were hungry and eager for
knowledge. They wanted to learn and improve to make a better, more
consistent product. In too many cases, no one showed them how or
provided them with the technical and management support required for
continuous improvement.
Proper support of the welder includes training, good weldment
design, consistent component parts, good fixtures and welding
equipment, and a timely response when there is a deviation from
planned production output or weld quality. Support of the welder is the
heart of the Total Welding Management System.
Control of your welding operations is essential for long-term quality
and productivity improvement. Figure 2 illustrates how management
control principles are applied to welding in The Total Welding
Management System. TWM can be viewed as a Closed Loop System and
is used as a management process to correct variances from an established
Work Center Plan that is developed to support the welder.
For example, when there is a deviation from or interruption to
planned performance such as equipment malfunction, in a closed loop
system the welder reports the situation or deviation to his supervisor.
The supervisor contacts the resource (in this case. maintenance), which
responds by troubleshooting and/or replacing the equipment within an
agreed to specified response time so that welders production can resume
at its planned rate of output. This is the essence of an effective
management system with feedback and rapid response to assure
continued levels of planned quality and productivity.
As I made the transition from a sales engineer to a welding
management consultant, I initially experienced a lot of frustration as I
worked with companies that were doing welding. I knew that I
could help companies improve their welding operations through the
application of the concepts and principles of Total Welding Management.
From attempts at selling these concepts to top management and after
a few polite slammed doors, I began to identify the major reasons
why company executives were not yet embracing these principles nor
sharing my passion for making welding a key profit center in their
companies.

9
CHAPTER 1

4 Welder

Welder
3 Response
Works Within 1 Situation
Work Center
Plan

2 Resource

Welder reports problem or deviation from plan (1–Situation)

Appropriate Resource (2) responds with corrective action (3–Response)
Production resumes quickly and effectively to the plan (4–Welder)

Figure 2. Total Welding Management Closed Loop Feedback System

The messages that came through most frequently from company

executives were:
1. The welding process can’t be controlled, like machining or other
manufacturing processes. There is a lot of craftsmanship and art to
welding. Results are highly dependent on the skills of each
welder. Modern machining equipment with CNC controls in
contrast is not dependent on an operator, once the job has been
tooled, programmed, set up, and the machine takes over.
2. Welders can’t be managed. They are craftsmen, independent, proud
of their work, and know the best ways to weld. It’s dirty work so
you can’t push them. Welders are in short supply so we don’t
want to upset them by telling them how to do their job or forcing
them to change.
3. My welders are productive. They are always welding, fitting up
parts, grinding, or hammering parts together. They are always
busy. How can we ask them to work any harder? All we need is a
good supervisor to be on the shop floor to make sure the welders
are always working and don’t take excessive breaks.
4. You can’t measure welding. We don’t have good time standards
and procedures. It is impossible to have good work measurement
standards on welding since there is too much variation. It is not
like machining or fabrication.

10
 THE MANAGER’S TRADITIONAL VIEW OF WELDING

5. I don’t need to get personally involved. I agree that we could use

some improvement in our welding operations, but it’s a
manufacturing issue, not a top management issue. I don’t want to
micro-manage my managers. If they need to get design
engineering, manufacturing engineering, or quality assurance
involved they should deal with them directly. They don’t need
me to tell them what to do. If there is a problem I expect them to
come to me to get it resolved. They are paid to manage.
After a few years of frustration as a welding management consultant,
the light bulbs began to come on. If I was going to transform companies
doing welding to support the welder and supervisor on the floor, I had to
find ways to get my message across more effectively to top management.
My vast experience with welders and managers taught me that top
management was crucial to success. They had to provide hands-on
leadership. Without their understanding and leadership, any attempts to
improve would only result in greater welder frustration and failure.
Without top management’s involved leadership, it would be better not to
undertake the improvement process.
Hands-on leadership means that the top executive takes the time to
learn and support the management and technical principles of the Total
Welding Management System. He then leads the management team
through the process, monitors progress as the management system is put
in place, and sets the new standards of performance to support the
welder on the shop floor.
From working with thousands of welders over my career, I have
experienced that:
1. Welders are eager to learn and change and be held accountable. They
want to be the best at what they do. They are not engineers, they
are welders and want to weld but generally they lack the
technical knowledge of welding as well as the support from
Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations, and Quality Assurance to make major improvements
in quality and productivity.
Welders want to have objective performance standards and
goals that are based on sound engineering data and the science of
welding rather than judgment. They seek support and good
management to be the best they can be. When they are properly
trained and supported with the Upside Down Organization
philosophy, which is explained in more detail in Chapter 2, they
gladly accept the challenge of: a) managing their area within
company guidelines; b) guaranteeing their work; and c)
accepting responsibility and being held accountable for both
quality and productivity.

11
CHAPTER 1

2. The welding process can be controlled and measured. Welding is

based on laws of physics and chemistry. When combined with
good design, manufacturing practices, sound welding processes
and procedures, fixtures and handling equipment, good work
methods, and welder training, welding can be controlled just like
any other manufacturing process. Consistent standards can then
be developed and used to measure performance. These standards
then provide the basis of work center planning and control for
each welding workstation.
3. Welder productivity and quality can be improved, often with less welder
work effort. This can be accomplished by such actions as the
reduction of weld metal volume through better weld design,
elimination of overwelding, improvement of poor material fitup,
welding fixtures with good welding process accessibility, and
documented work methods and welding procedures. The
reduction of delay time through better parts scheduling and
crane availability also will improve welder productivity.
4. Training is the starting point for change. The welding crew
consisting of the supervisor and his welders needs to be trained
in such things as: a) the management system; b) guideline
documentation such as the weldment design specification and
welding symbols, workmanship standards, welding procedures;
c) the welding process and welding theory; and d) the essential
welding variables required to deposit a specific weld size and
bead shape with zero defects. After training, they need to be
helped and monitored through the transition period as they
change from their old to new learned habits.
5. The Total Welding Management System represents a management and
cultural change in many companies. This change requires support of
the welders by all functions from design and manufacturing
engineering through manufacturing operations and quality
assurance.
6. There is “gold in them thar weld nuggets.” It can be mined by top
management with a process that focuses the entire organization
on supporting the welder and provides a plan with closed-loop
feedback to detect and correct deviations from the plan.
My challenge was now clear. How to demonstrate and convince
managers of companies with welding operations that through their
hands-on leadership, using the Total Welding Management System, they
could transform their welding operations from a cost center to a profit
center.
In Chapter 2, I will show how the above beliefs developed from my
experiences with welders and the welding process became the
foundation for the development of the Total Welding Management

12
 THE MANAGER’S TRADITIONAL VIEW OF WELDING

System. Some other early concepts include welding as a science, the

Upside Down Organization, Work Center Planning and Control, and the
Four Critical Functions. These concepts had their early beginning from
my experiences with companies doing welding and are all now part of
Total Welding Management.
Let’s now look in more detail at the evolution of both welding as a
science and the development of Total Welding Management.

13
 Chapter 2
The Need for a Management System

“There is profit improvement potential

in your welding operations”
In this chapter we take the next step in the evolution of Total Welding
Management by looking at the technical development of welding as a
science and how the use of this knowledge, coupled with Work Center
Planning and Control and the Welder Support System, which is
embodied in the Upside Down Organization, began to form the building
blocks of Total Welding Management. Let’s begin with the concept of
welder support and the evolution of welding as a science.
As a sales engineer, I spent time with hundreds of welders delivering
on my promise to bring additional value for the welding equipment and
consumables that their company purchased from me. My personal goal
and challenge soon became one of delivering measurable bottom-line cost
reductions to every customer.
Working side-by-side with welders, I had a welding gun in one hand
and a helmet in the other. I worked all three shifts in many plants
teaching and training welders.
I learned that welders are a proud group, they want to improve, and
are eager to learn. They became special people to me. Many became
friends.
They would bring up problems to me that prevented them from
doing their best. Conditions such as poor prints or no prints, poor
material fitup of parts, poorly designed fixtures with inadequate welding
process accessibility, lack of process documentation, and poor equipment
maintenance were just a few examples.
These conditions often prevented welders from achieving acceptable
weld quality and productivity. Many welders felt unsupported, ignored,
and alone with no one to turn to. They welcomed my help and were eager
to gain more knowledge about welding.
Some welders had been welding for ten and even thirty years and
never had their welds tested or analyzed to understand which of the
welding variables or combination of variables caused a particular weld

15
CHAPTER 2

defect. They, therefore, did not know which of the essential welding
variables they had to change to correct a defect. Trial and error had been
their primary teacher.

Welding Matures
In the early days, welding was viewed as more of an art than a
science. There was not a lot of engineering data to support welding
processes; therefore, oftentimes they were developed from trial and error.
Over time, a variety of welding processes and procedures using proper
welding techniques were developed for specific welding requirements.
As welding processes became better understood, the design of weld
joints evolved. More choices became available for weld joint design. What
types of weld joint design for a given material would provide the best
strength, provide the best quality weld, and be most cost effective? These
were largely open questions.
A lot of welding process and equipment development has occurred
since those early days. Many companies that could benefit from welding
were very eager to capitalize and invest in its development. Many were
anxious to support its development. There was also a lot of interest in the
metallurgy of welding, which is the heart of the welding process.
As we grew to understand the metallurgy of joining metal through
various welding processes and electrodes, we realized that each could be
defined and then controlled.
Schools such as The Ohio State University, Le Tourneau University,
and others developed welding engineering programs to teach students
about this new emerging manufacturing technology. Today Ohio State,
Le Tourneau, and Ferris State College are some of the leaders in
educating welding engineers.
Welding equipment and consumable manufacturing companies were
eager to support research to further develop welding processes, welding
equipment, and consumable welding materials. They quickly saw the
business opportunity that welding presented to them if they could better
understand the welding processes, deliver equipment that was reliable,
help engineers with the design of welds, and train engineers on weld
design, and welders in welding processes and techniques.
Welding has now become an Applied Science, no different than
machining, painting, or fabricating. A body of knowledge now exists and
is documented for all aspects of welding. It includes all facets of welding,
from design to process and equipment, application, and testing methods.
A company doing welding is now able to apply this welding knowledge
to improve welding quality and productivity.
Most mechanical and structural engineers have been taught only the
basics of welding and weld joint design. Few engineers understand from
calculation and experience how weld joints react under various types of

16
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

loading or the economic factors of cost effective weld design. Many

weldment design engineers, therefore, ended up specifying far more
weld metal deposit than was necessary.
Information and training programs are now available for design
engineers on material selection, weld size determination, weld joint
design, and various welding processes.
Training is also available to design tooling and welding fixtures in a
way to assure good welding process accessibility and that weld joints are
positioned and fit properly for welding.
Manufacturing Engineering now has the information available for a
given weld design and specification to select the best welding process
and filler material, develop the workmanship standard and develop
welding procedures with the proper welding variables to assure that the
weld meets design and quality requirements and can be done in a cost
effective way.
Quality Assurance has information available and test methods such
as visual, ultrasonic and dye penetrates to check after the weld has been
completed, to assure that it meets design and functional requirements.
Welders also have engineering and welding process specifications,
welding procedures and standards for producing quality weldments. The
supervisors, to monitor weld quality and productivity, use this same
information.
Another result of the maturity of welding was the development of the
professional discipline of Welding Engineer. Just as we have other
disciplines in industry today within engineering we also have the
Welding Engineer who is trained at the university level in a variety of
engineering disciplines. Welding Engineering is a combination of several
other engineering disciplines including metallurgy, mechanical,
structural, and electrical.
In a company a Welding Engineer’s knowledge is used to help design
weldments, as well as welding equipment for manual, mechanical, and
automated welding processes including robotic welding. For example, he
can develop work methods and welding procedures for welding of all
materials resulting in the production of a finished product that achieves
quality weldments with the best economic productivity. Welding
Engineers can also serve as either mechanical design engineers,
manufacturing engineers, quality engineers or as a staff Welding
Engineer serving all functional areas.
Welding, as we know it today, can be classified as a mature process
where all the knowledge required for producing cost-effective weldments
is available. There will continue to be improvements in the welding
process, and perhaps a breakthrough in new process technology, but for
now we know about all of what we need to about welding using today’s
technology. It is now a science with very predictable results given the

17
CHAPTER 2

metals being joined, the welding process, proper filler materials, control
of the components, and control over the process. We can now use the
science of welding as the basis of a welding control plan.
Proof of this is the fact that some companies have gone to robotic or
fully automatic welding. If the welding process was not completely
known and predictable, a robot could not do it. Many welding operations
have tried robotic welding and failed. In most cases, it was because the
company had not done its homework in preparation for the robot. The
engineering and manufacturing basics were not in place such as:
1. prints with proper fabrication and weld specifications,
2. component parts made to specification to produce consistent
material fitup,
3. properly designed welding fixtures that hold component parts in
the same position every time and provide easy access to all weld
joints,
4. the right process and qualified welding procedures with defined
limits for the welding variables, and
5. a workmanship standard with a monitoring and auditing process
control system to assure consistent production.
These are the same requirements for cost-effective manual welding.
What you would do to install a robot, you should also do for a current
manual welder. By doing so, you benefit in two ways:
1. return significant profits to your bottom line with little or no
capital investment, and
2. prepare your manufacturing and engineering disciplines with
the base they need for automation and robotics.
There have been instances where presidents of companies mandated
to manufacturing engineering to purchase and install a welding robot at
the cost of a quarter of a million dollars, only to see the robot eventually
taken out of service. The basics were not in place. Welders can adjust for
out-of-control situations, robots cannot.
Since we have completed the evolution of welding technology, how
are welders performing today? Are they applying this body of technical
knowledge to produce the most cost effective and consistent weldments?
The answer, even from our most recent surveys is that consistent and cost
effective welding performance is still an exception rather than the rule.
Many companies are not applying the science of welding that is now
available to improve their welding operations.
Many managers, supervisors, engineers and welders do not, even
today, have a good grasp of welding and the science behind the welding
processes.
Many welders are still taught by other welders. Some are trained in
technical vocational schools, and some learn on their own through trial
and error.

18
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Many supervisors continue to look at welding as an art and not a

science. Therefore, they have no way to monitor and control it. You
cannot control an art—you can control a scientific process.
Many of the welding processes observed on the shop floor are either
not the best welding process for the application or the welding procedure
used for the welding process selected was not correct. This often results
in quality problems and poor welder productivity. The welding process
must be the right process for the application, and the right welding
procedures must support it. We still have a long way to go to get the
knowledge of welding into every welding organization.

Welder Support
Let’s now turn to the concepts of welder functional support and the
control system.
Working with other functional departments such as design
engineering, manufacturing engineering, and quality assurance, I also
often found a lack of understanding of the welding process and welding
management. These departments many times did not fully understand
how their function affected the welder and the final product. Many had
little empathy for the welder and little interest in helping.
As part of my cost reduction selling effort, I would work with these
departments to teach them what they needed to know to support the
welder. An emphasis was put on how important it was to control all the
variables involved in welding from product design, joint design, welding
process selection, welding procedure development, material fitup,
equipment maintenance and fixturing to production and quality control.
Through proper training and a good monitoring and auditing
support system to support the welders through the transition period,
many companies made significant weld quality and productivity
improvements.
The design engineers have to design sound economic welds with
proper parts tolerances to produce good material fitup of welded
components.
The Fabrication Department has to manufacture all weldment
components to design dimensions and within tolerances so they would fit
properly in the final weldment.
Fixturing and tooling has to be designed so that parts were held
together properly to provide the best weld joint fitup and accessibility,
weld position and sequencing for the welder with the least amount of
body motion and fatigue.
The proper welding process, equipment and machine settings, and
type of electrode/wire all have to be clearly defined.

19
CHAPTER 2

The welding equipment has to be maintained in good condition to

deliver consistently the proper arc stability and weld bead shape.
Manufacturing Operations has to deliver all parts required on time
and to proper print specifications to the welding workstation so the
welder could complete work on time.
Manufacturing Engineering has to provide the welder with work
methods and application welding procedures to produce quality parts in
a productive manner.
The welding supervisor has to make sure the welder has everything
needed. This includes training, proper welding documentation, such as
prints, workmanship standards, work methods with proper weld
sequencing and welding procedures, and welding equipment so he could
be effective in consistently meeting quality and quantity output
standards for each weldment.

Work Center Control

The starting point for good management of welding is a control plan
to ensure that such things as engineering prints, component parts,
equipment performance, work methods and welding procedures
conform to specifications and standards and result in finished weldments
conforming to design requirements. It is the road map that the welder
must follow to assure consistent quality and productivity of every
weldment, every time.
Figure 3 illustrates the Work Center Control Plan consisting of seven
inputs numbered 1–7, which come into the welding workstation as
inputs, and five components numbered 8–12, which are within the
welding workstation. Together these twelve items represent the variables
of Work Center Planning and Control. Each of these variables must be
qualified and controlled to a specification and a standard for each job that
is put into the workstation, including the welder.
Figure 4 gives, in more detail, examples of situations, resources
and responses to deviations from a plan. Target response times are
developed as part of the initial planning process. In this process goals are
established for the time allotted to return a workstation to planned
welding quality and productivity. Situations, resources, response plans
are also developed for the lead person, supervisor, manager, maintenance
and engineering personnel and all the way up to the CEO. Some
examples are shown in Figure 4 of how the Welder Support System with
a Work Center Control Plan would work. This figure also outlines the
duties and responsibilities of the welder.
If all the inputs or variables are qualified and controlled, the welder
in the workstation can produce weldments with planned consistency and
repeatability. Personnel training and qualification and supervisor

20
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

INPUTS WELDING
Variables WORKSTATION Variables

1. Energy 8. Welding Power Source

2. Component Parts and Wire Feeder Consistency and
3. Welding Consumables 9. Welding Fixtures Repeatability of
4. Workmanship Standards and Tooling Quality and
5. Engineering Prints 10. Welding Positioner
Quantity Output
6. Welding Procedures 11. Environment
7. Work Methods 12. Welder

A good work center plan consists of qualified input

variables, equipment that meets specification
requirements including a well layed out
workstation with a trained and qualified welder.

Figure 3. Work Center Control Plan

monitoring of the welder’s application of the process welding variables

and techniques and work-in-process are essential to consistently meet
time and quality standards.
This means that personnel at all levels and across all departmental
functions of responsibility must be qualified to do their job. Training in
this context is much broader than qualifying a welder to meet a specific
welding standard or code requirement.
One effective control method for welder training is to select and train
company Internal Welder Trainers. The responsibility of these
individuals is to:
1. train and qualify new hires for the shop floor.
2. upgrade and maintain the knowledge and skills of the current
welders plus, troubleshoot welding technical problems.
3. function at times as the right arm of the supervisor working with
the welder on the job as needed.
4. help maintain the company welder certification program.
Often they also function as welding technicians. Properly used, they
have been very effective in improving weld quality and productivity.
Some have initiated cost savings of thousands of dollars from what they
have learned and been able to apply.
Weld leaders are sometimes established within a welding crew or
welding department as the right arm of a supervisor and are used to
correct welder deficiencies on the job as they occur. Primarily their job is
to weld, but when needed by the supervisor, they are pulled away from
their welding job to do on-the-job training and requalification of welders.

21
CHAPTER 2

WELDING WORKSTATION
Welder Duties & Responsibilities Objective
MEET OR EXCEED QUALITY
AND QUANTITY OF WORK STANDARDS
Follow print specification
Follow work method & weld sequencing
Follow welding procedures MEASURED BY:
Weld WORKMANSHIP AND WORK
MEASUREMENT
Inspect & Guarantee your own work in STANDARDS

accordance with the Workmanship Standards

Perform necessary Rework
Record & Report situations that kept you from
meeting your planned quality & quantity output
Follow Preventative Maintenance Plan
Practice continuous improvement activities
Follow good safety & health practice

SITUATION RESOURCE RESPONSE

Poor Welding Circuitry Maintenance Trace Circuitry

Welding Lead Problems Maintenance Check &/or Replace Lead

Wire Feeder Small Parts Lead person/Supervisor Replace Parts

Gun and Cable Assembly Maintenance Get Replacement

Wire Feeder Problem Maintenance Repair/Replace

Poor Tack Welds Remove Tack Welds

Material Fit up Problem Lead person/Supervisor Re-fit/Fabrication Department

Manufacturing Engineering
Welding Procedures Lead person/Supervisor Develop New Procedures
Design Engineering
Production Print is Wrong Lead person/Supervisor Correct Print

Work Method Problem Manufacturing Engineering

Lead person/Supervisor
Welding Fixture Problem Lead person/Supervisor
Welding Positioner Problem Lead person/Supervisor
Workstation Layout Problem Lead person/Supervisor
New Methods/Time Study
Manufacturing Engineering
Fixture Re-design/Modify
Manufacturing Engineering
Positioner Re-design/Modify
Manufacturing Engineering
Layout Re-design/Modify

Figure 4. Welder Support System

Figure 5 illustrates how the Welding Team Support System within and
outside of the welding team works.

The Upside Down Organization

The more I worked with companies in trying to help them improve
welding, the more I saw the welder as the focal point of the organization
with other functions there for support. From this concept evolved the
Upside Down Organization (see Figure 6).

22
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Welder
Maintenance Internal Welder
Department Trainer

Inspect
Measure
Report
Monitor - Audit

Supervisor Weld Leader

Team Leader

Tooling & Design Engineering

Fixturing Manufacturing Engineering

1. Supervisor monitors welder

2. Supervisor sends weld leader
for problem solving to the welder
3. Weld leader works with welder
4. Weld leader reports results to
supervisor

Figure 5. Welding Team Support System

The CEO provides the direction and resources for the key support
departments of Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,
Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance to build a total
welding management system to support the welding supervisors,
welding crews, and welders.
During my many years working with companies in applying the
Upside Down Organization concept, I have never experienced a company
executive who did not embrace its values and principals.
The Upside Down Organization is welder focused and based on four
concepts or values about workers and management’s responsibilities.
These four concepts are:

23
CHAPTER 2

Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work Work

Station Station Station Station Station Station Station Station Station

Supervisor Supervisor Supervisor

Internal Welder Trainer - Engineering -

Maintenance - Personnel Department

Each Person Will

Manage His Own Drive Responsibility
Area Within Company Managers and Decision Making To The
Guidelines Lowest Level Possible
Concept #2
Concept #1

Weldment Workmanship Procedures

Methods
Specification Standards

Guideline Documentation

Design Manufacturing Manufacturing Quality

Engineering Engineering Operations Assurance

Critical Functions

Each Person Will Training is a

Inspect and Guarantee Management
His Own Work Responsibility
Concept #3 Concept #4

Chief
Executive
Officer

Figure 6. Upside Down Organization

1.
Each person will manage his own area within company
documented guidelines of weldment specifications, workmanship
standards, work methods, and welding procedures.
2. Each person will drive responsibility and decision making to the
lowest level possible.
3. Each person will inspect and guarantee his own work to be right
the first time.
4. Training is a management responsibity.
These values need to be held by employees at all levels in the
organization from CEO to welder. They must be believed and practiced
throughout the organization.

24
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

These values, along with the ten principles of the Total Welding
Management System detailed in Chapter 3, provide the framework for
building an effective Upside Down Organization.
Organizations that are successful in being the most cost effective in
producing quality-welded products view the welder at the top of the
organization chart. Support functions work together to assure that
everything is done from design engineering to manufacturing
engineering, and through manufacturing operations and quality
assurance to support the welder.
Where this organization principle is practiced, companies are very
successful in achieving improved weld quality and productivity. Welder
attitudes significantly change to being more positive in the Upside Down
Organization. Where this principle is not believed and practiced, there
will always be welding issues that do not get resolved, resulting in a
company’s failure to meet competitive quality and productivity
standards.
For the Welder Support System to be effective, the job description for
each function must assure that every element required to make the
welder successful is completed on a timely basis. This starts with the CEO
and includes the functional departments of design engineering,
manufacturing engineering, manufacturing operations, and quality
assurance.

Five Welding Do’s

In Total Welding Management, these four functional departments are
defined as the Four Critical Functions. Executive management must
assure that each of these four functions is properly focused on the Five
Welding Do’s and serving the welder to improve weld quality and
productivity. The Five Welding Do’s are the major goals of any welding
improvement program. They define major items that affect weld quality
and productivity and become the focus for improvement activity. The
Five Welding Do’s are:
1. Reduce weld metal volume.
2. Reduce arc time per weldment.
3. Reduce rejects, rework, and scrap.
4. Reduce work effort.
5. Reduce motion and delay time.
In Total Welding Management the Five Welding Do’s serve as the
framework to identify welding improvement opportunities and then
build a plan to harvest the results.
Figure 7 illustrates how the Four Critical Functions affect each of the
Five Welding Do’s and therefore welder performance. Chapter 6 will

25
26

CHAPTER 2
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS

DESIGN MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING QUALITY

ENGINEERING ENGINEERING OPERATIONS ASSURANCE

THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

1. REDUCE WELD METAL VOLUME

2. REDUCE ARC TIME PER WELDMENT

3. REDUCE REJECTS, REWORK, AND SCRAP

4. REDUCE WORK EFFORT

5. REDUCE MOTION AND DELAY TIME

WORKSTATIONS

Figure 7. The Five Welding Do’s and the Four Critical Functions
 THE NEED FOR A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

cover, in detail, how each of the Four Critical Functions affect the Five
Welding Do’s.

Top Management Leadership

The key to success is getting all the Critical Functions to work
together to support the welder. Since this is not done by many companies
today and represents a major change in management’s approach, it takes
top executive leadership and support to make it happen effectively.
Without top executive leadership, effective change will not occur. The old
saying is, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” Top management must
set the direction, expectations, and provide hands-on leadership during
this critical transition of management approach and organization focus.
After the transition period and with the support system in place with
monitoring, auditing and management reporting, top management
involvement can be reduced.
The Upside Down Organization, with top management leadership
and support, is a key principal and cornerstone of the Total Welding
Management System. The reason it is so important is that to combine the
science of welding with the management of welding requires a new
approach to welding management. Now that welding can be looked at as
an engineered science, this new management approach is possible.

Recap
Let’s now recap the key points of this Chapter.
1. Given proper product design, weld joint design, correct parts,
good welding fixtures, correct welding process and procedures,
the right equipment, good process and procedure control,
efficient workstation layout, planned work methods with weld
sequencing, and trained welders, weld quality and productivity
can be improved significantly.
2. Most welding support functions in the past have not been
integrated to serve the welder, and therefore, the results on the
shop floor have been less than optimal in terms of quality and
productivity. Tearing the walls down between the Four Critical
Functions of design engineering, manufacturing engineering,
manufacturing operations and quality assurance, and uniting
them to work together to support the welder will improve all the
variables coming into each workstation and produce consistency
and repeatability of quality and quantity of all weldment output.
3. To gain the most profitability from welding improvements we
need to change our view of the organization to an Upside Down
Organization where design engineering, manufacturing
engineering, manufacturing operations and quality assurance

27
CHAPTER 2

support the welder in his effort to produce all weldments most

efficiently and effectively.
4. Top management must lead the change in turning the
organization chart upside down and tie together the Four Critical
Functions in welder support. They also need to provide the
resources and properly focus them on serving the welder.
A top management led system can now be put in place to manage
welding as an engineered science. Its primary difference is its focus on
support of the welder by all functional departments. It is the
understanding and application of this management system that will
separate the winners from the losers in welding in the future. The
management system includes Work Center Planning and Control, and
clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each of the Four Critical
Functions, the supervisors and the welder.
Let’s now move to the final foundation or building block of Total
Welding Management, which is the ten principles of TMW. We refer to
these as the new set of management beliefs. It is these beliefs that must
ultimately be in the hearts and minds of executive management as well as
the leadership of the Four Critical Functions and the welders to gain
ultimate and sustainable success in improving weld quality and
productivity.

28
 Chapter 3
Principles of The Total Welding
Management System

A New Set of Management Beliefs

Let’s now pull together some of the early concepts about welding,
welders, management, control, and support into what has become a new
set of beliefs or underlying principles of Total Welding Management.
Working with companies to improve welding quality and
productivity, I would encounter beliefs that were often entrenched in the
cultures of organizations that got in the way of making improvements.
Two of these beliefs were that the welding process could not be
controlled, and that welders could not be managed. As outlined in
Chapter 2, welding has evolved into a science but many management and
technical people were not up to date.
Dealing with managers at all levels, as well as engineers and welders,
I confronted and wrestled with trying to change these beliefs.
By adopting and verbalizing a new set of beliefs, I was able to more
effectively communicate my ideas to top management, engineers,
supervisors, and welders. This new set of beliefs became the way to
communicate with them what needed to change in their welding
operations to gain significant and lasting improvements in both welding
quality and productivity.
These beliefs became the ten principles of welding management.
Taken together they form a foundation for a systematic approach to
welding quality and productivity improvement.
In 1980 they were copyrighted and later Service Marked as the
Barckhoff Welding Management System and the Barckhoff Method. The
system represents the model now used to improve overall welding
operations. The foundation of the model is these new beliefs consisting of
ten management principles and four concepts. Total Welding
Management also includes a three-phased method which is the vehicle
used to achieve the model welding operations. The Method is also
referred to as the 3-4-5-6 method.

29
CHAPTER 3

In the balance of this book the Barckhoff Welding Management

System will be referred to as the Total Welding Management System or
Total Welding Management. The Barckhoff Method will be referred to as
The Method. Both will be defined in greater detail in subsequent
chapters. First the foundation principles of Total Welding Management
need to be understood.
These ten principles that provide the foundation for Total Welding
Management are:
1. Welding is a Science
A body of scientific knowledge now exists that defines welding and
its process variables so that the welding process can be controlled, the
same as machining or fabricating, for consistent results.
2. Most Employees Want to do a Good Job
My experience from working with thousands of welders is that most
want to do a good job and do it right. They are eager to improve by
learning new techniques, work methods, and skills when approached in a
constructive and helpful way. Many unmotivated employees became that
way because they have not received training when requested or have not
been responded to effectively when they brought up job related
problems. This principle improves welder attitude and cooperation, and
can build positive self-esteem, which leads to improved welder
performance.
3. Hands-On Leadership
Hands-on leadership by top management is essential to affect
significant lasting change. Major technical and management changes
cannot be delegated or dictated by executive management. These types of
changes represent new ways of doing things and therefore, top
management’s understanding, support, and direction is required. Hands-
on leadership means in the trenches daily involvement by executive
management in setting direction for the projects and removing obstacles
as they occur.
Some of the changes that executive management must lead include:
• Expanding the responsibilities of supervisors and welders and
empowering them to make decisions as well as establishing
accountabilities.
• Changing the goals and roles of design engineering,
manufacturing engineering, and quality assurance personnel to
support the welder.
• Changing the scope of inspectors. As welders become better and
accept responsibility for guaranteeing their own work, fewer
inspectors will be required and their role changes to auditor and
problem solver.
• Changing the role of managers and supervisors to be more
supportive and responsible to the welder and welding crews.

30
 PRINCIPLES OF THE TOTAL WELDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• Developing and implementing control and reporting procedures

to manage all phases of welding.
• Instituting and providing resources for training—not just for
welders, but also for designers, engineers, managers,
supervisors, trainers, and maintenance personnel.
• Developing an internal welder trainer’s program.
• Setting goals and expectations for results.
Since many of these changes cross-traditional departmental lines, top
management must provide the hands-on and visible leadership to bring
these functions together.
4. Teamwork and Goals
Functional departments must work together towards the common
company-wide goals to optimize results for the company rather than
optimizing results for each department (e.g., design engineering or
manufacturing operations). In traditional organizations, each department
tended to do what was best for their department. With Total Welding
Management, what is best for the company and the welder will result in
superior performance.
Functional managers must see their role as serving the organization
to support overall company goals and work together. Departmental goals
become subservient to company goals. A united team working toward a
common goal is always more successful than a group of individual
performers working toward their own goals. We see this in team sports
such as football, basketball and soccer.
5. Functional Departments as Support
To gain significant improvements in weld quality and productivity,
the functional departments of design engineering, manufacturing
engineering, manufacturing operations and quality assurance must see
their primary role as serving the welder.
The Upside Down Organization chart shows top management at the
bottom, functional managers in the middle and supervisors and welders
at the top. As these roles change to one of focus on serving the welder,
improvements begin to happen, attitudes change more towards the
company and away from the individual. Figure 6 in Chapter 2 illustrates
this.
6. A Plan for Change
Effective, lasting change is only accomplished with a plan, not by
edict or a wish. Planned and organized change for improvement gives
long lasting, sustainable results. There is no compromise for success.
Analysis of improvement opportunities, decisions on priorities, focus
of resources and training are all essential components of a well-
developed plan for sustainable organizational performance
improvement. Planning and then managing to the plan, if done
completely, will ultimately bring the desired improvements.

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CHAPTER 3

7. Methodology for Change

To affect and maintain permanent and sustainable organizational
performance improvement, a structured methodology is necessary. Any
systematic change process must include:
a. an identification and quantification of specific potential
improvement opportunities. Without some documented
measure of potential savings, it is difficult to get organization
members to understand and support the changes required,
b. a plan with specific measurable goals, action plans, resource
requirements, and time frames, which is agreed to and
supported by the management team under the leadership of
top management, and
c. a detailed action plan to harvest the results along with a
management process (Six Managerial Steps) to assure that
the results are achieved and maintained. The action plan
takes the planning process through to the final details. For
each item in the plan, the questions of what, who, how,
when, measurement, and completion are agreed to and
documented. This becomes the project road map.
8. Build a Strong Foundation
Recognizing that sustainable improvement is made slowly and in an
organized and planned way, begin by identifying projects that form the
building blocks towards a Total Welding Management System. Typically
the foundation is an organization wide activity such as training,
development of a quality policy or documentation of meaningful
application welding procedures.
Completing projects of this nature one project at a time with
everyone seeing the benefit will build organization confidence. This also
helps the organization to begin to see the value of total welding
management. Build a strong foundation for success one accomplishment
at a time. After the organization gains confidence, they are prepared to go
after bigger opportunities. Foundations are built on knowledge,
understanding, and results.
This approach takes on one project at a time. Beginning to gain
control over your welding operations with one project at a time can be
described as eating your welding elephant one bite at a time.
A welding department that is out of control can be described as a
wild elephant. To get the elephant back in control for areas out of control,
(e.g., poor material part fitup or fixturing) correct one issue at a time. This
starts to bring the welding operation in control. Figure 8 depicts the
welding elephant.
“One bite at a time” is another way to look at building a strong
foundation to systematically identify improvement projects, correct the
situations, and then take on the next project. As improvements are made,

32
 PRINCIPLES OF THE TOTAL WELDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Figure 8. Welding Elephant

results begin to be realized and organization confidence builds. Long-

term success with Total Welding Management requires building a strong
foundation first. Most programs begin with management training to gain
understanding and commitment. Everyone gets on board through this
process. Through this management training, everyone learns what the
objectives are, what their role is, and what needs to be done.
Once you have built the necessary foundation of training Critical
Function personnel, developed the necessary documentation of
guidelines to follow, and coupled with a few successes, you can then start
synchronizing projects to meet common goals for implementation.

33
CHAPTER 3

9. Training
Along with top management’s hands-on leadership and a structured
change methodology with a plan, training is essential to long-term
welding improvement. In many change efforts, training is often
overlooked or underestimated. If we are expected to do something
differently, we need to be trained or retrained. This applies to managers,
engineers, supervisors, quality personnel as well as welders. Adequate
and organization-wide training is the most important factor in welding
improvement. Without it, you can expect only short-lived results.
For example, welder skills training is essential so the welder can learn
the correct way to weld and control all the essential welding variables for
each welding process. Without training at all levels and across all
functions, any new management system will fail. Management and
technical training for Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,
Manufacturing Operations and Quality Assurance are essential for success.
10. Ownership of Your Company’s Welding Management System
Every company that is successful in making long-term improvements
in welding quality and productivity develops its own welding
management system. Most companies that have been successful in
achieving and maintaining significant improvements have their own
unique system, based on the concepts and principles of Total Welding
Management, but modified to fit their company culture. This represents
the transfer of ownership and implementation of the Total Welding
Management System to each company’s unique culture, products and
management. In Chapter 12 we present an example of how one successful
company accomplished this.
Total Welding Management is defined as a system focused on
welding improvement. It includes management principles, a planning
process and a structured approach. When adopted by a company doing
welding, it can improve welding quality and productivity, and thereby
help the company to be more competitive and more profitable.

Total Welding Management

The Total Welding Management System including The Method
provides the model for welding operations with its concepts and
principles and framework that many companies have used for their
welding improvement programs. Figure 9 represents a model of the Total
Welding Management System. The model consists of the following:
1. Four management concepts as presented in Chapter 2,
2. Ten underlying principles of management and welding as
outlined in this chapter,
3. Five Welding Do’s as goals detailed in Chapter 6,

34
 CONCEPT #1: EACH PERSON WILL CONCEPT #2: DRIVE RESPONSIBILITY
MANAGE HIS OWN AREA AND DECISION MAKING TO THE
WITHIN COMPANY GUIDELINES LOWEST LEVEL POSSIBLE
DGE TEAM BUILDI
KNOWLE NG

FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS

DESIGN MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING QUALITY

PRINCIPLES OF THE TOTAL WELDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

ENGINEERING ENGINEERING OPERATIONS ASSURANCE

DOCUMENTATION
SPECIFICATIONS WORKMANSHIP STANDARDS METHODS PROCEDURES

REPORTING
DATA GATHERING
PROCESS & ANALYSIS

ACTIVITY

MEASUREMENT PLANNING
OPERATION & GOAL
& CONTROL
SETTING
PROJECT
CONCEPT #3: EACH PERSON CONCEPT #4: TRAINING IS A
WILL INSPECT & GUARANTEE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY
HIS OWN WORK CONTROL
IMPLEMENTATION TRAINING
& FINE TUNING

Figure 9. Total Welding Management System

35
CHAPTER 3

4. Four Critical Functions as the Welder Support System detailed in

Chapter 5,
5. Management planning and control (process control and
feedback) introduced in Chapter 1, Figure 2,
6. Necessary documentation and project plan including the roles of
Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations and Quality Assurance as covered in Chapter 5 and,
7. Education and training with knowledge gained and team
building. The first block in the foundation to gain understanding
and commitment.

Four Concepts
Underlying the ten principles of Total Welding Management are four
organizational concepts and values that top management must believe in
and foster throughout the organization.
As shown in Figure 9, these concepts are:
1. Each person will manage his own area within company
guidelines.
2. Drive responsibility and decision making to the lowest level
possible.
3. Each person will inspect and guarantee his own work.
4. Training is a management responsibility.
They involve decision-making, responsibility for quality and
productivity, self-management and training. When all members of an
organization embrace these concepts as values, the right climate is set for
superior welding performance.
The ten principles of Total Welding Management help provide
understanding of what is involved in changing an organization to
improve welding quality and productivity. Many of these principles were
learned from welders as they struggled to gain support from
management.
The evolutionary process that led to the development of the
Barckhoff Method came from searching for a systematic approach to
identify, quantify, harvest and maintain welding quality and
productivity improvements. The approach has been refined to its current
state as a result of applying it in many company’s welding operations.
Now that I have given this “big picture” background with the ten
principles and four concepts of Total Welding Management, it will be
easier to fit the rest of the pieces of the puzzle together.
We will begin to put more “flesh on the bones” by explaining The
Method in the next Chapter. The Method is the structured process or
vehicle that is used to develop a total welding management system in a
company that does welding.

36
 Chapter 4
The Method: A Three-Phased
Approach to Identify and Harvest Profit
Improvement Opportunities

The Method is the structured process for implementing the Total

Welding Management System that results in improvement in weld
quality and productivity. It helps position a company for improved
profitability. It also represents the “how to” of Total Welding
Management. The Method consists of three steps or phases.

Four Critical Functions

Before we discuss in detail each of the three phases of The Method,
let’s present the Welder Support System as the core concept behind
organizing and managing welding operations effectively.
As introduced in Chapter 2, to be successful in improving weld
quality and productivity, welders need support from key functional
departments. The most important departments that must support the
welder for his success are referred to in TWM as the Four Critical
Functions:
1. Design Engineering
2. Manufacturing Engineering
3. Manufacturing Operations
4. Quality Assurance
Let’s look at the role of each of these functional areas and examine
how they impact the welder’s quality and productivity.

Design Engineering
Design Engineering has to understand the overall design
requirements of the product as well as the design of welded components
and assemblies. This includes component design, material selection, weld
size determination, weld joint application, and manufacturing review for
easy welding process accessibility to every weld joint. The designer also

37
CHAPTER 4

has to develop the weldment specification including the weld acceptance

criteria to meet product design and quality requirements.
If the Design Engineer does not have adequate weld design
knowledge, then the weldment that the welder is given to make will not
be produced in the most cost-effective way. A thorough knowledge and
understanding of weld design and welding processes is essential for the
Design Engineer to serve the welder properly.

Manufacturing Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering is the bridge between Design
Engineering, Manufacturing Operations and the welder.
To effectively serve the welder, Manufacturing Engineers must
understand how to develop the acceptable and unacceptable weld quality
standards in the form of Workmanship Standards. These are developed
from the weldment specification issued by Design Engineering.
Manufacturing Engineering must understand how to select the
proper welding process and welding procedure for each welding
application. They must also know how to select the proper welding
equipment, tooling and fixtures.
They are responsible for the development of the Work Center Plan,
which includes workstation lay out, material flow, work methods, time
standards, and proper weld sequencing to minimize unnecessary
warpage and distortion.
An additional responsibility is to develop a maintenance plan to
assure equipment is reliable and delivers consistent results.
The Manufacturing Engineering must have the technical knowledge
and the practical experience with all the welding processes and
equipment used by the company in order to effectively serve the welder.

Manufacturing Operations (Production Management)

Manufacturing Operations must assure that all weldment component
parts are made per the engineering print specification so that they come
together with the proper material joint fits.
Manufacturing Operations is the focal point to assure that every
welder in every workstation has the right parts in the right quantity, at
the right time and of the right quality. This helps assure consistent welder
quality and output.
Manufacturing Operations through the supervisor has to respond
immediately when a welding workstation is not operating properly so
that the problem can be resolved to get the workstation back to planned
quantity and quality output within an acceptable response time.
Manufacturing Operations is also responsible for welder
qualification, training, and certification, proper machine and equipment

38
 THE METHOD: A THREE-PHASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND HARVEST PROFIT

performance, work methods and welding application procedures, and

control of the work center plan developed by Manufacturing
Engineering.
With focus on the concept of holding each welder responsible for his
own quality, Manufacturing Operations through the shop floor
supervisors is responsible for conducting routine quality and
productivity monitoring to assure that all work is being done to print
specifications, workmanship standards, work methods, and welding
procedures. The supervisor is also responsible for assuring, with Quality
Assurance, that all deviations are properly documented and corrective
action taken.
In essence, Manufacturing Operations serves the welder by assuring
proper workstation layout, equipment, component parts, documentation
guidelines and training are provided and followed so that the welder can
be most productive.

Quality Assurance
An effective quality system is welder focused. Each welder is given
the tools required, i.e., prints, equipment, tooling, process sheets and
measuring equipment to assure parts are made right every time. Welders
are responsible for following the guidelines of print specifications,
workmanship standards, and process welding procedures provided by
Manufacturing Engineering and for checking their own work with the
tools developed by Manufacturing Engineering.
Quality Assurance is responsible to set up the quality system,
conduct audits, and review documentation when there is a deviation
from specifications or standards.
Quality Assurance is responsible with Manufacturing Engineering
and Manufacturing Operations for having the right systems and controls
in place to assure that all components for each weldment are always
made to print specification. They are also responsible to assure that
quality control checks are made so that all welds are made per the design
requirements.
Quality begins with proper specifications from Design Engineering,
correct welding processes and fixturing from Manufacturing Engineering
and good components completed on time by supporting production
departments.
Quality Assurance assures that every step of the process is performed
by Manufacturing Operations and monitored by the supervisor. They
also verify that corrective action has occurred where and when deviations
are found.

39
CHAPTER 4

In order to provide visual quality guidelines to the welders and

supervisors, many companies design and build a Quality/Process Center
in the welding production areas which consists of:
1. A workmanship sample board that shows the common types of
welds used, with examples of different acceptable and
unacceptable welds for easy reference.
2. Welding quality and production mockups of common
weldments to show examples of various types, sizes of welds,
and locations of welds used.
3. A display of engineering prints, process prints with weld
sequencing and welding symbols, work methods, welding
procedures, and the maintenance plan for easy reference.
The intent is to provide the welder, welder trainer, and supervisor
examples of each welding standard along with all the information needed
to produce a weldment and control the process in each workstation to
produce cost-effective weldments.
These Quality/Process Centers have also been used to show
customers how quality is controlled for their specific products.
From the above-defined roles for each of the Four Critical Functions,
it is apparent that each greatly influences the welder’s quality and
productivity. A significant portion of what determines how productive a
welder can be is in the control of the Four Critical Functions. This is why
it is so important for the success of Total Welding Management that each
are adequately trained in the welding aspects of their discipline and work
together to support the welder and thereby the success of the company.
The Welder Support System becomes as important as the welder or
operator for improving weld quality and productivity. A strong support
system needs to be put in place before significant improvements can
occur. The support system has to come first in any total welding
management system.
Many support function managers do not understand their role in a
successful welding improvement program. Executive managers are the
only ones with the authority to pull together all the support departments
and focus them on welding improvement by supporting the welder. It is,
therefore, essential that top management bring together all of the support
department managers with a common goal of supporting the welder for
welding quality and productivity improvement.

The 3-4-5-6 Method

From my work with top management to put the needs of the welder
first, the three phases of The 3-4-5-6 Method for welding improvement
was developed. The three phases of the Method provides an integrated

40
 THE METHOD: A THREE-PHASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND HARVEST PROFIT

process to identify, quantify, harvest and maintain weld quality and

productivity improvements.
The Method is the path to Total Welding Management and does the
following:
1. identifies and quantifies all the potential welding improvement
opportunities in dollars and hours with supporting details along
with actions required to achieve those saving opportunities.
(Identify opportunities),
2. evaluates the opportunities identified, gets the management team
buy in, and develops a plan to get results. (Plan for success) and,
3. gets the results by implementing the plan and putting a
management system in place to assure that results are sustained.
(Harvest and maintain results).
As the 3-4-5-6 step Method is applied to a company’s welding
operations profit improvement results as illustrated in Figure 10. The
Method includes Three Phases, The Four Critical Functions with Five Key
Results Areas for each, the Five Welding Do’s as goals, and the Six
Managerial Steps. This is why the process is referred to as the 3-4-5-6
Method. Each of these steps will be explained, in detail, in subsequent
Chapters.

S
FIT
O
PR
$
PROFITS

AND 5 WELDING DO S
5 - KEY RESULTS AREAS

6 - MANAGERIAL STEPS
FUNCTIONS
4 - CRITICAL
3 - PHASES

Figure 10. The 3-4-5-6 Method for Profit Improvement

41
CHAPTER 4

The Method:
• has three phases detailed later in this chapter,
• focuses on the Four Critical Functions as outlined earlier in this
chapter,
• uses the methodology of Five Key Results Areas with each of the
Welding Do’s as goals to evaluate potential improvements across
the Four Critical Functions as covered in Chapter 7 and,
• incorporates Six Managerial Steps as the foundation for
managing results as discussed in Chapter 9.
As Total Welding Management is implemented, your company,
using The Method profits potential from welding improves.
The following three phases of The Method represent the steps or
systematic approach to achieve improved weld quality and productivity.
Phase I—Survey and Evaluation
This phase answers the questions, Where is your company now in
terms of welding quality and productivity? What are the biggest potential
opportunities for improvement? What are the potential dollars and hours
of savings for each opportunity? What actions are required to harvest the
savings from each opportunity? A systematic process, which is reviewed
in Chapter 8, is used to gather the data required to answer these
questions.
Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting
This phase is management driven and sets specific goals and plans
based on the opportunities identified in Phase I. How do we as a
management team work to get the improvements? Where do we begin?
What is our plan? What actions are required by whom to get the
improvements identified? What are the priorities? What resources are
required? How long will it take? When do we start to realize savings? In
this phase the management team develops the plan to achieve the agreed
to results. This is where the hard work of implementation planning
begins.
Phase III—Implement and Sustain
This phase starts with detailing how your team will work together in
a planned way to build the management and technical knowledge base
about all aspects of welding for each functional area.
Training of welders, managers, supervisors, internal welder trainers,
and functional personnel is a key part of this phase. Training on what
each needs to know to better understand the welding process, and put the
processes and controls in place to assure that improvements are gained
and sustained takes place in this phase.
The project management and control system is also implemented in
this phase. Processes, process control and quality plans take shape. It all
begins with training. This is the harvest phase of The Method. This is
where the bottom line results happen and are maintained with the

42
 THE METHOD: A THREE-PHASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND HARVEST PROFIT

management system that is put in place. This is the doing step of The
Method and done well, yields the results management seeks. This is why
this third Phase is called Implement and Sustain.
The three phases of The Method provides the framework for weld
quality and productivity improvement. They represent the structure
around which the ten principles are applied to implement Total Welding
Management. The Method represents an organization change process.
The change represents the way that welding and welding management
moves from what it was to Total Welding Management.
To effect change, education, training, and teamwork are essential. In
welding management three types of training are required: managerial,
technical, and skills.

Training
To begin the change process, senior management, the managers of
the Four Critical Functions and selected other managers critical to the
process are trained as the initial core group. Many of this core group then
typically serve on the Welding Steering Team for implementation of the
Total Welding Management System project. This training should be in
the welding management concepts and principles as well as welding
management. This group also is trained in a sampling of the subjects that
will be taught to the Four Critical Function personnel involved in the
Total Welding Management System.
The balance of training for the Four Critical Function personnel
should include the following:
• Training of the technical support personnel including design and
manufacturing engineers and quality assurance in the technical
aspects of welding.
• Training of several people in welding technology and techniques
needed to train the remaining welders. These individuals become
your Internal Welder Trainers and technicians.
• Training of the maintenance personnel to troubleshoot and
maintain all equipment in ‘as new’ condition.
• Training of all the managers and supervisors in the Total
Welding Management System including The Method, the four
management concepts, the ten principles, the Five Welding Do’s,
the Four Critical Functions, and their Five Key Results Areas, the
Six Managerial Steps, and the Upside Down Organization.
From my experience, the following sequence should be followed to
get the best results from training:
1. Train Four Critical Function personnel.
2. Complete the guideline documentation and functional projects.
3. Train the welding crews with their supervisors.

43
CHAPTER 4

4. Return welding crews to the changed environment with

monitoring where they can now implement the new Work Center
Plan to improve weld quality and productivity.
This process will be further detailed in the case study in Chapter 12.

Phase I
To get the productivity and quality improvements that effective
welding management offers; the projects must be planned in detail by the
management team, building on the recommendations from Phase I—
Survey and Evaluation. Let’s look in more detail at Phase I.
Phase I—Survey and Evaluation uses the Four Critical Functions
with the Five Welding Do’s to quantify and document opportunities to:
1. Reduce weld metal volume
2. Reduce arc time per weldment
3. Reduce rejects, rework, and scrap
4. Reduce work effort
5. Reduce motion and delay time
Each of the Four Critical Functions of the Welder Support System has
a direct impact on each of the Five Welding Do’s and, in turn, on welder
performance. The Phase I survey identifies and quantifies the
opportunity by each of the support functions to improve each of the Five
Welding Do’s. The Five Welding Do’s represent the major goals for
welding improvement.

Recap
Before we move on to the next chapter, which includes a more
detailed discussion of the Welder Support System, let’s summarize the
key points of this Chapter.
1. Opportunities exist in all of the welder support departments
to help improve welding quality and productivity. They are
Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations and Quality Assurance. Each plays a key role.
Without their support, the welders cannot achieve and maintain
improved quality and productivity. These are referred to in
TWM as the Four Critical Functions.
2. Top management must bring leadership to tie all critical
functions together to support the welder. Without top
management leadership, the support departments will not work
most effectively for the welder. The Four Critical Functions
supporting the welder at the workstation will result in improved
welding performance. This represents organization change.

44
 THE METHOD: A THREE-PHASED APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND HARVEST PROFIT

3. The Method is the systematic approach to identify, quantify,

plan, harvest and maintain welding improvements and
represents the road map to TWM.
4. The three phases of The Method and the sequence of steps are:
a. Identify and quantify the opportunity
b. Plan for success
c. Harvest and maintain results
5. The 3-4-5-6 Method integrates the 3-Phased Method with the
Four Critical Functions and their 5 Key Results Areas, Five
Welding Do’s, and 6 Managerial Steps for successful Total
Welding Management.
6. Training is the heart and the beginning of Total Welding
Management. Management training, technical training, welding
application training, and skills training are all essential.
Management training and buy in by the Four Critical Functions
must come first.
Figure 11 illustrates the three phases of The Method leading to profit
improvement.
In the next Chapter, we look closer at the Welder Support System and
how each of the Four Critical Functions impacts the success of the welder.

45
CHAPTER 4

PROFITS

PHASE III
IMPLEMENT
AND
SUSTAIN
$ PHASE II

MANAGEMENT

PLANNING AND

GOAL - SETTING

PHASE I

SURVEY AND

EVALUATION

TIME

Figure 11. Three Phases of The Method

46
 Chapter 5
The Welder Support System

The Heart of Total Welding Management

In the previous chapter the concept of the welder support system was
introduced. The Four Critical Functions must work together to support
each welder and the welding crew to achieve improved welding quality
and productivity and thereby, company profitability.
In this chapter we will look at the Welder Support System in more
detail. Specifically, we will:
1. Review how most manufacturing companies are organized and
what the key functional departments are that impact welder
quality and productivity—the Four Critical Functions.
2. Describe how each of the Four Critical Functions impact welding
quality and productivity.
3. Explain the need for top management leadership to build an
effective team to support the welder, and how the organization
structure and roles need to change for welding improvement.
4. Review the concept of the Upside Down Organization in the
context of the Welder Support System and executive
management’s role. This structure views the Four Critical
Functions as customer-focused, supporting each welder and
welding team.

Organization Structure
Let’s now look at how manufacturing companies are organized.
Most manufacturing companies have some form of the following
departmental structure:
1. Design Engineering—this department is also called Engineering
or Product Engineering.
2. Manufacturing Engineering—this department is also called
Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Methods, or
Methods Engineering.

47
CHAPTER 5

3.Manufacturing Operations—this department is also called

Manufacturing, Shop Management, or Shop Operations. It
typically includes production as well as scheduling, purchasing,
inventory control, and maintenance.
4. Quality Assurance—this department is also called Quality Control.
5. Sales and Marketing—in larger companies, these could be
separate departments.
6. Finance and Accounting—this department is generally
responsible for all of the accounting and administrative duties
including information systems.
7. Human Resources (sometimes referred to as Personnel)—in some
companies, this function is part of Manufacturing Operations or
Finance and Accounting.
Figure 12 shows a typical organization chart for a manufacturing
company.

Figure 12. Typical Manufacturing Company

In smaller companies, some of these departments are combined, such

as Design Engineering with Manufacturing Engineering or
Manufacturing Operations with Manufacturing Engineering. Some
companies have Quality Assurance report to the president or vice
president of operations.
In very small companies, weldment processing, work methods and
tooling work done by Manufacturing Engineering is sometimes left to the
welding supervisor and/or welder. This is generally done on an informal
basis with little documentation. This creates opportunities for
improvement with a focused, scientific approach to welding management.
An inch of weld is an inch of weld, whether it is performed in a small
company or a large one. The savings opportunities per weldment are
comparable for a given condition in both large and small companies.
Sometimes the savings can be even greater in a small company because
the control can be better coordinated and more effective.

48
 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

The informal approach to process and tooling development can also

lead to product liability problems and skyrocketing insurance costs.
In every company that does welding the work of the Four Critical
Functions gets done. In some companies it is on an informal basis, in
others on a more formal basis. The goal of Total Welding Management is
to provide a structured and systematic approach that can be used by all
companies to improve their welding operations.

Key Results Areas

Before we get into the detail of the roles and responsibilities of each
of the Four Critical Functions, we will define major responsibilities for
each of the critical functions referred to as Key Results Areas (KRAs).
A Key Result Area represents a responsibility that a critical function
has in the Total Welding Management System. As an example, one of the
Key Results Areas for Design Engineering is Weld Size Determination.
Each of the Four Critical Functions has Five Key Results Areas or
responsibilities.
Figure 13 shows each of the Four Critical Functions with each of their
unique Key Results Areas. We show later show how these Key Results
Areas are used with the Five Welding Do’s to identify opportunities for
welding improvement and as a tool for performance evaluation.
Let’s now look at each of the Four Critical Functions to more clearly
understand their roles and responsibilities. What is each of the Four
Critical Function’s major responsibilities? How does each impact the
results on the welding floor?

Design Engineering
In most companies, Design Engineering has the responsibility to
design products or components to meet customer requirements,
operating conditions, and quality expectations.
A Design Engineer’s training and technical knowledge of welding
and practical experience in weld design will influence the quality and
cost of a weldment that he designs. This, in turn, influences to a large
degree, how productive the welder and welding team can be.
In designing weldments, the Design Engineer is responsible for the
following:
1. Material Selection. Some of the critical questions the Design
Engineer needs to answer in designing cost effective weldments
would include the following. What is the most cost effective
material consistent with the structural design requirements of the
weldment? What is the weldability of the material? What base
and filler metal selections are the best for the application?

49
50 CRITICAL FUNCTION

CHAPTER 5
DESIGN MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING QUALITY
ENGINEERING ENGINEERING OPERATIONS ASSURANCE

Material Workmanship Personnel Training Policy &

Standards & Qualification Accountability
Selection

Welding
KEY RESULTS AREA

Weld Size Material Quality

Determination Process Input Standards
Selection

Weld Joint Equipment & Equipment Quality

Selection Tooling Selection Performance Procedures

Manufacturing Method Method Inspect,

Review & & Measure,
Procedure Development Procedure Application Report

Weldment Work Center Work Center Corrective

Specification Planning Control Action

Figure 13. Critical Functions with Corresponding Key Results Areas

 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

2. Weld Size Determination. What is the right size weld and length
given the materials selected and structural design requirements?
Does the Design Engineer select weld sizes by guesstimation,
rule of thumb, or calculation and how the weld joint will react
under various types of loading?
Under specifying a weld size or length can result in potential
weld failures.
Over specifying a weld size can lead to higher welding costs,
as well as, potential weld failure. The optimum weld size and
shape for each design requirement results in the most cost-
effective and reliable welds.
3. Weld Joint Selection. What is the best type of weld joint for each
application—butt, corner, tee, edge, or lap? What is the best
weld—a bevel, a V-groove, fillet or lap? The selection of weld
joint and weld type affects weldment costs. As an example, a
small fillet weld can be more cost effective than a groove weld,
but a larger fillet weld may be less cost effective than a groove
weld.
A design engineer needs to understand when to apply the
fillet weld and when to apply the groove weld. Specifying the
wrong one can either add extra welding time, increased material
preparation and fabrication time and possibly cause base
material shrinkage and distortion.
Figure 14 illustrates how costs vary by type of weld and
material thickness. As an example, for light gage materials, such
as sheet metal, the single fillet weld is the most cost effective. As
the material thickness increases, groove welds become more
appropriate and cost effective.
4. Manufacturing Review. With proper knowledge of the welding
processes and the capabilities of his company’s specific
manufacturing equipment, the Design Engineer is better
equipped to specify a weld that is right for the application and
can be made cost effectively with the best welding process
accessibility and material fitup. He also has the responsibility to
keep up-to-date with equipment changes in the shop as they can
change process availability and capability.
The Design Engineer has the responsibility in the design
process to specify welds that are both necessary for product
design integrity and also are within the equipment and welding
process capabilities of his own shop.
There are many cases of weld joints designed without the
Design Engineer’s knowledge of the welding processes or of the
shop’s capability. This oftentimes leads to higher costs and
additional rework and scrap due to the difficult nature of a

51
CHAPTER 5

TE
LL
FI
LE
T
LE

NG
FIL

SI
E
UBL
DO
COST

SING
LE G
ROO
VE
DO
UB
L E
G
RO
O
VE

SHEET LIGHT PL MEDIUM PL HEAVY PL

MATERIAL THICKNESS

Figure 14. Relative Cost Comparison—

Fillet Welds vs. Groove Welds

specific weld joint selected. There are usually several types of

weld joints or welding processes adequate for a given design.
The Design Engineer who knows what his shop is capable of
makes a big contribution towards improving welder quality and
productivity.
The Design Engineer further needs to be aware of the proper
welding gun or torch accessibility needed to produce a quality
weld at good productivity levels. This knowledge helps to reduce
welder work effort and fatigue.
5. Weldment Specification. The final responsibility of the Design
Engineer is to document the complete engineering specification
for the weldment. This is the formal communication to
Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, Quality
Assurance, and down to the welder of what is required. This is
the beginning of the documented communication process.

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 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

A weldment specification includes engineering drawings of

the welded assembly and of all components including welding
symbols. These specifications define dimensions and tolerances;
weld sizes, critical dimensions, material fitup, and any specific
testing requirements, as well as, the acceptable weld criteria
including such variables as surface finish, degree of undercut
allowed and minimum and maximum weld sizes. All the
information required to define the final weldment and assure
that it can be made to meet design requirements should be
contained on the engineering drawings or in the welding
specification document. This information is the result of the
Design Engineer’s review of the design drawings for the
weldment and an understanding of its application.
It is a good practice prior to the engineering release of a new
or revised design that the Design Engineer meets with the design
team made up of Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations, and Quality Assurance to review the drawings to
assure that all the parts and the final weldment can be made to
print specifications and fit together for optimum welder
productivity.
This gives Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations, and Quality Assurance an opportunity to raise issues
in manufacturing that might make it difficult and/or costly to
produce the weldment. Design Engineering can then evaluate
changes recommended prior to release and often head off
quality, productivity, and cost issues.
From the above discussion we can see that Design
Engineering starts the process of cost effective welding through
design both for function and manufacturability. Without proper
consideration for manufacturing capability and welder
productivity, weldment designs will end up costing more than
they should. Design Engineering is the first step to improving
welder quality and productivity, leading to lower weldments
costs.

Manufacturing Engineering
Design Engineering has defined the design specification and the
“what needs to be produced.” Manufacturing Engineering now defines
the “how.”
Manufacturing Engineering’s responsibilities include:
1. Workmanship Standards. As Manufacturing Engineering
reviews the weldment drawings and weldment specification, a
list of the workmanship standards is prepared from the

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weldment specification developed and issued by Design

Engineering. These standards include such items as weld size,
joint fitup, surface finish, and critical dimensions.
If these standards are clearly understood by Manufacturing
Engineering and Manufacturing Operations, the welding
processes, equipment, and fixtures can be implemented to
support production. At the same time, Manufacturing
Operations can then follow the weld quality requirements to
insure parts are produced to print specifications.
2. Welding Process Selection. This step defines the best welding
processes to be used to produce the weldment. If the best
welding process is not selected for a given weldment, the cost
and quality of production is compromised.
To be effective, Manufacturing Engineering must have a
good understanding of the specifications and design
requirements of the weldment, the process capability of each
piece of equipment in the shop, and the skills of the welders.
Equally important are the manufacturing processes for each of
the components of the weldment. How should each component
be made; for example sheared, plasma cut, laser cut, sawed?
What are the critical dimensions and tolerances of each
component for proper material fitup, weld size, and adequate
weld joint accessibility?
Often times, weldment components that are not made to
print specifications are the biggest cause of extra work or rework
for the welder. Rework and extra work can also be the result of
equipment that cannot meet design tolerances. In many welding
shops, much of this rework goes unrecorded and becomes part of
the job standard or general overhead costs.
These equipment and process capability issues and design
specifications need to be evaluated by Manufacturing
Engineering in the selection of the manufacturing processes for
each of the welded components as well as for the final weldment.
3. Equipment and Tooling Selection. Once the proper welding
processes have been selected for each of the components and for
the final weldment, Manufacturing Engineering selects the
equipment to be used and identifies the tooling, fixturing,
positioners, and any other materials required.
Tooling that is well designed, simple and easy to use, with
good welding process accessibility, and is mistake proof has a
great positive impact on weldment costs. Fighting fixture
problems can cause a lot of lost or unproductive welder time. For
example, a lot of hammering and banging to make parts fit into a
weld fixture, and welder fatigue are both signs that the welding

54
 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

fixtures need to be repaired, upgraded, or replaced. This is not

the sound of a productive welding shop.
When there is not a lot of hammering, banging or grinding
on the shop floor this is an indication that Manufacturing
Engineering has done an effective job. In a quiet shop, the
welders and welding crews have a chance to be very productive
with good welding processes.
Some of the most important aspects of consistent weldment
quality and output are the material fitup and welding fixture
design. When all component parts are made to print, all parts
have a good tight fitup, weld joints are in the proper position for
the application with process accessibility, this all translates into
a greater operating factor, resulting in increased welder
productivity. If not unnecessary costs are added to the weldment.
4. Method and Procedure Development. After tooling and
fixturing has been completed, welding processes and equipment
selected, weld positions determined, material flow, workstation
layout and weld sequence selected, the work method and the
welding procedure is then developed. This work method
represents the best manufacturing process for each weldment.
When this step is completed, the detailed work method that
will be used to produce each weldment is documented on a
methods or process sheet. This document outlines for the welder
all of the steps, in their proper sequence, required to build the
weldment in the most cost effective way.
Manufacturing Engineering also documents on a process
sheet or router, all the tooling, fixturing, equipment, welding
process and welding procedures, quality requirements, work
method and time standards necessary to run each job. This
document becomes the job instruction sheet for the welder. A
work method details each elemental step required to produce the
weldment. The time standard becomes the basis for productivity
work measurement.
5. Work Center Planning. The final step for Manufacturing
Engineering is to lay out the workstation so that all parts for a
weldment are presented to the welder in a manner to reduce the
work effort and body motion required to fit each part up, tack
weld if necessary, and then final weld.
A workstation that is not laid out for production efficiency
can result in wasted motion, delay time, and welder fatigue. The
workstation is where everything comes together to put each
welder in the best position to produce cost effective weldments
every time with a minimum of wasted body motion, work effort

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CHAPTER 5

and fatigue. With proper workstation layout and material flow

the welding operating factor can be greatly improved.
Workstation planning, along with the development of a
quality plan, forms the basis of Work Center Planning and
Control. This is the heart of assuring that every weldment is
always produced in the most cost effective way. This was
presented in Chapter 2 and illustrated in Figure 3.

Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Operations has the responsibility to assure that the
documentation and plan for the overall welding operations and each
workstation, as developed and documented by Design Engineering and
Manufacturing Engineering, is properly executed and that any deviations
are identified, responded to and corrective action taken quickly.
The primary responsibilities of Manufacturing Operations include:
1. Personnel Training and Qualification. To be effective in any job,
each person must know what the job specifications, duties and
responsibilities are, and must have the necessary skills to
perform the work satisfactorily. If the job knowledge or skills are
inadequate, then training may be required to improve existing
skills or develop new skills. This is as true for welding as it is for
any other job.
Many companies have a welding test for new applicants.
This test often includes a written portion to evaluate a
candidate’s knowledge of basic blueprint reading, recognition of
welding symbols, and knowledge of different types of welds and
tolerances. A hands-on test is used to evaluate proficiency with
different welding processes, weld positions, and various types of
welds and base/filler materials. The combination of the written
and hands-on welding tests establishes a baseline of knowledge
and skill level for each new welder applicant.
If an applicant is subsequently hired, the test results can
serve as the basis for additional training. A hands-on welding
test with observations, by a supervisor or Internal Welder
Trainer, can be used to pick up any bad habits, which if corrected,
can improve the welder’s quality and productivity.
If a welder cannot pass a company qualified or prequalified
welding test, then the welder must be trained. At the completion
of the training he must be able to demonstrate his skill by
preparing a welding test coupon in accordance with the
company’s established welding procedure. The destructive or the
nondestructive test results of the test coupon must meet the
specification requirements in order for the welder to be qualified.

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 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

A knowledgeable and properly trained welder with

openness to learning can make a big contribution to overall
welding quality and productivity. Manufacturing Operations
and shop management have a key responsibility to select the
right people and to continue to train all personnel as required.
Some companies are required or desire to have a welder
certification program in which welders are certified either to a
specific industry welding code or to an in-house set of standards.
As part of the certification program, welders are required to be
retested and recertified either on an annual or semi-annual basis.
This is a good way to assure that welders maintain their required
skill levels.
Training welders to use better welding techniques can result
in improved quality and productivity. Training is very important
to improvement of any welding operations and applies to all
Four Critical Function personnel as well as the welder.
2. Material Input. Production, purchasing, scheduling, and support
production departments have the responsibility to assure that all
materials and component parts are made to print specifications
and delivered to each welding workstation on time. This allows
each weldment to be fitup properly and without delay.
Waiting for material and poor parts fitup hinders welder
productivity. Proper scheduling and quality are critical to
maximize welder productivity. The four R’s of manufacturing
apply here—the right part, in the right quantity, with the right
quality delivered at the right time. This leads to higher welder
productivity. Manufacturing Operations, with its overall
responsibility for purchasing and production, must assure that
this happens.
3. Equipment Performance. Equipment up time and proper
performance is also critical for good welder performance. Every
piece of equipment the welder uses needs to be kept up to new
specification levels and in good operating condition so that the
welder can do his job properly and with the confidence that
equipment settings are always consistent and accurate.
The companies that do this well have a formal equipment
preventive maintenance program in which all equipment is
checked and cleaned on a schedule, based on hours of use. As an
example, some companies have developed a scheduled semi-
automatic gun and cable exchange program to eliminate weld
quality, productivity, and delay problems caused by poor wire
feeding and gun performance.
4. Method and Procedure Application. It is Manufacturing
Operations’ responsibility to assure that every welder follows the

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detailed work method and welding procedures developed and

documented by Manufacturing Engineering to produce each part
and final weldment to design specifications. Daily monitoring
must be done to assure consistent results every time. This is a
supervisory responsibility of Manufacturing Operations along
with Quality Assurance.
In many companies where quality has truly become the
responsibility of the supervisors and welders, Manufacturing
Operations through the production supervisor is responsible for
conducting daily monitoring to assure that the work method and
welding procedures defined for each job are being followed and
each welder is checking his own work.
5. Work Center Control. The final responsibility of Manufacturing
Operations is to make sure that proper controls exist to assure
that all the variables such as equipment settings, fixture use, weld
position, materials, work method and weld sequencing are
controlled as specified. This control assures that each weldment
is produced as documented every time.
Manufacturing Operations is also responsible for providing a
rapid evaluation and response to the welder when there is a weld
quality or problem that affects productivity. Typical problems
include late material delivery, parts not to print specifications,
and equipment failure. In every company, there will be some
failures in equipment, parts or processes. Responding quickly to
these failures assures minimum loss to quality and productivity.
The Closed Loop Feedback System as shown in Chapter 1,
Figure 2, shows various situations with a resource and response
to problems that can occur in production. A quick response to
any down time or failure in the workstation reduces the amount
of time each welder losses by the amount of time required to
analyze and fix the cause of the problem. Rapid, effective
response is critical in any problem situation.
Chapter 2, Figure 4 shows examples of situations that
welders encounter that cause poor weld quality and the
unplanned loss of production time.

Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance provides the audit systems to report deviations
from specifications throughout the manufacturing process. It provides
the vehicle for corrective action when there are deviations from design,
process specifications, or quality standards.

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 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

Their primary responsibilities include:

1. Policy and Accountability. The Quality Assurance Manager,
along with the company President or CEO, is responsible for
establishing the company’s general quality policy, as well as
establishing specific quality-related accountabilities for each of
the Four Critical Functions.
In companies that are ISO certified or are certified to specific
AWS, ASME or industry standards such as automotive, military,
or pressure vessel manufacturer, a formal written company
quality policy signed by the company President and displayed
for all employees and customers is required.
Even when not required, it is important for general focus to
have a company-wide formal quality policy and standard.
The importance of a quality policy and supporting
department accountability statements is to establish top
management’s expectations for quality and to provide a
framework for the quality system in the company. Without a
clearly defined quality policy communicated to all employees,
there is confusion and differing expectations about quality in the
company.
Without a formally documented company quality policy, I
have found that quality standards often vary by functional
department. This results in inconsistent standards, conflict, and
lost productivity. Every company needs a quality policy. Quality
Assurance is responsible to make sure it is understood and
followed by everyone.
2. Quality Standards. Quality Assurance is responsible for
documenting how the Total Welding Management System is
used to meet the company’s quality and productivity
requirements.
An additional responsibility of Quality Assurance in a total
welding management environment is to monitor, audit and
report to assure top management that all functions within the
company are in compliance with the Welding Management
System. Quality Assurance assists top management to maintain
the integrity of Total Welding Management.
3. Quality Procedures. Based on the quality standards and design
requirements from Design Engineering, Quality Assurance
develops specific inspection and control procedures to assure
each weldment is produced to the weldment specification. This
becomes part of the quality plan and contains critical
characteristics that are monitored throughout the process by the
supervisor. They include critical dimensions, weld sizes and
weld test requirements, both visual and non-destructive. Both

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quality plans and quality procedures serve as the framework

used to monitor every job as it progresses through
manufacturing to assure that the final weldment meet all design
specifications.
Quality procedures also include the overall quality of the
manufacturing operations. They focus on how well the welder’s
performance contributes to both the welding quality and
productivity through their adherence to the total welding
management system. Quality Assurance is responsible for
developing and monitoring the procedures on quality
conformance of the support functions.
4. Inspect/Measure/Report. The documentation of the data from
the quality procedures, based on the quality standards, becomes
the measurement and reporting that assures processes are under
control at all times.
In companies that have truly transferred the responsibility
for quality monitoring to the shop floor, the supervisors and
welders assume responsibility for doing the inspection,
measuring and, in some cases, reporting on production quality.
In this case, Quality Assurance may assume more of a
consultant/audit role and provide the systems and procedures to
support this approach.
5. Corrective Action. In cases where a welding process or welding
process variable gets out of control (e.g., weld size, dimension or
weld appearance) or when a support function role is being done
ineffectively, the ongoing quality measurement system picks this
up quickly.
Quality Assurance is the focal point in some companies
to determine the root cause of the deviations from standard
and make sure that corrective action is taken quickly and
effectively before production resumes. This step closes the loop
and assures that when problems occur they are recognized and
brought under control. This is critical to sound welding
management.
As can be seen from the above review of the key responsibilities of
each of the Four Critical Functions, each one has a great impact on the
success of the welder and welding team in their production of cost
effective quality weldments.
Without adequate Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,
Manufacturing Operations and Quality Assurance support, the welder
cannot achieve his and the company’s goal of consistent quality
weldments with high productivity.

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 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

Top Management’s Role

Now that they understand how the Four Critical Functions impact
the quality and productivity of the welders, executive management often
ask the following questions:
1. How do I get each of the Four Critical Functions to see their jobs
as serving the welder on the floor?
2. How do I get them to work together?
3. What role should I, as president or CEO, play in leading the
company to work together to get the quality and productivity
improvements in our welding operations?
Some of the answers to these questions are found by adopting the
concept of the Upside Down Organization introduced in Chapter 2.
Company presidents and CEOs should look at themselves at the bottom
of the organization chart rather than at the top. Then, get their
department managers to see themselves as serving the welders and
welding crews who are now at the top of the chart. To date, I have never
encountered a CEO or president who has disagreed with this concept.
The Upside Down Organization begins with the recognition that
without production employees, in this case welders and operators,
customers for whom we design and sell our products will never get what
they want. The more a company can focus on helping and getting its
production employees to do the best job possible in producing products
for customers, the odds of delivering consistently what they want are
greatly improved.
Top management must take the lead and bring their managers
together to support the welder. Once top management leads their
managers through this new way of looking at their organization, the
stage is set for significant improvement in welder quality and
productivity.
This change in top management’s mindset, leadership, and
management approach has paid off with increased profits in many
companies.
The only way to make the Upside Down Organization work is for the
president, CEO, or general manager to understand and provide the
leadership to make it happen. It takes hands-on, informed and committed
leadership from the top to create this new environment and new
expectations. The Four Critical Functions do not naturally work together,
nor do they see their primary role as one of serving the welder. When this
transition does happen, the results are greater than ever expected. Case
studies have demonstrated this over and over again.
When this type of leadership and understanding are not provided,
the frustration level of the welder increases as improvements are sought.
This is also true with the supervisors. Leadership and understanding

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must come first. Without it, significant sustainable welding quality and
productivity improvements that could be obtainable and sustainable are
not possible.

Welder Support System

Before we move on, let’s expand a bit more on the Welder Support
System and who is being supported to improve quality and productivity.
In traditional companies, when we look at welding on the shop floor,
where profits are gained or lost, we see a welding supervisor who is on
the firing line everyday coordinating production activities to get jobs
completed on time. We see the welder who is doing his best, often with
limited technical and shop support.
In some companies with large welding projects such as barges or
other large structures, there are welding crews consisting of 8–20 welders
working on a project as a team.
In my experience with project or construction type production such
as the fabrication and building of barges, ships, bridges and rail cars, a
welder-welding crew-supervisor organization structure is commonly
used. In Total Welding Management, the Four Critical Functions then
serve the welding crew.
The floor team consisting of the welding crew, weld leader and
supervisor are the core group responsible for delivering quality, cost
effective weldments. This concept of the welding triangle is illustrated in
Chapter 2, Figure 5. It is the support of the welder; weld leader,
supervisor, and welding crew that comprise the components of the
triangle that the Four Critical Functions must serve together to achieve a
high quality and productive welding operations.

Recap
Let’s summarize what we have learned about the Welder Support
System and the Four Critical Functions:
1. The functions of Design Engineering, Manufacturing
Engineering, Manufacturing Operations and Quality Assurance
together form the Four Critical Functions for effective welding
management. Each independently must be knowledgeable and
competent in all technical aspects of their work as it relates to the
design and manufacture of welded products. The extent of their
technical knowledge and competence in welding determines, to a
large degree, the ability of the welder on the shop floor to be
productive.
2. Each of the Four Critical Functions determines the degree of
success a welder has in improving quality and productivity. How
effectively each sees their role as supporting the welder, welding

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 THE WELDER SUPPORT SYSTEM

crew, and welding supervisor determines a company’s success in

improving weld quality and productivity. This group taken
collectively is referred to as the Welder Support System.
3. Traditional organization structures with separate islands of
functional responsibility will not lead to significant
improvements in welder quality and productivity unless top
management can find a way to get the Four Critical Functions to
work together to support the welder. For example, if Design
Engineering continues to throw the prints over the wall to
Manufacturing Engineering and Manufacturing Operations,
opportunities to improve quality and productivity are limited.
4. The Upside Down Organization with the welders and operators
at the top, the Four Critical Functions below as support, and top
management at the bottom providing leadership resources,
direction and expectations is the structure that has been proven
to deliver the best results in welder quality and productivity
improvement. This new way of looking at organization structure
gets the Four Critical Functions to work together and focus on
serving the welder for greater quality and productivity. The
walls between functional departments that once existed come
tumbling down. They now have a common goal of working
together to serve the welder.
The next Chapter will expand on the use of the Five Welding Do’s as
goals and the Key Results Areas for each of the Four Critical Functions.
When the Key Results Areas are used with the Four Critical Functions,
they serve as the basis of identifying and quantifying the opportunity for
profit improvement in your welding operations.

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 Chapter 6
The Five Welding Do’s
This chapter will expand the concept of the Five Welding Do’s as
major goals to improve welding operations. The Five Welding Do’s, used
in combination with the Four Critical Functions, form the basis for
identifying and quantifying welding improvement opportunities in each
company and form the data structure for the Survey and Evaluation
phase of The Method, which is covered in Chapter 8. They were
introduced in Chapter 2 and are shown in Figure 7.
This chapter will:
1. Expand on the Five Welding Do’s as goals to improve weld
quality and productivity.
2. Show how each of the Four Critical Functions and each of their
respective Key Results Areas influence each of the Five Welding
Do’s in weld quality and productivity.
3. Give examples of how the Four Critical Functions and the Five
Welding Do’s are used to quantify savings potential as they are
analyzed with their respective Key Results Areas.
4. Introduce the Four Critical Functions and Five Welding Do’s as
the basis for Phase I of The Method—Survey and Evaluation.
During my years working with welders on the shop floor, I kept
coming back to five basic goals that, when pursued, always led to
welding improvement.

The Five Welding Do’s

These five major goals then formally became the Five Welding Do’s
that helped identify opportunities for welding quality and productivity
improvement across the Four Critical Functions.
The Five Welding Do’s are:
1. Reduce weld metal volume
2. Reduce arc time per weldment
3. Reduce rejects, rework, and scrap
4. Reduce work effort
5. Reduce motion and delay time

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Reducing nonproductive or wasted hours in each of these Five

Welding Do’s will increase the welding operating factor, resulting in
more arc-on time to achieve reduced product cycle times. Another way to
look at the Five Welding Do’s is to view them as ways to eliminate waste
throughout a company’s welding operations.
Figure 7 in Chapter 2 shows the relationship between the Five
Welding Do’s and the Four Critical Functions and their respective Key
Results Areas. As can be seen from the figure, each of the Four Critical
Functions influences and determines the degree of success in each of the
Five Welding Do’s. Examples of this are given later in this Chapter.
Let’s now look at the process of welding through the welder’s eyes.
The Five Welding Do’s can be used to provide insight into how weld
quality and productivity can be improved in any operation by using them
in conjunction with observations of jobs being welded on the shop floor.
Looking at each of the Five Welding Do’s in more detail, we see how they
can reduce overall welding costs with this type of focus.
1. Reduce Weld Metal Volume. One of the most persistent
problems I have encountered on the shop floor has been
overwelding. The mind set “the bigger the weld, the better the
weld” has been ingrained in design and manufacturing
engineers, inspectors, supervisors and welders for a long time.
This misconception comes from a lack of understanding of
how weld strength is determined and how ineffectual the making
of oversized welds can be. From a design standpoint, there is a
correct weld application and size for each weld joint.
Overwelding adds labor costs and can contribute to shrinkage
and distortion of the welded assembly, possibly rendering the
assembly unacceptable. More is not always better in welding.
Often in the past, weld size determination was thought of
as a judgment call by engineering based on past practices
and guesstimation with little solid engineering or good
manufacturing practices in welding. This practice is still followed
in some companies.
Reducing weld metal volume and improving weld joint
quality and productivity requires proper weld joint design and
sizing by Design Engineering. Correct component parts
specification and tolerances to ensure proper material fitups and
clear weld specifications are also essential. Reduced weld sizes
and weld joint openings will result in less weld metal volume
and less shrinkage and distortion, resulting in lower welding
costs and improved weld quality. In the previous chapter we saw
this as a key responsibility of Design Engineering. Each of the
Five Key Results Areas for each critical function will be reviewed
in detail in Chapter 7.

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 THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

Example 1 on page 73 quantifies the cost impact of

overwelding. As the fillet size of a weld decreases the volume of
the weld metal decreases, reducing the arc time per weldment.
As this example illustrates, reducing the fillet weld size from
1/4 inch to 3/16 inch reduces weld metal volume by 78%. In the
example, this would result in an annual cost savings per welder
of $7,700 based on a 25% operating factor.
The intent of this example of the goal of reduced weld metal
volume is to eliminate waste by reducing the volume of weld
metal to the minimum necessary to be consistent with the weld
joint application and specification requirements. In other words,
designers should minimize the volume of weld metal required
and avoid specifying or requiring welds that are larger than
necessary. Welders should not deposit welds larger or longer
than required on the engineering print.
Although this goal directly affects arc time, it is considered
separate from the goal of Reduce Arc Time per Weldment
because it is a distinct item apart from the welding process and
more related to design.
2. Reduce Arc Time Per Weldment. To reduce arc time per
weldment, you must select the proper welding process, electrode
type and size, and shielding gas for the welding application and
weld size specified to result in the fastest linear inches of travel
speed.
Weld joint position, clean parts, good material fitup, and
weld joint accessibility are also contributing factors to reducing
arc time per weldment.
This goal is complimentary to goal 1, Reduce Weld Metal
Volume. Once a specified weld metal volume and the greatest
metal deposit rate have been determined with the other factors in
control, you have:
a. reduced arc time per weldment, and
b. increased your welding operating factor.
3. Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap. Anytime there is a weld
quality issue that resulted from a part not meeting print
specifications, the part or the complete weldment has to be
reworked or even scrapped if it cannot be made to conform to
print specifications. Any rework or scrap detracts from a
welder’s productivity since he is using his time to remake parts
that were not right the first time. These hours represent wasted
hours in which the welder could have been making more parts,
which would improve his productivity.
It is sometimes questionable whether reworked parts are of
the same quality standards as new parts. Most customers want to

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buy a product that has not been reworked if they had a choice.
Rework compromises quality.
To achieve first time quality every time at first operation and
eliminate rework and scrap, specifications must be correct for
each weldment.
Controls are required to assure that each welder is qualified
to weld a specific job and works to print specifications,
workmanship standards, a qualified work method and welding
procedures. Minimizing rejects will improve productivity,
improve the effective utilization of direct labor, and thus, reduce
manufacturing costs and improve quality.
This goal focuses on the elimination or correction of any
situation that tends to result in the production of unacceptable
welds and weldments. When accomplished, this eliminates the
costs and unproductive labor hours associated with rejects,
rework, and scrap.
If goal one, Reduce Weld Metal Volume, and goal two,
Reduce Arc Time per Weldment, are both met and sustained,
rejects, rework and scrap will decrease significantly.
4. Reduce Work Effort. When doing any type of physical work, the
more that is done to make job movement efficient and reduce
fatigue, more work will get done in a given amount of time with
the need for fewer rest periods.
Improved work effort with minimum fatigue is
accomplished by designing the product and welding fixtures for
easy welding process accessibility, equipping the welder with the
proper tools and equipment, providing a safe and well laid out
workstation, and training the welders in the most effective work
method and weld sequencing, and making the welder part of the
welding team. As a result, the welders’ motivation and attitudes
generally change for the better, and they begin to offer “a better
way” to improve efficiency and product quality.
I have seen 30% to 50% cycle time reductions with reduced
effort by making minor changes in workstation layout; weld
fixtures, work methods and weld sequencing, and welding
processes and procedures.
Reducing work effort also helps to improve weld quality
since the welder spends less time fighting the work and more
time working productively. Difficult weld positions due to poor
fixture design and workstation lay out increase work effort and
fatigue rather than decrease it. An example of poor workstation
lay out would be one in which the welder has to climb up and
crawl over a weldment to get to the weld joint.

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 THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

The more that can be done for the welder to reduce the
amount of wasted effort and fatigue, the greater the productivity.
For example, designing a light weight welding fixture and
rotating it on several axis will make it easier to place the weld
axis in the proper position and at the right height to provide good
welding process access for the welder to deposit a quality weld in
the most cost effective way with less work effort.
Work effort refers to the degree of difficulty, frustration,
fatigue, and hazards associated with welding. The focus of this
goal is to minimize or eliminate characteristics of work habits,
methods, environment, equipment, tooling and workplace that
tend to increase the difficulty of the work. As an example, a
welder with poor eye sight who has to strain his eyes to keep the
proper eye focal length adjustment will generally cause lost
production, poor quality welds and rework.
5. Reduce Motion and Delay Time. A welder, like any other
production worker, is most efficient when his motions are
optimized, which means little or no wasted or extra motion. Any
delay time that prevents the welder from working continuously
reduces the value added time and thus, his productivity.
What are some of the delays that could prevent a welder
from working continuously? Equipment breakdowns, parts not
delivered on time, waiting for the crane, unclear work
instructions, poorly fitted parts, and waiting for inspection are
just a few.
What can cause excess welder motions? Having to crawl up
and down large weldments, fitting and rotating weldments on a
bench with no welding fixture, or poor workstation lay out are three
examples. Reducing motion and eliminating delays at the
workstation will improve productivity and quality significantly.
Placing parts close to the welder can reduce motion and
make the welder more productive. Using effective rotating
fixtures rather than overhead cranes for material handling can
also reduce motion and delay time and improve productivity.
The intent of this goal is to optimize work habits, work
methods and weld sequencing, environment, equipment, tooling
and the workplace for greater productivity.
This Welding Do, coupled with Welding Do No. 4, Reduce
Work Effort, are generally the greatest contributors to increasing
the welding operating factor, which represents the amount of
time the welder is productively working by adding value to the
weldment. Through a good system of Work Center Planning and
Control, the amount of time spent making value-added welds is
maximized.

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Knowledge of the principles of the Five Welding Do’s, when applied

across the Four Critical Functions of Design Engineering, Manufacturing
Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance to each
weldment, results in quality weldments and optimum productivity for
each welding hour.
From the above discussion of the Five Welding Do’s, it is apparent
that the welder has little control over them. They are each to a large extent
within the control and responsibility of Design Engineering,
Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations and Quality
Assurance. This again is the Welder Support System that holds the key to
the welder’s quality and productivity.
Each of these critical functions has a major influence on one or several of
the Five Welding Do’s. How each of the Four Critical Functions carries out
their responsibilities in focusing on the Five Welding Do’s will determine
the potential each welder and the company has for quality and productivity
improvement.

Design Engineering
Design Engineering in designing a new or redesigning an existing
weldment is responsible for material selection; weld size determination,
weld joint selection, determining the manufacturability of the weldment
and its components, and preparing the weldment specification.
Design Engineering also provides Manufacturing Engineering and
Manufacturing Operations with design details in the form of engineering
prints and specifications of the final product.
It can be seen that the responsibilities of Design Engineering
influence the Five Welding Do’s.
Basic design considerations are:
• thickness of material and type,
• weld size, type, and length of weld,
• component specifications and tolerances, and
• welding position and welding process accessibility.

Manufacturing Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering is responsible for working with Design
Engineering. Their responsibilities include establishing the workmanship
standards based on the weldment specification, selecting the best
welding process to meet the design specifications, selecting the right
equipment, fixturing and tooling, developing the work methods and
welding procedures to be used and controlled, and plan and develop a
Work Center Plan that will optimize the consistency and repeatability of
weld quality and productivity.

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 THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Operations and its production support departments,
which include scheduling, inventory control; maintenance, fabrication,
and purchasing also play a critical role in the success of each welder by
how they focus on the Five Welding Do’s.
Some of Manufacturing Operations key responsibilities include
assuring that all welders are trained and qualified in the welding
processes and procedures used, and assuring that all weldment
component parts required are delivered to the welding workstations on
time and within design specifications. They are also responsible to assure
that all equipment, tooling and fixtures are maintained in good working
order, that the welder applies all defined processes properly, and that all
variables within the workstation are properly controlled in accordance
with a Work Center Plan developed by Manufacturing Engineering.
Manufacturing Operations, in carrying out their major
responsibilities, can affect the Five Welding Do’s of reduced weld metal
volume, reduced arc time per weldment, reduced rejects, rework and
scrap, reduced work effort and reduced motion and delay time.
A few examples:
• If all component parts are not delivered on time to start a
weldment, delays will occur, resulting in lower welder
productivity.
• If component parts are not made per print specifications, poor
material fitup, rework and extra labor hours will result.
• If equipment is not maintained properly, breakdowns or
malfunctions will occur, resulting in lost welder time and/or
poor weld quality.

Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance is responsible, in consultation with top management,
for setting the company quality policy and making sure everyone follows it.
They also set specific quality standards for each weldment based on design
and process requirements, document quality procedures that are to be
followed for each job, inspect, measure, and provide feedback on deviations
from specifications. They also coordinate corrective actions when there are
deviations from specifications to assure the root cause has been identified
and eliminated.
Quality Assurance also has the responsibility to top management to
assure that the other support functions adhere to all the principles and
procedures within the Welding Management System.
Much of the shop floor quality assurance work is done in conjunction
with the welding supervisor as the responsibility for quality is

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transferred to Manufacturing Operations and specifically to the welder

and monitored by the supervisor.
Quality Assurance also impacts the Five Welding Do’s. If quality
standards are not established for each job and monitored throughout the
welding process, rejects, rework, and scrap will result. If consistent weld
quality standards are not documented and well understood by all Four
Critical Functions, overwelding, weld failures, and poor quality and weld
cosmetics can occur.
It is now becoming clear how the Four Critical Functions within a
company focusing on the Five Welding Do’s can deliver profit-making
improvements. As the Four Critical Function personnel become aware of the
Five Welding Do’s and how their decisions impact weld quality and
productivity, they will make better decisions in Design Engineering,
Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Quality
Assurance. The result will be greater welding profits through improved
quality and productivity.

Survey and Evaluation

Now that we understand the relationship between the Four Critical
Functions and the Five Welding Do’s, the next logical questions would
be: Where do I start the improvement? Design engineering? Tooling?
Fixturing? Production Scheduling? Maintenance of welding equipment?
Documenting quality standards? Workstation lay out? Where do I start
and how much can I expect to save as I work on each item?
To answer these questions, Phase I of The Method—Survey and
Evaluation, was developed. Phase I identifies and quantifies the
improvement potential for each of the Four Critical Functions across the
Five Welding Do’s within the Key Results Areas.
The survey data is gathered through a formal in-plant review of all
aspects of your welding operations. Actual welding jobs being processed
on the shop floor are observed and data measurements made and
recorded. The results are reviewed and analyzed, and then summarized
into a comprehensive and detailed report to management.
The survey touches all aspects of welding. It begins when all the base
raw material for a weldment enters the plant, and proceeds through its
operations. All steps beginning with weld design through the fabrication,
welding and final assembly are included.
An in-plant survey can take six to twelve days, depending on the type
of product, the number of welders, and the size of the facility. Time is spent
observing work, recording observations, and interviewing personnel.
The Four Critical Functions and the Five Welding Do’s form a matrix
of the observations and help quantify the opportunities for improvement
of each. Following are examples of how each of the Four Critical

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 THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

Functions is used in conjunction with the Five Welding Do’s and Five
Key Results Areas to quantify potential savings opportunities. They
represent examples of specific jobs observed as they were being welded.
The cells in the following examples refer to the matrix of the Four
Critical Functions with the Five Welding Do’s across their specific Key
Results Areas. This will be explained in more detail in Chapter 8.

Example 1. Cell 1-2

Function Design Engineering

Welding Do Reduce Weld Metal Volume

Key Result Area Weld Size Determination

Observation Specified a 1/4-in. fillet weld on 1/4-in. base Material. Over speci-
fied weld—only a 3/16-in. fillet weld was needed.

Savings Potential 3/16-in. fillet weld = 0.0656 lb/ft (weight)

1/4-in. fillet weld = 0.117 lb/ft (weight)
Difference = 78% (1/4-in. vs. 3/16-in. fillet weld)
Weld Process:
• GMAW, 0.045-in. diameter E70S-3 electrode @ 250 amperes=
7.5 lb/h. deposited.
• 2000 hours @ a 25% operating factor = 500 hours of arc time
available.
• 1/4-in. weld – 500 hours × 7.5 lb/h/0.117 lb weld per foot =
32,051 ft. of weld deposited.
• 3/16-in. weld—(32,051 ft. of weld × 0.0656 lb weld per foot)/
7.5 lb weld metal deposited = 280 hours.
Savings: 500 h (1/4-in. weld) – 280 h (3/16-in. weld) = 220 hours.
220 hours × $35/h = $7,700.

Action Change weld size specification and instruct welder.

Example 2. Cell 5-9

Function Manufacturing Engineering

Welding Do Reduce Motion and Delay Time

Key Result Area Method and Procedure Development

Observation Welder in workstation has to travel an extra 10 ft., five times per
weldment to get parts for each weldment.

Savings Potential Extra time per weldment (50 ft. of extra travel) = 5 minutes @ $35/
h—$0.29 per weldment. 12,000 weldments per year = $3,480.

Action Layout workstation to have parts staged near weld fixture to elimi-
nate extra walking to get the component parts.

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Example 3. Cell 3-12

Function Manufacturing Operations

Welding Do Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap

Key Result Area Material Input

Observation In the job observed in workstation No. 4, two of the ten component
parts for weldment did not fitup properly resulting in additional
grinding on the parts and then hammering them into the fixture.

Savings Potential From a number of observations, an additional eight minutes were

spent making component parts fit properly. Savings per part @
$35/hr – $4.67/part. Production is 2,800 parts per year. Annual
savings is 2,800 × $4.67 = $13,076.

Action: Review with the department supplying the out of specification

component parts and put an action plan in place to assure that all
future component parts are fabricated within design requirement
every time before delivery to the welding workstation.

Example 4. Cell 3-17

Function Quality Assurance

Welding Do Reduce Weld Metal Volume

Key Result Area Inspect, Measure, and Report

Observation Twelve welders on a large weldment were not inspecting and mea-
suring their welds for the proper weld size, nor was the supervisor
measuring or reporting. 1/4-in. welds were specified, 5/16-in. to
3/8-in. weld were being deposited.

Savings Potential Reducing the weld sizes to 1/4 in. increased the overall weld foot-
age significantly and, therefore, increased productivity.

Action Issue fillet gages to welders and supervisor and train them in their
use. Supervisor monitor welders and report findings. Quality
Assurance set up reporting system for welding operations to cor-
rect the above situation and audit it in progress.

To summarize the four examples:

Cell 1-2 shows how Design Engineering, by correcting an overwelding
specification, resulted in annualized savings of $7,700.
Cell 5-9 shows how Manufacturing Engineering saved $3,450 per
year by making minor improvements in workstation layout.
Cell 3-12 shows how Manufacturing Operations, by correcting parts
fitup problems resulted in savings of $13,076 per year.

74
 THE FIVE WELDING DO’S

Cell 3-17 shows how Quality Assurance, by providing fillet gages to

the welders for checking their own weld sizes avoided unnecessary
rework and helped to assure consistent production.
As can be seen from these four examples, each of the Four Critical
Functions influences the Five Welding Do’s in each of the Key Result
Areas. By observing work that goes on in the welding workstation using
this structured method, opportunities for improvement can be identified
and quantified along with actions required to improve. This process can
often identify problems that can be resolved and results in quick savings.
Subsequent Chapters will go into more detail on the Key Results
Areas for each of the Five Welding Do’s across the Four Critical
Functions. We will also give more detail on the Survey and Evaluation,
which is the first phase of three-phases of The Method for identifying,
quantifying, prioritizing, planning, and maintaining weld quality and
productivity improvement in your plant in Chapter 8.

Recap
Key points in this chapter include:
1. The Five Welding Do’s represent the goals for welding quality
and productivity improvement for each of the Four Critical
Functions. Focusing on these goals throughout your company’s
welding operations can lead to quick improvements.
2. Each of the Four Critical Functions impacts the Five Welding
Do’s and thus determines the quality and productivity output of
the welder. This is the most important factor in improving
welder performance.
3. Using the Four Critical Functions, the Five Welding Do’s, and the
Key Results Areas, with a series of structured observations of
welding on the shop floor, identifies opportunities for
improvement that can be quantified, with actions to improve.
4. Six to twelve man days of observations on the shop floor, along
with interviews with key personnel in the critical functions of
Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing
Operations and Quality Assurance form the basis of the Survey
which quantifies the total potential for weld quality and
productivity improvement in a company and is the first phase of
the three-phased Method to Total Welding Management.
We are now on our way to putting the tools in place to gain better
profitability from the welding operations. The next Chapter will go into
more detail on the Five Key Results Areas for each of the Five Welding
Do’s across each of the Four Critical Functions and then set the stage for
the formal Phase I- Survey and Evaluation covered in Chapter 8.

75
 Chapter 7
The Four Critical Functions
and Their Five Key Results Areas

In Chapter 6 we examined the Four Critical Functions and the Five

Welding Do’s with the Five Key Results Areas and showed how they are
used to define responsibility, evaluate current conditions and serve as
improvement goals. Each of the Four Critical Functions and the Five
Welding Do’s are displayed with their associated Key Results Areas
forming a matrix of 100 cells. Each cell represents a specific opportunity
for improving welding quality and productivity. Some of these cells are
also used as control cells. This matrix is the framework that is used to
identify and quantify, in both dollars and labor hours, the potential
savings in each of the areas.
The Cost Reduction Grid, Figure 15, illustrates the relationship
between the Four Critical Functions, their respective Key Results Areas
and the Five Welding Do’s. As can be seen from the grid, each of the Four
Critical Functions has an influence on each of the Five Welding Do’s and
has its own unique set of Five Key Results Areas or responsibilities that
affect the Five Welding Do’s.
Data from actual shop floor observations is the input for the matrix
and when summarized is the raw material for the Survey and Evaluation.
This initial phase answers the questions specifically and with all the
details:
1. What is the improvement potential for my welding operations?
2. Where are the biggest opportunities?
3. How do I capitalize on them?
In this Chapter we will:
1. Define each of the Five Key Results Areas for each of the Four
Critical Functions.
2. Show how the Four Critical Functions, the Five Welding Do’s,
and the Five Key Results Areas are used with the matrix in Figure
15 to identify and evaluate potential quality and productivity
improvements.

77
 78

FIVE
WELDING
DO S

REDUCE WORK EFFORT

KEY

REDUCE WELD METAL VOLUME

REDUCE MOTION & DELAY TIME

RESULTS
AREAS

REDUCE ARC TIME PER WELDMENT

REDUCE REJECTS, REWORK & SCRAP

1 MATERIAL SELECTION
2 WELD SIZE DETERMINATION
3 WELD JOINT SELECTION
4 MANUFACTURING REVIEW
5 WELDMENT SPECIFICATION
DESIGN
ENGINEERING

1 WORKMANSHIP STANDARDS
2 WELDING PROCESS SELECTION
3 EQUIPMENT & TOOLING SELECTION
4 METHOD & PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT
5 WORK CENTER PLANNING
ENGINEERING
MANUFACTURING

1 PERSONNEL TRAINING & QUALIFICATION

2 MATERIAL INPUT
Figure 15. Cost-Reduction Grid

3 EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE
4 METHOD & PROCEDURE APPLICATION
5 WORK CENTER CONTROL
OPERATIONS
MANUFACTURING
FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS

1 POLICY & ACCOUNTABILITY

2 QUALITY STANDARDS
3 QUALITY PROCEDURES
4 INSPECT, MEASURE, REPORT
QUALITY

5 CORRECTIVE ACTION
ASSURANCE

$
$
$

$
$
$
SAVINGS
POTENTIAL
ESTIMATED

CHAPTER 7
 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

3. Provide examples of how potential savings opportunities are

identified and quantified using the cost-reduction grid and data
from observations of welding on the shop floor.
4. Set the stage for introducing the Survey and Evaluation in
Chapter 8.
Each of the Four Critical Functions as introduced in Chapter 5 has
certain responsibilities in supporting the company goal of achieving the
most cost effective weldments. Five major responsibilities have been
defined for each of the Four Critical Functions and are referred to as Five
Key Results Areas. The extent to which each critical function performs its
key responsibilities well, determines the level of welding quality and
productivity on the shop floor.
As an example, one of the Five Key Results Areas for Design is weld
size determination. If this is done well, given the materials being joined
and structural weld requirements, then over specifying welds is avoided
and each weld joint is the most cost effective for each application.
If weld size determination is not done properly by Design
Engineering, then either over or under specified welds will result,
causing excess cost and/or weld joint failure.
Let’s define for each of the Four Critical Functions, their respective
Five Key Results Areas, and show how each impacts results on the
welding shop floor. Below are the definitions of the Five Key Results
Areas for each of the Four Critical Functions.

Design Engineering
The Key Results Areas for Design Engineering are:
1. Material Selection is the process of identifying, evaluating and
choosing between combinations of base metal and filler metal for
each weld. After the loads and stresses have been established for
a specific weldment design, the materials are selected that not
only will have the desired physical, chemical, and mechanical
properties but also acceptable weldability.
This means using the lowest carbon and alloy content steel to
meet the design and application requirements. This will ensure
good structural integrity as well as acceptable weldability.
Materials that have acceptable weldability characteristics will be
easier to weld and, therefore, more cost effective.
2. Weld Size Determination means determining the proper size of
weld for a specific type of weld joint and application. Design
Engineering historically has typically over specified weld sizes.
Over sized welds have a large impact on costs. For example,
going from a 1/8-inch fillet weld to a 3/16-inch fillet weld
increases arc time and weld metal volume by 124%. Going from a

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CHAPTER 7

3/16-inch fillet weld to a 1/4-inch fillet weld increases both arc

time and filler metal costs by 78%.
3. Weld Joint Selection is selecting and applying the appropriate
type weld joint, consistent with welding economics and quality
requirements. The type of weld joint selected for a specific
weldment has a great impact on costs. In general, the less
preparation of components to be welded, the lower the weldment
costs. Sometimes, due to the structural requirements of the
weldment, it is not possible to have a simple weld joint but
wherever possible simple weld joints are the most cost effective.
Refer to the relative cost comparisons and trade-offs in Figure 14,
on page 52 of Chapter 5, between fillet welds and groove welds.
The proper choice of the type of weld joint by Design
Engineering has great impact on weldment costs.
4. Manufacturing Review refers to Design Engineering’s
responsibility to review and appraise each weldment design to
ensure economic manufacture consistent with design
specifications and manufacturing capabilities. This means, for
example, that each weldment needs to be designed to provide
adequate accessibility so that the manual welder or robot has
total access with the electrode into the weld joint with the proper
transverse (work) and travel angle and contact tip to work
distance to make an acceptable weld for the full weld length as
specified on the print.
This Key Results Area for Design Engineering is where the
foundation is set for both welding quality and productivity
improvements. It requires Design Engineering have a good
working knowledge of the company’s welding process
capability. I have seen many cases where Design Engineering
would design a weld joint in which the welders could not deposit
an acceptable weld. This led to rejects, rework, and scrap. In
some cases, it also led to weld failures. Difficult to access weld
joints also cause frustration and increase work effort for the
welders.
5. Weldment Specification is the final responsibility of Design
Engineering to transfer the weldment design information to
Manufacturing Engineering. It involves development and review
of a document called a Weldment Specification, which defines,
describes and explains all the welding requirements for each
weldment. This document, along with the engineering drawings,
defines what the end product is to be and includes materials,
weld joint acceptance criteria, finish specifications, dimensions
and guidelines for Manufacturing Engineering to develop the
workmanship standards.

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 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

To give Manufacturing Engineering a complete picture of

what is required, the engineering specifications must be clear and
complete. Anything less could result in rejects, second-guessing,
added costs, and potential failures.

Manufacturing Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering is the bridge between Design
Engineering and Manufacturing Operations. Manufacturing Engineering
takes the weldment specification from Design Engineering and defines
the “what and how to” for Manufacturing Operations. The Key Results
Areas are:
1. Workmanship Standards include providing welding production
requirements to the shop personnel to meet the quality standards
for each weldment. Manufacturing Engineering takes the
weldment specification and identifies all critical requirements
and outlines the general workmanship standards that would
apply. Examples are surface finish of weldment, allowable weld
porosity, weld spatter, degree of undercut, overlap, and weld
size limits. These workmanship standards define for each
weldment what is an acceptable and unacceptable weld.
To do this properly, Manufacturing Engineering must have
knowledge of the application of the weldment, its critical
characteristics, and of what is practical on the shop floor. Being
overly stringent on the workmanship standards leads to
unnecessary added costs. Being lax leads to rejects, rework, and
potential weld failures.
2. Welding Process Selection includes choosing and then
specifying the most efficient and effective welding process or
processes for each weldment based on the weldment
specification of the design and knowledge of the shops
capabilities. This is where the Manufacturing Engineering’s
knowledge of the equipment and capability of the shop pays off
in improved welding quality and productivity.
3. Equipment and Tooling Selection is the step where the welding
equipment, fixtures, jigs, and positioners for the weldment are
chosen so that the welder can be most efficient in production. The
wrong equipment or inadequate fixturing can lead to poor
quality and productivity.
4. Method and Procedure Development involves doing the detail
work to select the proper work methods, welding process and
weld sequencing, and equipment and tooling for each
weldment.

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Workstation layout, material flow, weld sequencing and

welder body motion are established first, followed by work
methods development. Work methods provide the elemental
breakdown of the complete labor work cycle time with or
without time standards. This step involves determining the most
efficient and effective combination of welding materials, welding
process or processes, welding variables and technique
characteristics consistent with quality and production
requirements to satisfy in-service conditions. This is also where
the welding variables for the selected welding process are
defined and refined to form the basis of the welding procedures.
5. Work Center Planning involves a combination of the above
four Key Result Areas, and defining all the variables both coming
into the workstation and those within the workstation, assuring
that each is qualified to an acceptable standard to enable the
welder to meet or exceed quality and productivity expectations.
A well-organized workstation leads to minimum welder fatigue
and wasted body motion. A poorly organized workstation leads
to lost time, welder frustration and increased fatigue, all leading
to higher costs.
From the Five Key Results Areas for Manufacturing Engineering, we
see that each can have a dramatic impact on welding quality and
productivity. To apply them requires that Manufacturing Engineering
understands the weldment design requirements as well as the capabilities
of production.

Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Operations is responsible for directing and
coordinating all the activities involved in producing the product. These
responsibilities begin with employee hiring and training and go through
managing and controlling what goes on in each workstation to assure all
standards, specifications, procedures and work methods, and
instructions are followed.
The Five Key Results Areas for Manufacturing Operations are:
1. Personnel Training and Qualification focuses on the most
important factor in any business—its people. Great people make
great companies. Manufacturing Operations, along with the
Personnel or Human Resource Department is responsible for
selecting, instructing and qualifying personnel to assure that they
have the proper skills and training to perform their jobs in the
most effective way.
This responsibility includes adequate screening for new hires
to assure they have the right knowledge, skills and values.

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 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

Screening includes an assessment for any skills that might be

lacking for the work required. Training and coaching employees
may be required as they take on new assignments and require
new skills.
In order to ensure that welders are actually qualified and
maintain their qualifications, many companies have adopted
either formal certifications such as AWS certification or
developed their own in-house certification program. Many
companies are now recertifying their welders on an annual basis.
This assures that welder’s skills are maintained and any need for
skills upgrading or remedial training is formally identified.
Another important consideration in ongoing welder
qualification and training is the issue of eyesight. As we age, our
eyesight changes. With age, a welder’s ability to view the molten
weld puddle may deteriorate, requiring the use of corrective
lenses. It is a good practice to conduct vision tests on welders
each year. The welding industry now has available corrective
eyewear that can be used quit effectively under the welding hood.
Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and
Quality Assurance are also responsible for training and
qualifying their personnel as required.
As part the Total Welding Management System, welder
training is designed around teaching welding concepts and
performance rather than just skills training The Method and the
concept of the Upside Down Organization involves teaching the
employee the science of welding rather than just technique
training or just telling or showing. Through experience, I found
“training only” produced about 10% to 30% of the potential
improvement. Employees involved in the complete training
process, as in The Method, far exceed those results in improved
weld quality and improved productivity.
2. Material Input assure all component parts that go into the
welding workstation are right. All materials must meet design
specifications. This Key Results Area focuses on controlling the
shape, size, surface condition and dimensions of all parts
entering each welding workstation. If all parts coming into the
welding workstation are right and delivered on time, the welder
can be productive and meet or exceed the quality and
productivity standards.
3. Equipment Performance focuses on assuring that each welding
power source, wire feeder, and gun and cable assembly used is
capable of consistently producing weldments to print specifications.
Process capability studies on critical equipment to validate
that it can consistently produce parts to specifications may need

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to be conducted to assure the specific equipment can consistently

perform as required. A good preventive maintenance program to
keep equipment in good working order is necessary.
Equipment performance also includes fixtures, jigs, positioners,
and any other items used by the welder in the workstation. It
would also include any mechanized automatic welding equipment,
as well as robotics and full automation systems.
4. Method and Procedure Application assures that the use of
welding equipment, fixtures and tooling, welding processes and
techniques are applied by the welder to meet specifications and
standards and that the proper welding procedures are followed.
Is each welder doing what has been documented as being
required to produce the weldment effectively?
5. Work Center Control addresses putting in place the tools to track
the progress of production as well as a quick response system to
handle situations such as equipment breakdowns, and quality
and production issues. Anything that causes deviations or delays
is handled as part of the Work Center Control system.
This Key Results Area focuses on implementing the work
plan established by Manufacturing Engineering and controlling
it. It includes monitoring and auditing the welder as well as the
work methods, materials, equipment, and tooling in accordance
with the Work Center Plan and correcting variances from the
plan when they occur to keep production flowing with minimal
lost time.
Manufacturing Operations Key Results Areas bring Design
Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering together on the shop floor
with qualified and trained personnel, specifications, procedures, work
methods, standards, good operating equipment, and a shop management
system that assures high welder quality and productivity. If any of these
Five Key Results Areas are overlooked or if not done effectively, welder
performance and results will suffer.
Quality Assurance is the fourth critical function. Quality Assurance
performs an audit function in the company to assure that all the principles
and procedures of the welding management system are followed.

Quality Assurance
1. Policy and Accountability addresses having in place a quality
policy, which defines acceptable behavior regarding quality and
quality issues within the company. This policy includes the
specific organizational responsibilities for quality. It is developed
with top management along with the other critical function

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 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

managers. It outlines general company-wide quality standards,

responsibilities, company quality values, and general procedures
on how quality issues will be handled.
Effective quality policies are written in clear concise
language, well communicated, understood and practiced by all
employees. The lack of a quality policy invites confusion,
differences, inconsistency, and conflict regarding quality
standards, responsibilities, and procedures. A quality policy is
the framework for a company’s quality system.
2. Quality Standards for a company flow from the company quality
policy and any specific quality requirements of the industry
served. For example, if a company is producing pressure vessels
then part of the company quality standards would include the
testing and documentation requirements for pressure vessels.
Quality Standards also encompasses all the quality
information in the TWM system as well as the productivity
information and the structure within the TWM system. It is
this all inclusive Quality concept in TWM that sets the
management requirements for all data that supports not only
the traditional approach to quality, but also includes all
information aspects of TWM to assure that the system is
functioning properly and providing the performance and
exception information that management needs to manage the
system on a day-to-day basis.
The company quality policy clearly defines the
responsibilities and accountabilities of each of the Four Critical
Functions. The Quality Standards then include all the
documentation, monitoring, auditing and reporting requirements
to assure that the policy is being followed and the TWM system is
maintained.
3. Quality Procedures define how the Quality Standards for both
quality and productivity are to be verified through inspection,
monitoring and auditing. The Quality Procedures also define the
specific reports that management receives to report both
deviations from the standards and the overall performance of the
TWM system.
At the operating level on the shop floor, the Quality
Procedures define what type of equipment, such as mag-particle,
coordinate measuring or other, as well as what process, such as
visual inspection, is to be used to validate production quality. It
is very important to have agreement on inspection equipment
and process so that everyone including the welder understands
how each component and weldment will be checked to verify
conformance to specification. By having these detailed quality

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procedures documented on the shop floor for everyone's use,

many quality problems are eliminated.
4. Inspect, Measure, Report is the actual carrying out of the Quality
Procedures by the welders, supervisors, auditors and heads of
the support functions. The welders as they inspect their own
work report quality data and other issues on the ‘welder shift
sheet.’ The supervisor, through the use of the Summary Log and
observations on the shop floor, monitors quality and initiates
corrective action as required. The auditors prepare summary
quality reports to management from the quality data provided by
the shop floor as well through as procedural audits, to advise
management on the overall conformance within the company to
the TWM Management Plan which includes the use of the
Quality Procedures. This reporting provides management with
an ongoing appraisal of the overall health of their TWM system.
If from and of the data reported, management action is required,
they can then initiate it based on this factual data. This overall
reporting data is also used by members of the management team
to initiate any corrective actions required within their scope of
responsibility. This process of management reporting is essential
to keep the TWM system performing.
5. Corrective Action closes the loop by assuring that when there are
quality issues on fabricated components or weldments, they are
properly analyzed to cause and corrective action to be taken
quickly and effectively.
In many organizations responsibility for quality has truly
been transferred to the welder and monitored by the supervisor.
Welders record the quality data as outlined by the quality
assurance standards and the supervisor leads the effort for
corrective action when deviations to specifications are found.
In the Total Welding Management System, welders record on
a Daily Shift Report any variable that prevented them from
meeting the standard of quality and/or quantity output from
their workstation. Corrective action for each specific variable is
then assigned to one of the Four Critical Function personnel for
resolution.
As can be seen from the above discussion of the Key Results
Areas for Quality Assurance, this critical function closes the loop
to assure quality and cost-effective weldments all the time by
providing a company quality policy, quality standards and
procedures, management quality reports, and correction action
monitoring.

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Matrix
Figures 16–19 display a matrix for each of the Four Critical Functions
with the Five Welding Do’s and each of their respective Five Key Results
Areas. This matrix is used in the Phase I—Survey and Evaluation. It
summarizes the potential improvement opportunities, which were
identified during the survey from interviews and observations of the
welding operations.

Five Welding Do’s

Reduce Reduce
Reduce Reduce Rejects, Motion
Weld Arc Time Rework, Reduce and
Metal per and Work Delay
Five Key Results Areas Volume Weldment Scrap Effort Time

1. Base Material Selection

2. Weld Size Determination

3. Weld Joint Selection

4. Manufacturing Review

5. Weldment Specification

Figure 16. Design Engineering—Matrix

Five Welding Do’s

Reduce Reduce
Reduce Reduce Rejects, Motion
Weld Arc Time Rework, Reduce and
Metal per and Work Delay
Five Key Results Areas Volume Weldment Scrap Effort Time

1. Workmanship Standards

2. Welding Process Selection

3. Equipment and Tooling

Selection

4. Weld Methods and Procedure

Development

5. Work Center Planning

Figure 17. Manufacturing Engineering—Matrix

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Five Welding Do’s

Reduce Reduce
Reduce Reduce Rejects, Motion
Weld Arc Time Rework, Reduce and
Metal per and Work Delay
Five Key Results Areas Volume Weldment Scrap Effort Time

1. Personnel Training and

Qualification

2. Material Input

3. Equipment Performance

4. Methods Application

5. Work Center Control

Figure 18. Manufacturing Operations—Matrix

Five Welding Do’s

Reduce Reduce
Reduce Reduce Rejects, Motion
Weld Arc Time Rework, Reduce and
Metal per and Work Delay
Five Key Results Areas Volume Weldment Scrap Effort Time

1. Policy and Accountability

2. Quality Standards

3. Quality Procedures

4. Inspect, Measure, and Report

5. Corrective Action

Figure 19. Quality Assurance—Matrix

Together with the Five Welding Do’s or goals the Key Results Areas
are the basis for evaluating the potential improvement opportunities in
your welding operations. These components used in a structured way as
a tool to conduct observations on the welding shop floor of your

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 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

company, are the input data to the first phase of the three phases of The
Method to weld quality and productivity improvement. This phase is
referred to as the Survey and Evaluation.

Examples
Let’s go through a few examples to demonstrate how the matrixes
can be used to identify opportunities. This is similar to what we did in
Chapter 6 but expanded to include the Five Key Results Areas for each of
the Four Critical Functions.

Example One

Critical Function Manufacturing Operations

Welding Do Reduce Work Effort

Key Result Area Personnel Training and Qualification

Observation Two similar jobs were running on the shop floor in adjacent welding
workstations. One welder would finish a weldment in 2.5 hours on
average. The second welder would take 3.25 hours on average. In
observing the slower welder, it was noted that he was welding the “hard
way.” The second welder was not utilizing the welding fixture causing
excessive handling of the weldment and out-of-position welding. Plus,
he was using a lower wire feed speed than was in the documented
welding procedures issued.

Situation The second welder had not been trained on how to efficiently run the
job and, therefore, was not making standard rate.

Consequence Low productivity and increased cost of $26.25 per weldment. 0.75
hours × $35/hour. 1,200 weldments produced per year.

Action Train the welder in the use of the welding procedures and how to use
the welding fixture to reduce out of position welding. Supervisor monitor
the welders on a regular basis.

Result Improved productivity and a savings of 0.75 hours per piece or $26.25.
$26.25 × 1,200 = $31,500 savings per year.

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Example Two
Critical Function Manufacturing Engineering

Welding Do Reduce Motion and Delay Time

Key Result Area Equipment and Tooling Selection

Observation A job in one of the welding workstations took an average of three hours
to layout and fitup for each weldment and about one hour to weld.
Twenty weldments per week were made in that workstation.

Situation Welding fixtures were not developed for this job when it was first started
since the weekly production was only five units.

Consequence Sixty hours per week were spent on layout for twenty hours of welding.
Due to manual layout and material fitup, the quality and quantity output
of the final weldments was inconsistent.

Action Manufacturing Engineering design and build welding fixtures, develop

and document a work method and welding procedure for the job.

Result A reduction in setup of the weldment from 3 hours to 0.5 hours and
improved weldment consistency. Annual savings: 2.5 hours × 20/week ×
48 weeks/year or 2,400 hours per year or $84,000 @ $35/h.

Example Three
Critical Function Quality Assurance

Welding Do Reduce Arc Time per Weldment

Key Result Area Corrective Action

Observation Observed and recorded several welders welding on a ship module

assembly. Amperages (wire feed speeds) from 150 to 300 amperes
were being used by various welders.

Situation No welding procedures had been issued, therefore, each welder was
using the amperage he felt was best and was most comfortable with.

Consequence Different weld footage deposited per welder for a given time period
Therefore, weld productivity varied between welders.

Action Manufacturing Engineering develop work method and qualified

application welding procedures. Manufacturing Operations train the
welders to understand and use the newly issued welding procedures. If
any welder has trouble using the higher amperage required, provide
extra training to increase the amperage in small increments until the
welder can deposit an acceptable weld to the proper weld size as
specified and meet the target amperage.

Results All welders learned to use the higher amperages resulting in greater
weld footage produced per welder, therefore, improved product output.

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 THE FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AND THEIR FIVE KEY RESULTS AREAS

Example Four
Critical Function Design Engineering

Welding Do Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap

Key Result Area Material Selection

Observation One weldment had consistent excess production time and

rework. Management's reporting system brought this to light.

Situation Design Engineering designed the weldment for strength

requirements using two dissimilar materials—an A 36 steel and
a 4140 steel. The welding process and procedure to join these
two materials was complicated and sensitive to welder skill. As
a result, rework and rejects were high and production times
were long. 100% weld inspection was required to assure
acceptable welds. Each weldment took four hours to weld, plus
an average of 30 minutes of inspection time and 30 minutes of
rework. Eighteen weldments were produced per week.

Consequence High weldment costs, additional rework and inspection time.

Action Review weldment design to determine if welding of dissimilar

materials could be eliminated.

Result After a structural review by Design Engineering, the weldment

was redesigned using all A 36 steel by changing the thickness
of a few components. Prototypes were built and tested for
structural integrity. The new design resulted in a $25 material
savings, a one-hour welding time reduction, elimination of
30-minute inspection and 30-minute rework. Total savings per
weldment were: $25 plus 2 hours × $35/h = $95. $95 × 18/
week × 48 weeks = $82,080 per year savings.

The preceding examples demonstrate how the matrix of the Five

Welding Do’s across the Four Critical Functions and their Five Key
Results Areas lead to identification and quantification of improvement
opportunities in weld quality and productivity.
As each of the Five Key Results Areas for each of the Four Critical
Functions are expanded to include a larger number of welding jobs, they
form the complete picture of your welding improvement opportunity.

Recap
Before we move on to Chapter 8, where we expand this concept to a
formal company-wide Survey and Evaluation, let’s review what we have
learned in this chapter:

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1. Each of the Four Critical Functions plays an essential role in weld

quality and productivity and has a unique set of responsibilities
identified as Key Results Areas. By fulfilling these responsibilities
well, weld quality and productivity is improved.
2. Looking at each of the Four Critical Functions for each of the Five
Welding Do’s with their Key Results Areas is a way to evaluate
your welding operations and to identify opportunities for
improvement. This is done by observing and recording actual
welding jobs from the production floor.
3. The difference between the ‘current situation’ from observations
‘and the ideal’ represents the potential opportunity for
improvement.
4. The potential opportunities must be quantified so that priorities
can be later established based on potential savings and resources
available.
Let’s now move to Chapter 8 where we put all the analysis together
in the form of the Phase I—Survey and Evaluation. This step will answer
the question; what is the potential for weld quality and productivity
improvement in my company?

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 Chapter 8
Phase I—Survey and Evaluation

Identifying Your Opportunities for Improvement

Chapter 7 presented the framework for Phase I—Survey and
Evaluation. This is the step in the process to Total Welding Management
that defines how much your company can benefit by improving your
welding operations.
In this chapter we will:
1. Present an overview of the three phases of The Method to Total
Welding Management and improved welding operations.
2. Present the methodology used to prepare a Phase I—Survey and
Evaluation.
3. Review the results of an actual Phase I—Survey to demonstrate
typical savings potential.
4. Introduce the Six Managerial Steps necessary to achieve and
maintain improvements as part of the journey to Total Welding
Management.
Before we begin, let’s review the definition of The Method. The
Method is the three-phased process that leads to improvement in welding
quality and productivity by transforming your company to a Total
Welding Management System.
The three phases of The Method are described below.
1. Phase I—Survey and Evaluation. In this phase, a team conducts
a survey of all aspects of welding operations using the Five Key
Results Areas and the Five Welding Do’s for each of the Four
Critical Functions. This examination and evaluation is used to
identify opportunities to improve quality and productivity.
Data is gathered both through observations of actual jobs
being welded and interviews throughout the company with
engineers, supervisors and managers involved in welding.
The data and information gathered is then analyzed, results
quantified, and summarized for each of the Five Welding Do’s
and Key Results Areas for each of the Four Critical Functions.
Management then reviews the summary savings data along with

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any conclusions and recommendations made by the survey team.

The summary includes all the potential savings expressed in
welding labor hours, dollars, and consumable savings.
2. Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting. In this
second phase, the company’s management team reviews the
survey report with its potential savings summary and actions
required to achieve the potential productivity and profitability
gains. The management team selects and prioritizes projects
using information from the survey report. Resources are
discussed, selected, and assigned. A Gantt chart, with time lines,
is developed for the necessary documentation, personnel training
and project assignments. The management team makes the final
decisions regarding goals, objectives and resources for Phase
III—Implement and Sustain. This second phase includes the
development of the rough plan that will be used to implement
Total Welding Management in your company.
3. Phase III—Implement and Sustain. In this phase your company’s
welding management system begins to take shape. Project
management, training and welding documentation are developed.
Personnel in all the Four Critical Functions are trained in the
concepts and principles of welding management on as required
basis, so that each can function effectively in his respective task
assignments. This training encompasses welders, supervisors,
managers, trainers, and engineers. Key personnel are trained in how
to use The Method. They also learn how to apply the Six Managerial
Steps covered in Chapter 9 to build the closed-loop management
system, Total Welding Management, for your company. This is the
process that assures that results achieved are sustained. Training
also includes technical welding training so that the entire team gains
a working knowledge of the science of welding.

The Survey
Let’s look in detail now at how the company-wide survey in Phase I
is conducted across the Four Critical Functions using the Five Welding
Do’s and each of their Five Key Results Areas.
In the last chapter we presented examples of improvement
opportunities for each of the Four Critical Functions for one Welding Do
and a Key Results Area.
All the possible combinations of Critical Functions, Welding Do’s and
Key Results Areas represent 100 total combinations, (4 × 5 × 5). Each of
the 100 individual combinations is referred to as a cell. Each cell, when
used in the survey process, represents a potential quality and/or
productivity improvement opportunity, as well as a future control cell.
Figure 20 shows an illustration of the 4 × 5 × 5 matrix with the 100 cells.

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

Welding Do’s

Reduce Reduce Reduce Reduce

Key Results Areas
Weld Arc Time Rejects, Reduce Motion
Metal per Rework, Work and Delay
Volume Weldment and Scrap Effort Time

DESIGN ENGINEERING

Material Selection 1-1 2-1 3-1 4-1 5-1

Weld Size Determination 1-2 2-2 3-2 4-2 5-2

Weld Joint Selection 1-3 2-3 3-3 4-3 5-3

Manufacturing Review 1-4 2-4 3-4 4-4 5-4

Weldment Specification 1-5 2-5 3-5 4-5 5-5

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

Workmanship Standards 1-6 2-6 3-6 4-6 5-6

Welding Process Selection 1-7 2-7 3-7 4-7 5-7

Equipment & Tooling 1-8 2-8 3-8 4-8 5-8

Selection

Method & Procedure 1-9 2-9 3-9 4-9 5-9

Development

Work Center Planning 1-10 2-10 3-10 4-10 5-10

MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS

Personnel Training and 1-11 2-11 3-11 4-11 5-11

Qualification
Material Input 1-12 2-12 3-12 4-12 5-12

Equipment Performance 1-13 2-13 3-13 4-13 5-13

Method and Procedure 1-14 2-14 3-14 4-14 5-14

Application

Work Center Control 1-15 2-15 3-15 4-15 5-15

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Policy & Accountability 1-16 2-16 3-16 4-16 5-16

Quality Standards 1-17 2-17 3-17 4-17 5-17

Quality Procedures 1-18 2-18 3-18 4-18 5-18

Inspect, Measure, Report 1-19 2-19 3-19 4-19 5-19

Corrective Action 1-20 2-20 3-20 4-20 5-20

Figure 20. Quality and Productivity Evaluation Cells

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As you can see, each of the Four Critical Functions are laid out with
their Five Key Results Areas and then evaluated for each of the Five
Welding Do’s. For example, Cell 1-2 would be for an evaluation of what
Design Engineering does with Weld Size Determination and how that
affects the Welding Do of Reduce Weld Metal Volume.
Cell 2-6 evaluates the Critical Function of Manufacturing Engineering
and how the Key Results Area of Workmanship Standards affects the
Welding Do of Reduce Arc Time Per Weldment.
Cell 4-13 evaluates the Critical Function of Manufacturing
Operations, the Key Results Area of Equipment Performance and the
Welding Do of Reduce Work Effort.
How then is the matrix used to identify quality and productivity
welding improvements, and how is a survey put together?
As the examples in the previous chapter showed, the best way to
identify potential opportunities for welding related cost saving
improvements throughout your company is to observe various jobs as
they are being welded. For example, by going into a welding workstation,
you can evaluate the Five Key Results Areas of Manufacturing
Operations, using the matrix for each of the facets of the jobs observed.
Based on your knowledge of the job, the welding processes and
production you would ask questions and make observations such as:
1. Personnel Training and Qualification. Does the welder appear
to be qualified to weld the job he is on? If not, how is each of the
Five Welding Do’s affected? How much productivity could be
gained with additional training? Does the welder currently hold
any certifications?
2. Material Input. Are all the materials available when they are
needed at the start of the job and are they to engineering print
specifications to avoid component part fitup issues? If not, how is
each of the Five Welding Do’s affected? How much time is being
lost? What is the opportunity to improve?
3. Equipment Performance. Is the equipment in the workstation
performing correctly and on a consistent basis? If not, how are
the Five Welding Do’s affected? How much time is being lost
from equipment down time or poor functioning?
4. Method and Procedure Application. Is the welder following the
work method that has been documented for the job? Is there a
method’s instruction sheet? If not, how is each of the Five
Welding Do’s affected?
5. Work Center Control. Is the work output and quality from the
workstation being monitored? Is there a workstation plan? Is
there a corrective action plan in place for the unplanned change
that can affect consistent and repeatable quality and quantity of

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

output? If not, what is the impact on each of the Five Welding

Do’s?
Any no answer to the above questions leads to an opportunity to
improve welding quality and productivity. This process of observations
is repeated for each of the Four Critical Functions to build a matrix of
improvement opportunities for each job observed. With a sufficient
sampling of jobs and an estimate of the savings from improvements, as
the examples in Chapter 7 show, this becomes the input data for the
Survey and Evaluation. This is how the question “How big is my
opportunity to improve?” is answered.
Along with observing welding jobs, an initial review of existing
engineering designs and prints, quality standards, welding workmanship
standards, work methods, welding procedures, practices, general
documentation, and systems, provides beneficial background
information to assist in the observations. This helps hone in on issues that
may present the greatest opportunity for improvement.
For example, if there are no welding symbols on the engineering
drawings or if there are welding symbols with no specified weld sizes,
this is a great opportunity to focus on reducing weld metal volume for
cost reduction. By putting weld symbols and weld sizes on drawings, the
chances of overwelding are reduced.
If there are not effective work methods and welding procedures in
place to document processes for the welders, then welders will not have
the proper work instructions and results will be inconsistent. These
upfront reviews help focus the subsequent shop observations so that they
can be done more effectively.
Some of the other general information gathered prior to making
observations includes:
1. What material types, sizes, and thickness ranges are generally
used? This provides a feel for the types of welding processes and
filler materials that should be used, which are then validated
through observations.
2. How are the weld joint types, and weld sizes and lengths
determined and specified? This is the responsibility of Design
Engineering and should be based on the structural requirements
of each weldment. Answers here give insight to the level of
welding knowledge that Design Engineering has and some input
on procedures and design criteria used.
3. How are welding specifications developed and documented by
Design Engineering? This gives insight on the engineering
documentation system being used as well as standards and
consistency of specification.

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4. Are welding workmanship standards documented and

available? Are they followed on the shop floor? This is an
indication of the consistency of weld quality produced.
5. Are there currently any major welding problems, productivity
problems or quality problems? Are there a lot of rejects and
rework from defective welding? Is there a lot of grinding and
hammering being observed? What is the welding operating
factor or arc time? Information gathered here will help hone in on
specific issues when doing the observations and data gathering
on the shop floor.
6. How are the overall welding operations controlled? Are there
periodic reports to management on overall quality and
productivity? Are there effective material planning and
scheduling systems in place? Answers to these questions will
begin to define which pieces of the Total Welding Management
System need to be focused on.
7. What is Quality Assurance’s role in the welding department? Are
they effective?
With this background information available, the survey team is better
equipped and prepared to make meaningful shop floor observations.
The above questions can generally be answered by discussions with
the managers of the Four Critical Functions and a few subordinates and by
review of some typical drawings, formal or informal welding procedures,
workmanship and quality standards and established method studies. Early
conversations with selected supervisors and welders can also be helpful
and set the stage for the observations by getting their buy in. The process of
initial discussions can provide a good picture of the health of your welding
operations. This process also helps to put together an opportunity list of
issues to confirm and quantify, through observations on the shop floor.
As an example, if several managers identified overwelding as a major
issue, data would then be gathered from the shop floor on specific jobs
regarding weld joint type, weld size and bead shape, weld bead length,
and material fitup tolerances to confirm that the welding procedure being
used is in accordance with those established application welding
procedures issued.
If it can be pinpointed that certain welding workstations are not
meeting expectations, that would be an indicator for close observation of
the Five Welding Do’s and their Key Results Areas.

Shop Observation
Armed with answers to the above questions and other data gathered;
you are now prepared to begin observing the actual production of
weldments.

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

Depending on the number of welders in your company, the number

of different types of welding jobs, and the number of work shifts, it
would take a team of two to three people six to twelve man days of
observing, recording, and data gathering along with interviews with key
personnel to complete a survey. A survey summary report then would be
developed based on the survey data gathered.
Each potential cell reported from the 100-cell matrix would then
contain the observation data, an estimate of the savings potential by
correcting the problem noted, and the action required.
Figures 21 and 22 illustrate examples of welding jobs observed using
sample cells from the matrix to quantify potential savings.
To aid in the shop data gathering, a Workstation Data Sheet has been
developed. This data sheet is used to collect, measure, and record data
from the observations and studies made, and record comments on
improvement actions as well as estimated savings as in the above
examples. The Workstation Data Sheet is shown in Figure 23.

Potential Savings Summary

Once the data has been gathered from observations in the shop, it is
summarized using the Five Welding Do’s across the Four Critical
Functions for each of the Key Results Areas. The Potential Savings
Summary, Figure 24, displays a typical summary of savings. It shows the
cells highlighted by bullets that offer the greatest potential in quality
and/or productivity improvement for this specific company. The other
cells not highlighted would offer less opportunity for this company.
From the Potential Savings Summary in Figure 24, the detail behind
the savings for each of the Welding Do’s would be found in the observation
sheets and general interview notes of the various Critical Function
personnel. This detail would also include more specific action points to be
taken to achieve the results. The Survey and Evaluation report would give
even more detail on each of the Five Welding Do’s and their respective Key
Results Areas, savings for each, and action recommendations.
This Potential Savings Summary highlights that the greatest potential
savings goal is No. 1—Reduce Weld Metal Volume. This goal represents
$625,000 or 31% of the total potential savings. To obtain the savings in
this Welding Do, the improvement Key Results Areas under Design
Engineering are weld size determination, weld joint selection, and
weldment specification. Under Manufacturing Engineering, the Key
Results Areas to be addressed are workmanship standards and method
and procedure development. Under the Critical Function of
Manufacturing Operations the Key Results Areas for improvement
include: personnel training and qualification, and control of material
input into the workstation. For Quality Assurance they include
inspection, measurement and reporting as well as corrective action.

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Critical Function Manufacturing Engineering

Key Result Area Method and Procedure Development

Welding Do Reduce Arc Time per Weldment

Observation Welder A was observed welding 1/4-in. fillet welds at 20 in./

minute while welder B was welding the same size 1/4-in. fillet
weld at 15 in./minute. This represents a 5-in. difference per
minute of weld deposited or a 33% increase in
travel speed from 15 in. to 20 in.

Saved Arc Time Hours 264 hours saved annually.

Action • Develop a tight application welding procedure

• Manufacturing Operations monitor welding procedures on
the shop floor.

Savings The operating factor (arc time) per hour is 40% based on a
2,000/h work year. This represents 800 available hours of arc
time. Welder A produced 33% more weld in the same 800
hours as welder B. 800 hours × 33% = 264 h of gained arc
hours × $35/h = $9,240 potential savings per welder per year.
Note: For every ten welders in this similar situation, the annual
savings would be $92,400.

Figure 21. Cell 2-9

Critical Function Design Engineering

Key Result Area Weld Joint Selection

Welding Do Reduce Weld Metal Volume

Observation A butt joint with an excessive groove angle caused an increased

amount of weld metal volume deposit.

Lost Time 30 minutes on each weldment with a total welding cycle time of 4
hours. Two weldments produced per day.

Action Decrease the size of the groove angle to minimize the amount of
weld metal volume deposit necessary.

Savings 60 minutes/day × $35/hr = $35.00 × 5 days = $175.00/week × 48

weeks = $8,400 per year.
Note: For every ten welders experiencing this or a similar condi-
tion, annual savings would be $84,000.

Figure 22. Cell 2-3

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

Workstation ________ Date ________ Observer: _______________________

Welder/Weld Team _________________________________________________

Months welding this part _________ Years welding with company ___________

Years weld experience: SMAW ________ GMAW ________ FCAW ________

SAW ________ GTAW ________
Welder

Other Processes ______________________________

How trained? _____________________________________________________

Describe welder's work responsibility (layout, fitup, assemble and tack weld, final
weld):

Describe part being welded:

Part No./Drawing No. _______________________________________________

Base Material ________ Thickness Range ________ Welding Process _______

How is welder instructed?

Drawings ________
Workmanship Standards ________
Process Plan or Methods Sheet ________
Verbal ________
Work Instructions

Other ________

Does welder appear to understand job requirements?

Other general observations.

Figure 23. Workstation Data Sheet (1 of 4)

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Type of weld joints being welded: _____________________________________

Are component parts properly prepared? _______________________________

Do component parts fitup properly? ___________________________________
Is there any surface contamination on component parts? __________________
What welding process is being used? _________________________________
What filler metal type electrode and size is being used? ___________________
What shielding gas is being used? ____________________________________

Welding Variables (record actual variables used, documented standard and what is
recommended based on design of weldment).
Actual Std. Recommended

Wire Feed Speed (IPM)

Amperage (Current)
Material Condition, Process and Equipment

Arc Voltage (Arc Length)

Travel Speed (IPM)

Transverse (Work) Angle

Travel Angle
Electrode Orientation

Welding positions used: ____________________________________________

How are component parts positioned?

Any changes recommended?

Does welder follow a prescribed welding sequence?

Equipment:
Power source type and size:
General condition:

Wire feeder type:

General condition:

Welding Gun/torch:
General condition:

General Comments:

Figure 23. Workstation Data Sheet (2 of 4)

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

Check accuracy of meters:

Power Source Wire Feeder

Meter Actual Meter Actual

Wire Feed Speed _____ _____ _____ _____

Amperage _____ _____ _____ _____

Arc Voltage _____ _____ _____ _____

Is there a meter calibration program in effect? Yes ____ No ____

Welding circuit:
Tight ground _______________
Tight connections ___________
Hot connections_____________
Good insulation _____________
Frayed cables ______________

Comments:
Equipment

How is equipment maintained?

Preventive maintenance program?

Who repairs equipment?

How much maintenance does welder do?

Any welding equipment problems now?

History of down time:

Welding fixtures used? (Describe and comment on their condition)

How are welding fixtures maintained?

Is use of welding fixtures optional or mandatory?

Positioners, turning rolls, etc. used?

Their condition?

General Comments:

Figure 23. Workstation Data Sheet (3 of 4)

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CHAPTER 8

How are welds and component parts inspected/tested?

How much inspecting by supervisors and leadsmen?

Does welder know and fully understand the acceptable/unacceptable weld quality
criteria?
Quality Assurance

How much inspection is done by the inspectors?

How much inspection is done by the welders?

Based on the above observations of this welding job, which of the Key Results
Areas of the Critical Functions for the Five Welding Do’s offers potential for
improvement?

What would be the annualized improvement opportunity for each of the Five
Observation Summary

Welding Do’s and their respective Key Results Areas? To calculate annual savings
estimate the potential savings per weldment and then annualize based on yearly
production volume. The estimated savings are then posted to the 4 × 5 × 5 matrix of
the Key Results Areas for each of the Five Welding Do’s across the Four Critical
Functions.

Figure 23. Workstation Data Sheet (4 of 4)

104
105

THE
FIVE
WELDING
DO S

REDUCE WORK EFFORT

KEY

REDUCE WELD METAL VOLUME

REDUCE MOTION & DELAY TIME

RESULTS
AREAS

REDUCE ARC TIME PER WELDMENT

REDUCE REJECTS, REWORK & SCRAP

1 MATERIAL SELECTION
2 WELD SIZE DETERMINATION
3 WELD JOINT SELECTION
4 MANUFACTURING REVIEW
5 WELDMENT SPECIFICATION
DESIGN

ITEMS REPRESENT MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAVINGS

ENGINEERING

1 WORKMANSHIP STANDARDS
2 WELDING PROCESS SELECTION
3 EQUIPMENT & TOOLING SELECTION
4 METHOD & PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT
5 WORK CENTER PLANNING
ENGINEERING
MANUFACTURING

1 PERSONNEL TRAINING & QUALIFICATION

2 MATERIAL INPUT
3 EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE
4 METHOD & PROCEDURE APPLICATION
Figure 24. Potential Savings Summary

5 WORK CENTER CONTROL

OPERATIONS
MANUFACTURING
FOUR CRITICAL FUNCTIONS

1 POLICY & ACCOUNTABILITY

2 QUALITY STANDARDS
3 QUALITY PROCEDURES
4 INSPECT, MEASURES, REPORT
QUALITY

5 CORRECTIVE ACTION
ASSURANCE

$
$
$ 350,000
$ 625,000

$ 450,000

600,000
SAVINGS

$2,025,000
POTENTIAL
ESTIMATED

PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

CHAPTER 8

The second greatest opportunity for savings is the combination of

Welding Do No. 4—Reduce Work Effort, and Welding Do No. 5—Reduce
Motion and Delay Time. This represents $600,000 in potential annual
savings. However, this particular management team, during their review
of the Key Results Areas, realized that it would take additional resources
and time that were currently not available to achieve this goal. So, they
chose Welding Do No. 2—Reduce Arc Time per Weldment that
represented $350,000 in annual potential savings. This goal was much
easier to achieve, combined several of the same Key Results Areas as
Welding Do No. 1, and therefore, took far less resources and time. The
management team felt that the goal selected would also take less effort so
this is where they agreed to start their journey to Total Welding
Management.
Conducting this top-level management analysis from the Survey and
Evaluation Potential Savings Summary provides the framework for the
second phase of The Method, which is Management Planning and Goal
Setting. This will be covered in detail in Chapter 10.
In this second phase, the summary survey data is reviewed by
looking at the potential savings and actions required and then a choice is
made on where to begin to harvest the improvements based on an overall
plan developed by the management team. Potential savings
opportunities are weighed against resources as the plan is developed. It
must be recognized that the plan needs to be built on a framework of the
Total Welding Management System and that management training in the
management system must be the first step for success.
In Figure 25 is a sample management overview section taken from an
actual Survey and Evaluation Report. It summarizes the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations found from the shop observations,
data gathered, investigation, and interviews with key personnel
including the Four Critical Functions.
The data used in Figure 25 represents survey results from an actual
company. The data has been modified only for presentation purposes. A
Total Welding Management System has been implemented and has
resulted in significant savings.
Chapter 12 will present an actual case history and cover, in more
detail, the results of the actual Survey.

Recap
Let’s summarize what we have learned in this chapter:
1. The three phases of The Method for welding quality and
productivity improvement through Total Welding Management are:
a. Phase I—Survey and Evaluation identifies improvement
opportunities and major actions required to achieve.

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 PHASE I—SURVEY AND EVALUATION

1.1 Conclusions and Recommendations

Through our observations and findings compiled with information obtained from
key personnel at various levels across the Four Critical Functions, it is estimated
that there is a potential annual savings of $1,397,000 in labor hours and filler
materials in your welding operations. This potential savings is realistic and
obtainable, but we caution that it will take full support by management and a
cooperative team effort and attitude across the Four Critical Functions of Design
Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations and Quality
Assurance to harvest maximum results.

The above estimated potential is based on the data from and calculations in
Appendix A. Recommendations are included with data that can be used in
simple calculations that will permit monitoring of the results. Potential savings in
welding quality and productivity improvements can result from the following Five
Welding Do goals:

1.1.1 $175,000 through the reduction of weld metal volume

Reduction in filler materials and associated arc time by specifying
and controlling welds to the minimum practical size and length, and by
eliminating excessive material fitup in fillet and butt welds.

1.1.2 $42,000 through a reduction of arc time per weldment

Reduction of arc time per weldment by developing and ensuring the use
of optimum wire feed speeds and electrode sizes for the semiautomatic
gas metal arc welding process, qualifying welders to meaningful methods
and application welding procedures developed specifically for your quality
and productivity requirements, and by controlling these areas to a
standard.

1.1.3 $280,000 through a reduction of rejects, rework and scrap

Reduction in documented and undocumented rework costs through
enforcement of weld sequence and placement, the use of welding proce-
dures and quality workmanship standards to reduce weld defects, and
training in the essential welding variables as an engineered science,
good communications and a feedback system and program.

1.1.4 $150,000 through a reduction of work effort

Reduction of work effort through the use of welding fixtures and tooling to
reduce time for assembly and welding of component parts. Savings will
also occur with the elimination and reduction of welds as well as their
repositioning. Design Engineering working with Manufacturing Engineer-
ing review the present product design to eliminate weld joints that the
welder has a difficult time getting proper access to.
1.1.5 $750,000 through the reduction of motion and delay time
Train manufacturing engineers to do workstation layout, and develop work
methods and weld sequencing to eliminate wasted motion and delay
time. Train shop personnel to follow the newly created methods and
develop monitoring and auditing systems for maintaining them.

Figure 25. Management Overview

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b. Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting

establishes the goals, priorities, and action plans that begin
the planning process.
c. Phase III—Implement and Sustain, provides the structure
and management system to accomplish and maintain
improvements and begins the journey to Total Welding
Management and improved company profitability
2. The data for Phase I that identifies and quantifies improvement
opportunities comes from observing welding on the shop floor,
observing flow, layout, identifying actions to improve and
quantifying potential savings. It also includes close examination
and study of existing company engineering drawings,
workmanship standards, work methods and welding procedures
as well as interviews with various other critical function
personnel at all levels to determine their present involvement
and what they need to know and learn to support the welding
operations.
3. Figure 23 shows a sample data gathering form that can be used to
record data from each workstation as observations are made of
welding jobs on the shop floor. The observation data is
summarized in a matrix of the Four Critical Functions, Five
Welding Do’s and Five Key Results Areas.
4. The summary of the survey data also includes the major actions
required to accomplish the savings potential in each of the Key
Results Areas. This information is used for action planning in
Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting to identify
what actions are required to accomplish identified savings.
5. The Potential Savings Summary, Figure 24, represents a
summary, in graphical form, of the total company potential
savings. This summary is helpful to management in identifying
the greatest payback areas and provides data for a detail
discussion of Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting.
Before we move into a detailed discussion of Phase II, we will spend
some time in the next chapter explaining the Six Managerial Steps. They
represent the very important foundation that underlies Phase II and III of
The Method. The understanding, acceptance, and application of these six
building blocks is essential to the success of your Total Welding
Management System. They represent a new way of looking at how
welding operations is managed. Without this foundation, any results
gained from recommendations and actions from the Phase I—Survey and
Evaluation would be short lived.

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 Chapter 9
The Six Managerial Steps

The Foundation of Total Welding Management

In Chapter 8 we presented the details of how to prepare a Survey and
Evaluation to develop potential savings for your company from welding
improvements. The input for the survey comes from a review of existing
company documents, observations of jobs on the shop floor, and
interviews with various managers and Critical Function personnel. We
now know how to determine the potential savings from specific welding
improvements. How do we now manage the process to get these results?
The answer lies in the use of the Six Managerial Steps.
These steps represent the management process that is essential for
success in developing and implementing a total welding management
system to get the identified improvement results.
This chapter will:
1. Define the Six Managerial Steps to get from survey to results.
These steps represent the bridge that ties together the three
phases of The Method. They also provide the framework for the
closed-loop management system that assures that improvement
results will be maintained.
2. Show how the Six Managerial Steps are used in each of the three
phases of The Method to build a plan for success.
3. Explain top management’s critical role in leading an organization
through the Six Managerial Steps to Total Welding Management.
The Survey and Evaluation phase of The Method identifies welding
improvement opportunities along with the actions required to harvest
them. In the Management Planning and Goal Setting phase your
management team develops an integrated plan to achieve these potential
savings. The Six Managerial Steps are essential for each company to go
through in planning, achieving, and maintaining improved welding
quality and productivity. These six steps represent a closed-loop
management system to plan for success, execute, and control, to assure
that results are gained and maintained. This is where the ‘rubber’ meets
the ‘road.’

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Figure 26 illustrates the concept behind the Six Managerial Steps.

They form a closed loop system of plan, execute, and control. This system
begins with an Input followed by an Action resulting in an Output and
then Feedback to close the loop. Plan the improvement, execute or make
the improvement, and control to assure that the improvement is
maintained.

INPUT

FEEDBACK ACTION

OUTPUT

Figure 26. Six Managerial Steps as a Closed Loop System

The Six Managerial Steps to a successful welding management

system are:
1. Information gathering and analysis
2. Planning and goal setting
3. Training
4. Implementation and fine tuning
5. Measurement and control
6. Reporting
To better understand each of the Six Managerial Steps, let’s look at
how each might be applied to the three phases of The Method and then to
a specific improvement project. Recognize that the Six Managerial Steps
are all applied together as a system to implement and sustain the Total
Welding Management System in your company.

Step 1—Information Gathering and Analysis

This first managerial step is used, in a macro way, to gather
information and identify opportunities for welding improvement in your

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 THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

entire company. The result of this step is Phase I of The Method, Survey
and Evaluation. The information is gathered through interviews with
various levels of management, supervisors, and technical personnel in
the Four Critical Functions, along with shop floor observations and
measurements. The information gathered is then analyzed and
summarized by the Five Welding Do’s, Four Critical Functions and their
specific Key Results Areas and represent potential savings in weld
quality and productivity improvement. Figure 24, on page 105 of Chapter
8, illustrates this summarized survey information with potential dollar
savings for each Welding Do. Once the data is gathered in Phase I, it is
analyzed to determine which projects would provide the best payback for
effort involved.
In Phase III the macro survey data from Phase I is again reviewed in
detail and refined in a detailed micro sense for final project management
and action planning. This is illustrated in the example in Figure 27—
Information Gathering and Analysis.

ACTION
STEPS
STUDY ALL EXISTING SPECIFICATIONS,
1 INFORMATION GATHERING STANDARDS, METHODS, PROCEDURES AND
CONDITIONS FOR ESTABLISHING AND
& ANALYSIS CONTROLLING WELD SIZES AND LENGTHS

PROJECT PLANNING
2
& GOAL SETTING

Figure 27. Step 1—Information Gathering and Analysis

Step 2—Planning and Goal Setting

This second managerial step is used both in a macro and a micro way.
In a macro way, the total welding management projects begin to be
developed and preliminary goals established. This is Phase II—
Management Planning and Goal Setting, in which all the necessary plans
are made and project schedules developed. The necessary approaches for
control for ensuring maintenance of the program as well as measurement
and performance are developed. This is the step where trade-offs are

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made and first cut planning for the company’s welding improvement
program are also made by top management along with the management
team. In Phase III, the survey data is revised and in a micro sense, the
project goals and objectives are finalized in detail from the additional
data gathered. This is illustrated in Figure 28—Planning and Goal Setting.

STEPS

INFORMATION GATHERING
1
& ANALYSIS

ACTION

PROJECT PLANNING ESTABLISH GOALS, TIME TABLES

& ACTION ASSIGNMENTS
2
& GOAL SETTING
DEVELOP PROJECT PHASES & DETAIL

3 TRAINING

Figure 28. Step 2—Planning and Goal Setting

Step 3—Training
In this step, all personnel who will manage, use or work within the
Total Welding Management System are trained in the management
concepts and principles of the Total Welding Management System and
the technical aspects of welding that affect their functional responsibility.
They are also introduced to the overall company project goals and the
project timelines. Training applies to personnel of each function and at all
levels in the organization. Training is done on a need to know basis so
that everyone involved knows his responsibilities in supporting the Total
Welding Management System. This step is part of Phase III—Implement
and Sustain, as shown in Figure 29—Training.
Without training, any program will fail. Because of old habits, people
will fall back to the practices that they are most comfortable and feel more
secure with.

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 THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

STEPS

PROJECT PLANNING
2
& GOAL SETTING
ACTION

TRAIN ALL PERSONNEL AS APPLICABLE

INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFICATIONS & STANDARDS

3 TRAINING
APPLICATION OF SPECIFICATIONS, STANDARDS,
METHODS & TECHNIQUES

CONTROL METHODS

IMPLEMENTATION &
4
FINE TUNING

Figure 29. Step 3—Training

Step 4—Implementation and Fine Tuning

Once a specific project of the Total Welding Management System is
implemented, it is closely monitored. When required, on the job follow-
up training is conducted. It is unusual that any project is planned and
executed perfectly the first time. Continual improvements are made as
needed. This step is part of Phase III—Implement and Sustain, Figure
30—Implementation and Fine Tuning.
As an example of fine-tuning or continuous improvement, a specific
project might involve lay out, material flow, weld sequencing,
equipment, fixturing, the welding process, welding procedures, work
methods and training of the welder. Once the project is implemented, any
or all of the above may need to be fine tuned or modified until the project
meets planned results.

Step 5—Measurement and Control

This is the step that inspects, measures, monitors, audits, and collects
data regarding performance against work standards, weld quality, and
project goals. Essential data must be monitored and audited to insure the
continuing success of the Total Welding Management System. This is the
management information phase of each project and Total Welding
Management overall. It measures the key results intended, such as
quality and productivity improvements. This step is also part of Phase
III—Implement and Sustain, Figure 31—Measurement and Control.

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STEPS

3 TRAINING

ACTION

PUT PROGRAM WORKING PHASES INTO PRACTICE

IMPLEMENTATION &
4 PRELIMINARY MONITORING & AUDITING
FINE TUNING
MODIFY WORKING PHASES AS REQUIRED

MEASUREMENT
5
& CONTROL

Figure 30. Step 4—Implementation and Fine Tuning

STEPS

IMPLEMENTATION &
4
FINE TUNING
ACTION

DEVELOP & IMPLEMENT METHODS FOR MEASURING

MEASUREMENT AND CONTROLLING PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS
5 TO PREVENT THE UNWANTED CHANGE
& CONTROL

6 REPORTING

Figure 31. Step 5—Measurement and Control

Step 6—Reporting
In this step, all performance data is compared to established goals,
summarized, and reported to management for any corrective action
required. If the data reported pertains to a specific improvement project,
it is reported to the project manager responsible. If the performance data

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 THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

pertains to the overall Total Welding Management System, the data is

reported to management, the management team and the welding steering
team.
Timely reporting and feedback of needed information is essential to
reverse undesirable trends and avoid further performance deterioration.
Reporting is also the formal management step of reviewing the
performance data for all projects to assure overall planned results are
being achieved. If they are not, management must determine why and
take corrective action. This managerial step is part of Phase III—
Implement and Sustain. This is illustrated in Figure 32—Reporting.

STEPS

MEASUREMENT
5
& CONTROL

ACTION

COMPARE RESULTS TO THE PLAN

REPORTING ESTABLISH ROUTINE REVIEW TO MAINTAIN

6 ONGOING RESULTS

INITIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION AS REQUIRED

Figure 32. Step 6—Reporting

As these six steps are applied to improvement projects or to the Total

Welding Management System for your company, a plan for success is
developed and final priorities of projects are solidified.
To further illustrate the use of the Six Managerial Steps, below are
some details and guidelines on how they should be applied to an
individual improvement project.

Application of the Six Managerial Steps

1. The Six Managerial Step process must be applied to each
individual project for successful execution and continued results.
The process may also be applied to any subproject or to a phase
of a project as well as the Total Welding Management System.

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The omission of any step will yield less than full or lasting
results.
2. The application of the Six Managerial Steps serves as a guide for
implementing projects. The Method provides the form. Each step
must be completed with data, conclusions, plans, and actions.
The goals of each project must be kept in mind when applying
the Six Managerial Steps.
3. The Six Managerial Steps are a logical sequence for the
development, implementation and maintenance of a project or
Total Welding Management. Long-range success is a function of
the completeness of each of these Six Managerial Steps. Most
projects begin to lose effectiveness when steps 5, Measurement
and Control, and 6, Reporting, are neglected.
Without the application of steps 5 and 6, which are monitoring,
auditing, measurement, and reporting, any results gained could revert to
previous levels as shown in Figure 33. This figure illustrates both the
short-term gains of training, especially welder training, and how the
benefit can be short lived without monitoring and auditing.
Each of the Six Managerial Steps provides an important step in an
improvement project and for a Total Welding Management System. The
six steps taken in sequence provide a closed-loop system to assure
improvement results are maintained. Table 1 summarizes what each
managerial step provides to the closed-loop management system.

Table 1. What Each Managerial Step

Provides to the Closed-Loop Management System
Step Provides

1. Information Gathering and Analysis Starting data

2. Project Planning and Goal Setting Goals and plans

3. Training Foundation of learning, knowledge, and skills

4. Implementation and Fine Tuning Improvements

5. Measurement and Control Evaluation of learning, knowledge, and skills

6. Reporting Project maintenance and corrective action

The president, COO, or general manager must lead the company

through the process of using the Six Managerial Steps to build a Total
Welding Management System for improved weld quality and
productivity. He must be involved all the way throughout the process
and committed in order to achieve the planned results.

116
 TRAINING ON - THE - JOB PERFORMANCE

WITH MONITORING,
SKILL LEVEL

AUDITING & CONTROLS

WITHOUT MONITORING,
AUDITING & CONTROLS

THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

STARTING
SKILL

TIME

Figure 33. Improvement Results With and Without Control Systems

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Example
The Six Managerial Steps incorporated into a total welding management
system represent for many companies a new way of managing. It requires
implementing a closed-loop management system where responsibilities,
accountabilities, teamwork and focus on company goals must be brought
together by top management. Most of the failures with welding quality and
productivity improvement programs begin and end with the lack of top
management commitment, involvement, and support. Don’t start down the
path of Total Welding Management unless you, as the leader of the
company, understand and are willing to commit your time and energies to it.
To better understand the application of the Six Managerial Steps, the
following is an example of how they can be applied to a specific
improvement project at the micro level. The recommended approach,
however, is to use the total survey results to develop an overall company
plan for total welding management, rather than focus on one project.
Let’s go through the example of a potential improvement project and
outline the Six Managerial Steps, as they would apply to a project to
improve the Key Results Area of material input.

Six Managerial Steps Applied—Company A

Company A has 50 welders.

1. Information Gathering and Analysis

Critical Function Manufacturing Operations
Key Results Area: Material Input
Welding Do’s: Reduce Weld Metal Volume, Motion, and
Delay Time. (Cell 1-12 and 5-12)
Observations: During the observation period, approximately
20 different jobs in twenty-five different
welding workstations of the 50, it was noted
that the average lost time per day per welder
was one hour due to late parts and poor
material fitups.
Potential 1 hour/day × 25 welders × 5
Improvement days/week = 125 hours/week x
48 weeks/year = 6,000 hours/year × $35/hour
= $210,000/year.
Note: It was observed that about 50% of the welders
or 25 were experiencing this type of problem.

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 THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

2. Planning and Goal Setting

Improve quality of components and review shop scheduling and
planning system—action points:
a. Review quality system in place for component parts to assure
parts are being made in accordance with print specifications.
If not, implement corrective action in the Fabrication
Department.
b. Identify changes required in quality system.
c. Train welders in new quality procedures and monitoring and
auditing results.
d. Review welding fixtures and correct if causing poor material
fitup and welding accessibility problems.
e. Verify with Design Engineering to see if design tolerances are
correct. If not, update engineering prints.
f. Put in place measures to track improvements.
Improve availability of component parts on time to welding
workstation:
a. Review shop scheduling and planning system.
b. Identify causes of late component parts.
c. Make changes to shop scheduling system as identified to
assure component parts are delivered to the welding
workstation on time.
d. Put in place measures to track improvements.
Set goals:
Goal of 50% of the potential savings or $105,000 for the first year
by focusing on delay time and correction of component parts.
Management’s goal for the second year is $210,000.
3. Training
a. Train everyone involved in changes in the quality system,
inspection techniques, and measurements.
b. Train everyone involved in changes in the shop scheduling
system, accountability, and performance measures. Also
train on a need to know basis, product design engineers,
fabrication, tooling and fixturing personnel in proper
welding fixture design concepts and maintenance of the
welding fixtures.
c. Train welders how to place component parts in the welding
fixtures and assure that they use fixtures properly.
4. Implementation and Fine Tuning
a. Begin evaluation of quality and scheduling systems. Modify
systems as required. Monitor changes to assure they are
getting improved delivery of component parts on time to the
welding workstations. Modify based on feedback as
required.

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b. Monitor training in quality systems and scheduling to assure

results are being achieved. Modify and retrain as required.
c. Monitor fabrication department component parts to assure
that they are being made in accordance to print
specifications.
5. Measurement and Control
a. Set up measurements for on-time delivery of component
parts to welding workstations for each job and record the
percentage of jobs where 100% of all parts are available at
scheduled job start time.
b. Set up a measurement and control system for the quality of
all component parts leaving the fabrication department for
critical dimensional measurements.
6. Reporting
Put in place the following summary reports:
a. Reduction in lost time—productivity improvement.
b. Number of rejected component parts entering the welding
workstations.
c. Jobs with 100% of component parts available at the time a job
is scheduled to start in the welding workstations.
These Six Managerial Steps bring together the Five Welding Do’s, the
Four Critical Functions, and each of the Five Key Results Areas for
greater profits from welding.
If all six steps are followed you will have succeeded both with the
improvement projects and the Total Welding Management System. If any
one step is missed, results could range from less than 25% of expectation
to failure within a short period of time.
Once the Six Managerial Steps are applied to an improvement
project, other projects can be evaluated to see if common actions can be
used to leverage more than one project. This is especially true in the
managerial step of training. For example, once a welder is trained in the
use of a new welding procedure or work method, that training can be
applied across several of the Welding Do’s. This will also hold true with
training for Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and others.
As they gain additional knowledge about welding, it can be applied to
many improvement projects. This will come into clearer focus in the next
Chapter when we go through Management Planning and Goal Setting—
Phase II.

Recap
Let’s summarize. In this Chapter we have presented the Six
Managerial Steps of weld quality and productivity improvement. We
have:

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 THE SIX MANAGERIAL STEPS

1. Shown how they form the bridge between the three phases of
The Method.
2. Demonstrated how they can be used to plan and control any
welding improvement project to achieve successful results.
3. Tied together, the Six Managerial Steps as an example to
demonstrate how they can be used as a management process for
weld quality and productivity improvement.
If you properly apply the six steps as shown in Figure 34, you will
achieve your goal for any project, program activity, Welding Do or Key
Results Area. If not properly applied, minimal and short-term results,
frustrations, and ultimate failure will most likely result. Doing it right
ultimately results in a winning score.
Armed now with the tools of the Six Managerial Steps, let’s move to
the second phase of The Method for welding improvement, Phase II—
Management Planning and Goal Setting and fit the next piece of the
puzzle.

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CHAPTER 9
RESULTS
To
ta
lw
el
d
in
g
M
an
ag
em
en
t

STEP - 6
STEP - 5 Reporting

STEP - 4 Measurement
&
Control
Implementation
STEP - 3 &
Fine Tuning
STEP - 2 Training

STEP - 1 Project Planning

&
Goal Setting
Information
Gathering & Analysis

Figure 34. Applying The Six Managerial Steps for Development—Implementation—Control

 Chapter 10
Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting
With the Phase I Survey and Evaluation completed, we are ready to
begin the planning process with the management team. It includes the
details for each project with improvement goals that everyone agrees to
accomplish.
In this chapter we will:
1. Describe the Management Planning and Goal Setting process.
2. Discuss who should lead the process, who should participate,
and why.
3. Give an example of the process as it has been applied to a real
company situation.
4. Explain how the process should be managed throughout a
project.
Let’s begin by defining the Management Planning and Goal Setting
process as it is used within The Method to Total Welding Management.
This is the critical step where top management along with the functional
managers commits to the weld quality and productivity improvement
process and to the implementation of the findings from the Survey and
Evaluation.
This second phase of The Method consists of:
1. Reviewing and clarifying the data presented in the survey and
evaluation report, including a review of the recommendations.
2. Selecting from the recommendations a starting set of goals,
projects, and action plans.
3. Estimating the resources required for each of the action plans
selected, such as people, budget dollars, consulting services, and
training resources.
4. Review resource requirements versus resources available for
action plans selected and explore resource options, both internal
and external as is necessary.
5. Set goals for initial projects selected and prioritize based on the
resources allocated. Goals should be stated in terms of time
frames and expected results based on action points identified
from the survey report.

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6. Assign tasks and responsibilities required to achieve each

planned action. Establish accountability.
7. Develop a tentative schedule for the action plans for the
implementation phase. A Gantt chart is a helpful tool as a
summary for Phase II and also for use in Phase III—Implement
and Sustain.
8. Select and assign a project manager to assure that all the projects
and resources are coordinated so that everyone is moving in the
same direction. The project manager reports to the welding
steering team on a frequent basis regarding project status and
any roadblocks encountered.
A Phase II plan represents more than just an implementation
action plan. It encompasses training, development of
documentation as well as other specific actions.
The overall goal of this phase is to have a detailed plan with
actions, resources, and responsibilities assigned with a timetable
to move to Total Welding Management.
The Management Planning and Goal Setting process will ultimately
determine how successful your company will be in harvesting the
improvements identified in the Survey and Evaluation report. In most
companies, the process takes about six to twelve man days, requires open
discussion on all the issues, and must be led by top management.
This is the phase where the management team makes decisions
regarding what prioritized approach they will take to implement Phase
III—Implement and Sustain. This phase defines what documentation
needs to be developed, who needs to be trained, the projects, their
priorities, and the resources that will be allocated.

Approaches
Top managements have taken a variety of different approaches to the
implementation of Phase III—Implement and Sustain. Some eat their
welding elephant one or two bites or Welding Do’s at a time. As an
example, one large vessel manufacturer saw an opportunity to harvest
some low hanging fruit of $2,500,000. from just one Welding Do by
Reducing Weld Metal Volume as was identified in the Phase I—Survey
and Evaluation report.
Another approach to Phase III, which most company management
teams now take, is called multi-faceted. In this approach, training of
management and the welding steering team, and then training all the
necessary critical function personnel is the top priority. The second
priority is the development of a management plan and necessary
documentation to serve as welding guidelines.

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 PHASE II—MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

These guidelines include specifications, procedures, standards and

necessary methods as part of the Total Welding Management System.
After training, the assigned allocated personnel start to execute the
prioritized projects in a multifaceted manner with specific timelines.
For example, the newly trained design engineer is responsible for
application of the Five Key Results Areas of Weld Design to meet the
engineering design requirements. The Manufacturing Engineer is
responsible for process selection and method and procedure
development, which are part of applying the Five Key Results Areas for
Manufacturing Engineering.
The Internal Welder Trainer is responsible for developing and
building the welding production/quality mockups and workmanship
acceptable/unacceptable sample boards. The tool and fixture designer
and builder are responsible for redesigning and rebuilding the existing
welding fixtures and/or designing and building new ones. Working on
projects as well as applying the new knowledge learned from training can
be going on simultaneously.
During this process, the welder’s environment is changing based on a
specific timeline. Revised prints, workmanship standards, work methods
and welding procedures are developed and issued to be applied on the
shop floor. The welder’s new environment now reflects the changes that
were required to produce cost-effective quality weldments. The welder
and welding crews, along with their supervisor, are now ready to be
trained to gain the knowledge that will enable them to understand and
apply the new welding document guidelines, the welding process, and
welding procedures and techniques as an engineered science and art,
rather than an art only.
In order to get this training completed effectively, top management
must provide the overall leadership and direction in concert with the
management team.
Top management must also lead management training. The entire
management team needs to be trained in the Total Welding Management
System to be able to manage the process. This can only be accomplished from
the top. Training is a management responsibility. Without both management
and technical training, the overall improvement project will fail.
In Phase II, the people involved in the planning process include the
president, COO or general manager along with the managers of each of the
Four Critical Functions of Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,
Manufacturing Operations and Quality Assurance.
This group of executives oversees the welding steering team that is
formed at the beginning of Phase III—Implement and Sustain. The
welding steering team generally consists of members of the Four Critical
Functions, along with middle managers and often some supervisors.

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After a thorough review of the Survey and Evaluation report by the

management team, projects are selected and prioritized, resources are
evaluated, selected and assigned, tasks are identified and scheduled,
goals are set and a rough timeline is developed for each project. Now it’s
time to clear the decks and begin.

Project Management
Before we go through an example of a project plan, let’s talk about
project management. As you will see from the subsequent example in
Chapter 9, and from developing your own plan, there will be a lot of
action plan tasks that will be required to make the changes necessary to
put in place your Total Welding Management System.
Activities such as management training, functional personnel
training, reviewing weld design, developing quality standards, welder
training and retesting, improving scheduling systems, developing
process documentation and developing auditing, monitoring, and
management reporting may all be going on at the same time. To
accomplish all of these activities and bring the system together requires
overall coordination.
A company project manager is generally assigned who can
communicate across all critical functions and at all levels to coordinate all
the activities to assure they are being completed on time. Your project
manager must also conduct monthly or bi-monthly project review
meetings with the welding steering team to assure that results are being
achieved and resources are kept focused on all the project tasks. A project
manager, with a technical welding background would be preferred.
However, many successful project managers have had other backgrounds.

Example
Now let’s go through an example of a company management plan
that addresses action plans and projects to reduce weld metal volume, as
well as, address overall issues that can further lead to additional savings
in other Welding Do goals.

Management Planning and Goal Setting for Company B

Company Profile:
A capital equipment manufacturer producing construction
machinery with 100 welders.
Process Summary:
Survey and Evaluation—Phase I report is circulated to top
management, managers of the Four Critical Functions and other
company executives.

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 PHASE II—MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

The Management Planning and Goal Setting meeting was held

about three weeks after the report was circulated, giving everyone
time to review and prepare questions. Attendees at the meeting
included company top executives and managers of the Four Critical
Functions.
See Table 2 for a potential savings summary.

Table 2. Company B—Potential Savings Summary Chart

(See Figure 24 in Chapter 8)
Do’s Potential Savings

Reduce Weld Metal Volume $625,000

Reduce Arc Time per Weldment $350,000

Reduce Reject, Rework and Scrap $450,000

Reduce Work Effort –0

Reduce Motion and Delay Time $600,000

Total Potential Annual Savings $2,025,000

The total savings potential for 100 welders represents $20,000 per
welder a year. This savings per welder falls within the typical range
of $15,000 to $25,000 per welder annually found over many
companies in a variety of different industries.
The detailed planning in this phase begins with the high-level
savings summary chart. Figure 24, on page 105 of Chapter 8, shows in
detail the potential savings across the Four Critical Functions for each
of the Five Welding Do’s crossing the Key Results Areas. This is a
picture of the actions required to harvest the savings. For example,
note in Figure 24, that when each Welding Do crosses a particular
Key Results Area, it is marked with a bullet (•). Each cell area marked
as such is reported with the data gathered and observed, and
accompanied with a recommended action plan in the form of a
project or projects in the Survey report.
As the management team analyzes the Survey and Evaluation
report, projects are identified by looking at the recommendations for
each of the Five Welding Do’s and each of the Four Critical Functions
for each of their respective Key Results Areas. The management team
looks for recommendations of Key Results Areas common to multiple
Welding Do’s.
Now, let’s look at Company B and see how the cells of the 4 × 5 × 5
matrix are interrelated on the savings summary chart (Table 2) and used
to help major projects that cut across the Four Critical Functions and their

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Key Results Areas to Reduce Weld Metal Volume, the first Welding Do
(see Table 3).

Table 3. Summary of Critical Functions and Key Result Areas

Functions Key Results Areas Cell No.

Design Engineering Weld size determination 1-20

Weld joint selection 1-30

Weldment specifications 1-50

Manufacturing Engineering Workmanship standards 1-60

Method and procedure development 1-90

Manufacturing Operations Personnel training and qualification 1-11

Material input 1-12

Various Functions Inspect, measure, and report 1-19

Corrective action 1-20

Table 3 is an example of how the Four Critical Functions must work

together to accomplish one goal of reducing weld metal volume. All Four
Critical Functions are essential for success. As each Key Result Area that
needs attention is brought into control, the result of improved weld
quality and productivity will follow. It is also an example of how welding
improvement is a management system of process, procedures, controls,
and feedback.
Keep in mind while going through this example that other Welding
Do Key Results Areas for each critical function could be impacting results
at the same time and, therefore, need to be analyzed together.
Before we review management’s action plan for the reduction in weld
metal volume goal, let’s review the summary of the recommendations
from the Survey and Evaluation (see Table 4).

Table 4. Summary of Recommendations

from Survey and Evaluation
Key Results Areas Recommended Action

Weld Size Determination • Reduce weld sizes on the engineering prints. (Design
Engineering)
• Assure the production floor adheres to engineering
weld sizes on the engineering prints. (Manufacturing
Operations)

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 PHASE II—MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

Table 4. Summary of Recommendations

from Survey and Evaluation (Continued)
Weld Joint Selection • Reevaluate weld joint design to reduce weld metal
volume and tighten component parts tolerances to
improve material fitups. (Design Engineering)
• Assure materials are properly beveled to meet the
required bevel angle tolerances. (Manufacturing
Operations)

Weldment Specification • Establish a written welding specification to address

how weld sizes and weld joints will be assigned to
engineering prints. (Design Engineering)

Workmanship Standards • Develop a written Workmanship Standard document

that specifies the acceptable/unacceptable weld
criteria. (Manufacturing Engineering)

• Design and build a physical sample board that shows

the various types of welds and criteria. This will serve
as a visual standard for their acceptable/unacceptable
acceptable welds to meet weld quality requirements.
This is generally accomplished by the Internal Welder
Trainer. (Manufacturing Engineering)

Method and Procedure • Develop written and qualified application production

Development welding procedures with tight welding variable toler-
ances. Document and review with supervisors and
welders. (Manufacturing Engineering)

• Train welders in the essential welding variables

to achieve consistently sized and shaped welds.
(Manufacturing Operations)

Personnel Training and • Develop qualification criteria for welders and consider
Qualification a welder requalification program for when welders
produce unacceptable weld quality. (Manufacturing
Operations)

Material Input • Produce fabrication department components parts to

print specifications to permit good material fitups in the
welding operations that, in turn, will reduce weld metal
volume and, therefore, lost production labor hours.
(Manufacturing Operations)

Inspect, Measure, and • Supply weld fillet gages to all welders, inspectors and
Report supervisors and train them in their use to measure weld
sizes. (Manufacturing Engineering)
• Develop length and spacing guidelines plus measure-
ment for intermittent welds. (Design Engineering)
• Train welders in the essential welding variables to
achieve consistently sized and shaped welds. (Manu-
facturing Operations)

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Table 4. Summary of Recommendations

from Survey and Evaluation (Continued)
Monitoring and Auditing • Set up system for monitoring and auditing (Manufac-
turing Operations and Quality Assurance).
• Implement a welding shift reporting system that will pro-
vide a way for welders to report problem situations
occurring on their shift that cause unintended changes.
The issues reported can then be passed on to the Four
Critical Functions for corrective action.(Manufacturing
Operations)

Corrective Action • Correct root causes to prevent unwanted change.

(Manufacturing Operations and Quality Assurance)

Reporting • Summarizes measurements into meaningful report for

management decision-making. (Quality Assurance)

The recommendations in Table 4 are the basis for action plans to

reduce weld metal volume as well as address other overall issues that
will lead to additional savings in other Welding Do’s.
In Company B the Management Planning and Goal Setting meeting
under the leadership of the company President, the following decisions
and action plans were made regarding priorities, projects, and resources:
1. Priority Goal No. 1—Reduce Weld Metal Volume.
2. Savings Goal:
• First year—75% of $625,000 or $470,000.
• Second year and beyond—$625,000/year based on the latest
findings and recommendations and acceptance by the welding
steering team.
3. Resources for this project would depend on the resources needed
for all of the other project work assignments being done
simultaneously with this project. For example, the Reduction of
Arc Time per Weldment addresses some of the same Key Results
Areas as the Reduction of Weld Metal Volume.
4. Project Team Leader to be senior welding or manufacturing
engineer. Reports to senior management on a monthly basis.
5. Welding Steering Team review meeting—held twice a month to
review progress, make changes as required, and assure resources
are adequate. Project Team Leader is always in attendance.
Each of the Recommended Action items from the recommendations
section of the Survey and Evaluation report is given to each of the Four
Critical Function managers. Each develops a detailed action plan
consistent with the timetable and goals agreed to. The welding steering
team, in the project review meetings, then reviews these.

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 PHASE II—MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

The above is an example of an approach of how a Management

Planning and Goal Setting process might be conducted. As you can see,
Phase I of The Method begins with defining the opportunities for
improvement which are then summarized in a Survey and Evaluation
report. This report summarizes the potential cost savings opportunities
from both wasted labor hours and filler materials by Welding Do’s with
their respective Key Results Areas and includes Recommended Actions
for each critical function.
For example, one survey observation reported that several welders
on one product line were using different welding parameters and
depositing different fillet weld sizes. The management team recognized
that corrective action of just a few Key Results Areas would save
considerable wasted labor hours and filler materials. This was identified
by the management team as “low hanging fruit” that could fall directly to
the company’s bottom line as increased profits with little effort to
implement and no capital investment.
As another example, if it were observed that many welders were not
using the proper welding procedures and techniques for a particular type
of weld, then a welder skills training program would be an appropriate
project. In Phase II the projects are identified, prioritized and laid out in
detail on a Gantt chart.
Below are some additional examples of recommendations from
another Survey and Evaluation.
1. Training should focus initially on the welding process variables and
techniques that will achieve consistently sized fillet welds. By
controlling wire feed speed, arc voltage and the other welding
variables, the weld bead size and shape can be effectively controlled.
2. Shop floor control of weld metal volume should include
corrective action for oversized welds. Grinding to reduce weld
bead size is not appropriate; therefore a weld leader or an
Internal Welder Trainer should work with the welders who
produce excessive weld bead sizes to review the welder’s
techniques and applied welding procedures.
Chapter 12 of this book will present a complete case study of how a
150-year old company transformed itself to improved quality and
productivity through the application of the principles and concepts of
Total Welding Management. As stated by the five-generation family
member President “it was the right thing to do for welding.”

Recap
Before we move on to getting the results, which happens in Phase
III—Implement and Sustain, let’s review what we have learned about
Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting.

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1.Management Planning and Goal Setting is the second phase of

the three phases of The Method to Total Welding Management
where the company management team does the detail planning
from the data provided from the Survey and Evaluation for
successful weld quality and productivity improvement. The
quality of this step determines the degree of success in achieving
potential improvements.
2. Since the planning and goal setting includes the Four Critical
Functions and represents a major commitment of resources, top
management must lead it. Change for improvement only
happens with management commitment, involvement, and a
plan. A complete detailed project plan with a project manager is
both required.
3. The example of Company B demonstrates the process that top
management and the management team goes through to
evaluate the Survey results and recommendations, set priorities,
agree on goals, identify needs and assign resources, develop
action plans and set up to manage the improvement process
through frequent project team meetings and management
reports.
Now that we have learned how to evaluate the Phase I Survey and
Evaluation Results, and how to complete the Phase II Management
Planning and Goal Setting process, let’s move on to making it happen,
Phase III—Implement and Sustain. This is where the management team
begins to learn the new way to manage projects as well as the entire
welding process to achieve improved company profitability.

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 Chapter 11
Phase III—Implement and Sustain

Getting and Maintaining Results

This is the chapter we have all been waiting for—getting and

maintaining improvements in weld quality and productivity. This is
where you get the real results, leading to greater profitability for your
company. The bottom line of Total Welding Management, is taking
ownership of your company welding management system.
In this Chapter we will:
1. Show how the plans developed in the Management Planning and
Goal Setting process are put into place to get results.
2. Discuss how the Six Managerial Steps are used in this third and
final phase of The Method—Implement and Sustain.
3. Discuss the important role that training, both management and
technical, plays in the success in Total Welding Management.
4. Discuss how projects are managed through the implementation
phase to ensure success.
5. Review some of the actual results that have been accomplished
by companies.
6. Discuss how to deal with resistance that will occur when people
have to do things differently than they have in the past.

Six Managerial Steps

Let’s begin by reviewing the Six Managerial Steps that are the
management framework for the three phases of The Method and key to
the implementation phase (see Table 5).
We will now focus on all Six Managerial Steps, which taken together,
comprise the framework for Phase III—Implement and Sustain.
Teamwork, team building and training are stressed in this final phase
as knowledge and experience is transferred to your people. Learning and
applying the Six Managerial Steps to each of the major projects will lead
to successful results.

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CHAPTER 11

Table 5. The Six Managerial Steps, Defined

Managerial Steps Definition

1. Information Gathering and Collecting, recording, and analyzing data to build

Analysis improvement opportunities. The data gathered
provides the basis for comparing performance
before and after implementation.

2. Planning and Goal Setting
The total project is developed and goals are
established. Assignments are made and schedules
are set. Methods to assure development and
implementation of the program are established.
Measurements for program performance are
developed.

3. Training All personnel who work with the implementation

are trained in the detail of their individual responsi-
bilities, how the overall program works, what the
goals are, what changes are to be made, and when
the program is to start.

4. Implementation and Fine The program is put into action. It is closely moni-
Tuning tored on a trial basis to insure that all necessary
details are covered. On the job follow-up training is
also part of this step.

5. Measurement and Control
This step monitors and collects data on the
program performance to assure improvement and
program continuation. All measurements are
analyzed for comparison to the goals. Feedback is
given including any deviations.

6. Reporting and Corrective Taken to reverse undesirable trends or correct

Action unwanted changes.

The goal of Total Welding Management through Phase III of The

Method is for you and your management team to be comfortable with the
management tools and be able to manage your welding operations
through their application and use. As TWM is implemented ongoing
management processes are put in place so that all gains in welding
quality and productivity and sustained and improved over time.
With these goals in mind for Phase III, let’s return to Company B and
walk through how they handled the implementation phase using the
goals and the action plans from the Management Planning and Goal
Setting phase. This example and exercise is intended to illustrate the
principles of the Implement and Sustain phase, and is not intended to
represent a complete Phase III.

134

Company B’s goal was to reduce weld metal volume with a savings
potential of $625,000 per year based on potential annualized savings
detailed in the Survey and Evaluation report
The major Key Results Areas for Company B to achieve the goal of
Reduce Weld Metal Volume are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Key Results Area for Company B
Key Results Area
1. Weld Size Determination
Design engineers that understand how
to design weld size by calculation and
how weld joints react under various
types of loading versus guesstimation
or rule of thumb methods will have a far
better chance of reducing weld metal
volume to its minimum amount.
2. Weld Joint Selection
Design engineers should work closely
with Manufacturing Engineering to
choose the weld joint that will result in
the least amount of weld metal deposit
for a given welding process.
3. Weldment Specification
Design engineers have standards for
weld design and clearly specify require-
ments on the engineering prints to help
eliminate over welding and lead to pure
Reduction of Weld Metal Volume.
4. Workmanship Standards
Clear and concise weld quality stan-
dards remove judgmental differences
of what is acceptable and unaccept-
able on the shop floor.
5. Method and Procedure Development
Clear, consistent work methods and
welding procedures that define welding
parameters for each weld and are fol-
lowed by the welders to prevent over
welding leads to Reduction of Weld
Metal Volume.
PHASE III—IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN
Actions
• Reduce weld sizes to minimize weld
metal deposit. (Design Engineering)
• Tighten component parts tolerances to
improve parts fitup. (Design Engineering)
• Assure welders apply weld sizes as
specified. (Manufacturing Operations)
• Reevaluate weld joint design to
Reduce Weld Metal Volume. (Design
Engineering)
• Select best welding process, electrode
type and size to increase filler metal dep-
osition rates to compliment new weld
joint design. (Manufacturing Engineering)
• Develop welding specification to
address how weld sizes of all type weld
joints should be assigned to engineer-
ing prints. (Design Engineering)
• Develop a written Workmanship Stan-
dard document and build sample
boards showing the acceptable/unac-
ceptable welds for the shop floor.
(Manufacturing Engineering)
• Develop and qualify welding proce-
dures for each electrode size and type,
which define amperage/wire feed
speed, and the other welding variables
to produce correct size welds and bead
shapes. (Manufacturing Engineering)
• Assure that the welders follow the weld-
ing procedures after they have been
developed. (Manufacturing Operations)
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CHAPTER 11

Table 6. Key Results Area for Company B (Continued)

Key Results Area Actions

6. Personnel Training and Qualification
Fully trained and qualified welders
know how to control the welding vari-
ables, understand the workmanship
standards, follow the welding proce-
dures, and therefore, do not over weld,
thus Reducing Weld Metal Volume.
• Develop qualification criteria for all per-
sonnel involved in welding to include
the welding process, knowledge of the
print specifications and workmanship
standards, weld size measurement
and length, and welding techniques.
(Manufacturing Operations)
• Develop welder requalification and
re-certification testing program as
needed. (Manufacturing Engineering)

7. Material Input • Set up system to monitor and

Parts that have proper material fitups
or minimum gaps Reduce Weld Metal
Volume.
audit material fitup problems. (Quality
Assurance)
• Take corrective action by either chang-
ing the component parts design or cor-
rect the up stream manufacturing
process. (Support Functions)

8. Inspect, Measure and Report • Establish welding quality guidelines

Welders inspect their own work, super-
visors monitor the welders, and Quality
Assurance audits the welding process,
reports deviations, identifies causes
and assures corrective action is taken.
(workmanship standards) for welders.
(Manufacturing Engineering)
• Supply weld fillet gages so that weld-
ers can check their own weld sizes.
(Manufacturing Engineering)
• Put in place a shop floor control system
to identify oversized welds, analyze
cause and take corrective action to
eliminate. (Quality Assurance)

9. Corrective Action • Support functions take actions thus

Eliminate causes of overwelding. reducing excess weld metal to correct
root cause of poor volume material
fitups. (Support Functions)

Company B therefore has nine Key Results Areas to focus on and a

number of projects for each to achieve the goal of reducing weld metal
volume. The details, resources and time lines for these projects were
developed from the Management Planning and Goal Setting phase and
finalized at the beginning of Phase III—Implement and Sustain. Each of
these projects is laid out in detail. Figure 35 is an example of the project
detail to support one of the Key Results Areas using a project log sheet.
The other projects are outlined in the same manner to establish time lines,
responsibilities, action steps, and measures. This document is also used in
the management review process for the project.

136
 PROJECT GOAL Date Planned Actual
Reduce Weld Metal Volume Start
WORK PROJECT Complete
Set up system to monitor fitup problems and take corrective action Implement

Management Design Manufacturing Manufacturing Quality

Project Steps Team Engineering Engineering Operations Assurance Management

Develop project steps. X X X X X

Gather information required (standards, etc.). X X X X

Draft system procedures, forms, and measures. X

Review system procedures and forms, including X X X X X X

measurements.

Revise as necessary. X

Train shop personnel in procedures of system. X

PHASE III—IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN

Perform trial run of system. X X

Modify as required. X

Start up system in shop. X

Monitor results daily. X

Report on measures and results monthly. X X

RESPONSIBILITIES:
PROJECT COORDINATOR: Manufacturing Engineering
137

Figure 35. Project Log Sheet for Company B

CHAPTER 11

The Implement and Sustain phase begins with the core team
awareness training. Training is conducted over a two to three day period
with top management and includes the managers of the Four Critical
Functions and other selected representative personnel that are often times
members of the welding steering team. An outside expert in Total
Welding Management generally conducts this level of training.
As a result of this training, the participants will understand the concepts
and principles of the Total Welding Management System and be able to
apply them to effectively manage their own company projects and have a
good feel for the training requirements for the balance of the program.
Figure 36 shows an example of Company B’s Gantt chart for the
projects to support priority goal No. 1—Reduce Weld Metal Volume. The
projects are sequenced so that tasks that need to be done first are
completed to support subsequent Key Results Areas and activities. This
example is for the purpose of clarifying and understanding.
By laying out this summary Gantt chart, the overall project goal of
one Welding Do can be reviewed by management to see if the supporting
actions have been started and are completed on time. The project chart
serves as a good management tool to see how the overall project is
progressing.
The above example of Company B, focusing on the goal to Reduce
Weld Metal Volume, is an illustration of the process used to set up an
overall project plan. The approach now generally taken for the Total
Welding Management System implementation is to work on all Five
Welding Do’s across each of the Key Results Areas with the Four Critical
Functions as an integrated company-wide project. Typically one
production area or product line is re-engineered by addressing all the
opportunity issues and then released to the newly created production
environment. In the Chapter 12 case study, you will see an integrated
project plan that takes this approach. With this approach, the Total Welding
Management System was successfully put in place at this company.
To assure results, most companies meet as a Welding Steering Team
bimonthly. In this meeting, the status of all projects is reviewed in detail
by each manager responsible. Any resource constraints are addressed
and resolved. Planned activities for the next two weeks are reviewed.
Performance measures that give the Welding Steering Team a report card
on results achieved to date is also reviewed. If results are not being
achieved, management must gain an understanding of why and agree on
corrective action.

Measurement and Reporting

The last two of the Six Managerial Steps is to put in place proper
measurements and reporting. The purpose of the measurements is to

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 Goal: Reduce Weld Metal Volume Project
Potential Savings: $625,000/year

Months of the Year

Projects Responsibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Train Management and the project team in the Total Top Management X
Welding Management System. and Consultant

Train Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Consultant X X X

Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance per-
sonnel in what each needs to know to execute their task
assignments.

Develop Weldment Specification. Design Engineering X

Redesign weldment and component parts to achieve Design Engineering X X X X

reduced weld metal volume, better material fitups and
process accessibility.

PHASE III—IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN

Develop Workmanship Standards. Manufacturing Engineering X X

Develop application welding procedures for each different Manufacturing Engineering X X X

weld size and weld joint type.

Build sample board for various type weld joints showing Manufacturing Engineering X X X
acceptable/unacceptable quality criteria.

Design and build a physical quality/production mockup Manufacturing Engineering X X X

to represent every size and type weld used on the shop
floor.

Figure 36. Project Gantt Chart for Company B

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CHAPTER 11
Months of the Year

Projects Responsibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Redesign existing welding fixtures and new fixtures Manufacturing Engineering X X X

where needed to properly tighten material fitups and
place the weld joint in the best position for the least
amount of weld metal deposit.

Put system in place to identify poor material fitups and Quality Assurance X
oversized welds, analyze cause, and take corrective
action.

Correct component parts fitup problems. Manufacturing Operations X X X X

Set up and implement system to monitor material fitup Quality Assurance X

problems and take corrective action.

Supply weld fillet gages to welders, inspectors, and Manufacturing Operations X

supervisors to check weld sizes

Train supervisors, inspectors, and welders in the use of Manufacturing Operations X X X X X

engineering prints and welding symbols, Workmanship
Performance Standards and sample board, quality/
production mockup and the weld fillet gage. All focus on
reduced weld metal volume.

Figure 36. Project Gantt Chart for Company B (Continued)

 PHASE III—IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN

quantify current performance against a benchmark and measure project

progress. Each major project needs some measurement. Reporting is then
summarized with the measurements into a report so that management
knows what progress is being made and how to make the right decisions
for program success.
Let’s take a few examples from the Company B projects and identify
some appropriate measurements (see Table 7).

Table 7. Appropriate Measurements from the Company B Projects

Goal: Reduce Weld Metal Volume Project
Potential Savings: $625,000/year

Project Responsibility Measures

Evaluate weld joint types Design Engineering • Number of welds reviewed per
and reduce weld sizes. month vs. number of weld joints
and/or sizes reduced.

Develop weldment Design Engineering • Number of standards estab-

specification. lished monthly vs. total required.

Set up system to monitor Quality Assurance • Number of material fitup

material fitup problems problems reported monthly.
and take corrective • Number of corrective actions
action. taken.

For Company B, the overall goal measures could be as simple as:

1. Weld length and/or filler electrode deposited per welder based
on filler metal requirements for a given weldment or time period.
This should decrease as weld metal volume requirements
decrease.
2. With all other variables constant, as the weld metal volume is
decreased, the number of weldments produced should increase.
3. Standard hour output versus attendance hour. This would also
give overall productivity improvement measure.

Typical Results
We are now moving forward, taking action, getting measurable
results, and have a measurement system in place to tell us how we are
doing. So what can we expect over the long run as we implement all the
goals and recommendations from the Phase I—Survey and Evaluation
and move to Total Welding Management? What have just a few
companies been able to achieve?
• A U.S. barge builder with 450 welders saved millions of dollars a
year.

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• A U.S. hospital bed manufacturer with 150 welders saved

millions, reduced warranty costs and met FDA compliance.
• A U.S. fan manufacturer with 56 welders saved over a million
dollars a year.
• A U.S. mining machinery manufacturer with 88 welders saved
over a million dollars or $13,000 per welder a year.
• A truck manufacturer saved over $3 million a year by adopting
the philosophy of Total Welding Management throughout their
company operations.
• Another U.S. barge builder with 150 welders had a potential
savings of $5.5 million or $36,000 per welder.
Typical savings have ranged from $15,000 to $25,000 per welder a
year. Your company’s savings will be unique to your set of conditions. The
determinant is how well you apply the concepts and principles and
disciplines covered in this book, and specifically, how well you and your
staff are trained in Total Welding Management and how well you embrace
and follow its concepts and principles. The improvements are there for
your harvesting. They are based on engineering facts, easily proven.

Resistance to Change
Another important factor in success is overcoming the resistance that
you will encounter as you begin to change the way your welding
operations are managed. This begins with the Four Critical Functions as
their role changes to one of serving the welder and welding crews. In
some cases, support personnel will be asked to do their job differently
and they sometimes resist. However, as they gain new knowledge, get
involved and apply that new knowledge, attitudes and motivation will
change as they are called on to improve their responsiveness to welding
issues as they occur.
To overcome this resistance, it is important that everyone involved in
the project is trained in the concepts and principles of Total Welding
Management. They then will understand why the changes are being
made and how they will help the company overall to improve weld
quality and productivity. As resistance occurs during implementation, it
must be dealt with quickly and effectively to assure that it does not
poison the project. This is a key top management responsibility.

Recap
Let’s summarize the key points from this critical chapter:
1. Phase III, the implementation phase of The Method is where the
recommendations from the Survey and Evaluation—Phase I, and
the goals and plans from the Management Planning and Goal
Setting—Phase II are put into action to accomplish results.

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2. Training top management, the management team and key project

team members in the Total Welding Management System as well
as any technical aspects of welding is essential to success in
achieving planned results.
3. The Six Managerial Steps provide the framework for
implementing Total Welding Management.
The final two managerial steps, measurement and control,
and reporting provide the means to track progress on each
project, plus provide the base data for determining if overall
project goals are being met. They sound the alarm when
corrective action may be required.
4. Project management is essential to assure that all actions are
being taken as and when agreed and that resources are assigned.
An overall project plan and supporting detailed action plans with
a monthly management review is essential to assure success. A
full-time project manager also needs to be assigned. Project
management tools such as project plans, a welding project
steering team and management reports are also essential.
5. The consultant’s role in the implementation phase is to train the
management team in the concepts and principles of the Total
Welding Management System, including the use of the Six
Managerial Steps. They can also provide any technical training
and welder related training required, as well as assist in the
monthly management reviews to assure top management that
the project is progressing. The consultant’s goal in this phase is to
transfer knowledge and project responsibility to your team. They
also become the catalyst to follow the plan and recommend
changes when needed to address the unwanted change.
6. Typical companies have savings potential of $15,000 to $25,000
per welder per year. The actual range of savings potential is from
$10,000 to $35,000 or more per welder per year. Actual potential
in your company depends on your unique situation, and is
quantified with recommended actions in the Survey and
Evaluation Phase.
Now that I have shared with you the details of how to get the results
of welding productivity and quality improvement, the next chapter will
illustrate the use of concepts and principles of the Total Welding
Management System through an actual comprehensive case study.
Let’s now move to the complete case study of a 150-year-old truck
body manufacturer who has achieved organization change resulting in
significant profit improvement from Total Welding Management.

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 Chapter 12
Case Study

Knapheide Manufacturing Company

Throughout this book you have been reading about Total Welding
Management, the Total Welding Management System and The Method
and how a company can be more profitable and competitive through its
use.
This chapter reviews the experience of one company that adopted the
Total Welding Management philosophy, with its principals and concepts
throughout their company. By using the model of the Barckhoff Welding
Management System and the Barckhoff Method they created their own
Knapheide Welding Management System that has led to significant
improvements in their welding quality and productivity and helped
them meet some very critical competitive market challenges. Here is their
story.
The Knapheide Manufacturing Company is a 150-year-old company
producing truck-mounted bodies and other equipment for a variety of
OEM customers. As in most businesses today, Knapheide was faced with
increasing pressures to lower costs and improve quality both by their
major customers and their competitors
The top management of Knapheide Manufacturing Company saw in
the total welding management approach, an opportunity to address
issues to help lower their total cost of manufacturing.
In this chapter we will review the process that Knapheide used to
achieve improved weld quality and productivity and as a result a better
competitive position in the market place, which has led to improved
profitability.
Knapheide began the journey to Total Welding Management by
participating in an initial Phase I—Survey and Evaluation to assess their
potential improvement opportunities in welding quality and
productivity and to identify the areas of greatest potential.
The review began with a tour of the Knapheide facilities by Barckhoff
Welding Management personnel, along with key managers of
Knapheide. During the visit, Knapheide management discussed a

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number of welding and welding related problems in their operations.

After the completion of the initial tour, an open discussion was held
between Knapheide management and Barckhoff personnel to gain a clear
understanding of the improvements that Knapheide was seeking. The
following improvements were identified:
• Product Quality. Knapheide management recognized the need
to both improve the quality of the product delivered to
their customers as well as to reduce their internal costs of
quality in rework, scrap, and lost productivity. With increasing
customer pressures on both quality and costs, this was a high
priority.
• Weld Consistency. During the plant tour, it was observed that
weld sizes varied from welder to welder for the same or similar
products. The tendency at Knapheide had been to over weld,
which led to high welding costs. The goal was to assure that all
welding should consistently be in accordance with engineering
requirements as to weld size, length, position and visual quality
and cosmetic appearance.
• Training. Knapheide management recognized that welder
training was essential to improve quality and productivity. This
included both new hires and cross training of current personnel.
The goal was to ensure that all current as well as newly hired
welders met weld quality and productivity standards on their
first day of production.
• Production Capacity. Knapheide management also wanted to
maximize output from both the welding production lines and
final assembly. This was important, as there was need to increase
their capacity utilization. The typical measure of capacity
utilization is output per square foot of floor space. Knapheide
realized that if they could accomplish this, it would help improve
the company’s overall return on capital investment and allow
them to increase capacity quickly without additional capital
investment.
After discussions of the above improvement objectives between
Barckhoff personnel and Knapheide management, Knapheide recognized
that these objectives could be achieved by developing a Knapheide
Welding Management System, based on the concepts and principles of
the Barckhoff Welding Management System.
Knapheide management then agreed to begin the process by
conducting a Phase I—Survey and Evaluation, that would provide them
with an in-depth assessment of the welding operations, issues and
problems, root causes and recommended actions.

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Phase I—Survey Results

The survey and subsequent evaluation revealed several significant
welding issues that presented opportunities for improvement in both
weld quality and productivity. In summary, they are as follows:
1. Overwelding was observed to be a general problem caused by
the fact that design drawings did not have weld symbols, and
welders were being told to make larger than required welds.
Knapheide management had generally believed that
overwelding produced stronger and better quality welds.
2. Welding parameters being followed by the welders were
incorrect; specifically the wire feed speed rates were lower than
they should be, resulting in lower than expected filler metal
deposition rates, therefore, lower welding travel speeds and loss
of productivity. This caused the welding arc time per unit
weldment to be longer than necessary.
3. Rework and repair was not being tracked, resulting in a
significant amount of rework occurring without any corrective
action. This rework and repair was being included in the work
efficiency of the welders and not being addressed and
corrected.
4. Numerous examples were found in the workstations of excessive
welder work effort along with wasted motion and delay time
caused by lack of parts availability, poor fixtures, poor material
fitup and equipment condition.
All of the above information was documented and reported in a
comprehensive survey report and distributed to top management for
their review and understanding. It was also given to the managers in
charge of the Four Critical Functions for their review and study regarding
the observation and recommendations contained within the report.
One change that Knapheide recognized in the early phases of their
journey to Total Welding Management was the need to give Quality
Assurance more authority and visibility in the organization. Quality
Assurance had been reporting to Manufacturing Operations. As part of
the Knapheide Welding Management System, Quality Assurance now
reports directly to the Vice President of Operations.
The potential annual savings in the Knapheide survey report for each
of the Five Welding Do’s (Goals) is shown in Table 8.
The potential annual production improvement per welder reported
in the survey for each of the Five Welding Do’s is shown in Table 9.
After the Knapheide management team reviewed and discussed the
report in detail, they began to develop a common understanding of what
was needed to be done to gain the improvements outlined in the Survey
and Evaluation report. In order to gain further understanding and

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Table 8. Potential Annual Savings in the Knapheide Survey Report

Goals Hours/Dollars

Reduce Weld Metal Volume 8,452 hours

Consumables and Shielding Gas $29,575.00

Reduce Arc Time per Weldment 5,900 hours

Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap 16,695 hours

Reduce Work Effort and Reduce Motion and Delay Time 57,047 hours

Table 9. Potential Annual Production Improvement per Welder

Percentage
Improvement per
Welding Do’s Welder

1. Reduction of Weld Metal Volume 2.0%

2. Reduction of Arc Time Per Weldment 1.5%

3. Reduction of Rejects, Rework, and Scrap 3.8%

4. Reduction of Work Effort 13.8%

5. Reduction of Motion and Delay Time Included in No. 4 above

Overall Expected Productivity Improvement Potential per 21.1%

Welder

confirmation, the management team began an open dialogue with

another manufacturing company that had previously implemented their
Total Welding Management System using the model of the Barckhoff
Welding Management System and the Barckhoff Method.
This dialogue helped Knapheide management in several ways. It
confirmed the commitment that was necessary to implement the system,
identified problems that had to be overcome, clarified the need for
detailed project planning and management support, confirmed the
potential opportunity for improvement quantified in the survey, and set
realistic expectations regarding the results that could be achieved.
Knapheide continued reviewing the survey report and its
recommendations and the ongoing dialogue and visits with a company
that had implemented the Total Welding Management System. This
process resulted in the Knapheide management team agreeing to begin
the implementation of Total Welding Management. However, before
launching the program, Knapheide elected to jump-start the process with

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two foundation-building projects. They felt two jump-start projects

would formally introduce the Total Welding Management System to
their company and create a common commitment and sense of
understanding throughout the organization as well as gain
improvements in both quality and productivity.

Failed Starting Points

The two projects were 1) improvement of the existing welding
fixtures, and 2) training of the welders to deposit the proper weld sizes
and bead shape.
The first project dealt with welding fixtures and the need for the
fixture designers to be trained to design welding fixtures that were
welder friendly and be able to yield cost effective quality welded
assemblies. This project was necessary because their fixture designers
had followed concepts in fixture design that were applicable to
component part fixturing for machining operations and not for welding
operations. A fixture designer for welding must adopt a different set of
criteria than a machining fixture designer in order to have an effective
fixture.
Basic differences between machining and welding which impact
fixture design include:
1. In welding, multiple parts are made into an assembly by the
addition of weld metal in welding.
2. In machining, a machine fixture is used on a single solid part to
reduce it to new geometric dimensions by the removal of
material.
3. Some additional differences in welding include:
• the loading of multiple loose parts into correct orientation
versus rigidly restraining one part in machining,
• the welder needs process accessibility to all welds in the
welding assembly versus in machining where tool
presentation is important, and
• in welding, compensation for shrinkage and distortion is
required versus machining a stable solid part.
The need for improved welding fixture designs was determined by
Knapheide management to be important enough to be implemented in
advance of any decision to build a Total Welding Management System.
The second project involved taking the truck platform production
line, which for sometime had both quality and productivity welding
issues, and instructing and training the welders for this complex task to
make proper sized and shaped welds following an application welding
procedure with correct Workmanship Standards.

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This project demonstrated that when the welders followed proper

instructions, the weld quality and cosmetic appearance improved, higher
deposition rates decreased arc time per truck platform, and the amount of
grinding of welds and welding rework decreased. However, the
improvements were not sustainable because of the isolated ‘stand alone’
nature of the project, and not a part of the total welding management
approach.
A major reason why the truck platform line project failed was the
lack of support from Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering,
Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance. This lack of support
was due to the fact that the personnel in these critical functions had not
received training in Total Welding Management, nor in their role to
support weld quality and productivity improvement.
Although the welders and their supervisors in the platform area had
received instructions, they were not trained to have a clear understanding
of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of what they were asked to do, nor were they
trained in fundamental welding knowledge to support their
understanding of the instructions they had received.
Also, no monitoring or auditing could be established since the
company had no existing mechanism for supporting this type of activity.
All of those elements were lacking to make this pilot project successful.
All are requirements in a total welding management system. The lack of
success in this project did serve to show why a total systems approach is
necessary to achieve sustainable quality and productivity improvements.
Without a system’s approach, the necessary support, training and
documentation are not available to meet the many needs of the welders
on a day-to-day basis. This experience helped Knapheide to adopt a
systematic, organization-wide approach to Total Welding Management.
As a result of attempting to begin two improvement projects,
Knapheide management recognized and better accepted the need for a
total welding management approach, which must now began with Phase
II—Management Planning and Goal Setting.

Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting

The Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting was
conducted at Knapheide over a two-day period. Barckhoff personnel,
with the senior management of Knapheide, worked to decide what goals
were needed to address their welding concerns and what training,
documentation and projects would be needed to achieve these goals. By
the end of this two-day session, an initial Gantt chart with projects and
timelines was developed that identified all of the agreed upon training
for the different support functions. The plan also included
documentation to clearly set forth the plan details, specifications,

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 CASE STUDY

standard procedures and methods that would be necessary to

successfully carry out welding operations in accordance to the agreed
upon goals and completion dates.
Figure 37 shows a sample portion of the Knapheide Gantt chart that
includes dates for a nineteen month project plan that identified what
training was to be conducted, who will be trained and when. It also
includes the development of all the guideline documentation that needed
to be developed, with specific projects and there start and completion
dates.
The Knapheide management team was now ready to move to Phase
III—Implement and Sustain.

Phase III—Development and Implementation of the Knapheide

Welding Management System
When starting to plan and implement the Knapheide organization-
wide Total Welding Management System, there were two key points
stressed. These two points provided the framework for developing a
comprehensive plan for implementation. The two points were sequence
and pace.

Sequence
Sequence refers to the order in which the development of the
Knapheide Welding Management System was done. The objective of
sequencing was to establish a logical order for training and the creation of
all welding documentation required to properly support the welding
crews.
The approach that Knapheide took to develop and implement their
Total Welding Management System was to complete management
training, technical training, update documentation, and improve the
work environment including management reporting and controls in
place and then train the welding crew for their new environment. In this
way, an entire product or line would realize improvement quicker.
The necessary documentation, training and projects completed first,
prepares the working environment into which the welders are then
placed after their training has been completed. The new working
environment for the welder must contain accurate and complete
engineering prints, workmanship standards, work methods, application
welding procedures, welding fixtures, tools and a Work Center Control
Plan.
To accomplish this complex task, all the personnel from every
department with the support of Knapheide top management and the
Four Critical Function’s had to assist the welders from the very first day

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Figure 37. Integrated Project Plan
 CASE STUDY
153

Figure 37. Integrated Project Plan (Continued)

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CHAPTER 12
Figure 37. Integrated Project Plan (Continued)
 CASE STUDY

following their welder training to implement the Knapheide Total

Welding Management System and the Work Center Control Plan at the
welder workstation.
To accomplish this complex task, every department and function that
impacts the welding operations must be trained and documentation
created to allow them to fulfill this role. All support activities must be
developed and implemented before welder training begins so that when
the welder training is competed, they will reenter a controlled
environment in their welding workstations.

Pace
The second key point critical to achieving the first stage of
implementation is pace. Pace is defined as the rate at which a company
can provide the resources required to complete all the projects for the
implementation of the Total Welding Management System. It is critical
that the proper pace of any project be set so that expectations are realistic.
Total Welding Management requires training and development of
documentation to achieve the goals of welding quality and productivity
improvement. This training and documentation requires a significant
amount of man-hours. The effective use of available resource man-hours
directly impacts management, engineering, and production efforts. To
prevent conflicts that may interfere or stop the development or
implementation of the welding management system, training,
development and implementation a pace must be agreed to, which takes
into account the need for ongoing production demands during the project
period. Even though this is a basic point, without a defined and
communicated schedule with training dates and documentation
completion dates all of these activities will slip because of a lack of
advanced planning. Everyone involved in the TWM project must
understand and support the agreed to sequence and pace of the project
activities.
To recognize the importance of sequence and pace, at the end of
Phase II, Barckhoff personnel developed a rough project Gantt chart, and
subsequently presented it to the Knapheide management team. After
some fine-tuning it became their roadmap to TWM. The chart showed the
order in which training, documentation and project development was to
be done, including the start and completion dates for each activity.

Management Training
After approval of the Gantt chart plan by senior Knapheide
management the training began. The approach that was taken was to
train the critical support functions of Design Engineering, Manufacturing

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Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance first,

and then train the welding crews that consisted of the welders, welding
supervisors and weld leaders. At Knapheide, the supervisors and weld
leaders had been trained separately on what they ‘needed to know’ prior
to attending the welder training sessions.
Because of production demands, the training was scheduled to
minimize interferences with the production schedule. To this end
management training was conducted first. The individuals participating
in this training were the senior managers and department heads that
would partially comprise the Welding Steering Team.
The Welding Steering Team was charged with carrying out all of the
assignments contained in the Gantt chart plan and manage the Total
Welding Management System project, both through implementation, and
after to foster consistency and sustainability. The frequency with which
they met varied with the project requirements of the plan. During the
training, development and implementation phases they met once a week.
The frequency gradually decreased until by the time Knapheide entered
the sustainability phase, they were meeting once a month.
In the Knapheide project plan, the initial management and technical
welding training was conducted for the following groups:
• Management Team
• Design Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Quality Assurance Personnel
• Internal Welder Trainers
• Maintenance Personnel
• Fixture Designers and Builders
• Supervisors
• Weld Leaders

Design Engineering
Following the training of the management team, the Design
Engineers were trained in weld design. This was done in anticipation of
the way system improvements would need to follow the flow of
information. Since Design Engineering must begin the work on
engineering drawings and specifications before the rest of the
organization can begin their work, their training came first. The Gantt
chart was setup to allow the support functions to send participants from
that function through training in small groups so that all members of the
functions would not be away from their regular jobs for more than three
days. Most of the support function training was of three days durations.
Where necessary, the training was broken up and spread over more days
so as to minimize the impact on regular assignments. The Design

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Engineering training was conducted emphasizing the specific Five Key

Results Areas of the Barckhoff Method that applied to Design
Engineering.
Upon completion of the first weld design training class for Design
Engineering, the participants began writing the weldment specification
document. The purpose of this document was to define all product
welding requirements not already contained on the engineering
drawings. The requirements covered the different classes of welds and
the acceptance criteria of each. This weldment specification contained the
requirements for weld quality enabling the production department to
clearly understand the difference between acceptable and unacceptable
defective welds and to apply this knowledge in a practical sense to welds
being made on a day-to-day basis. In addition to the writing of the
weldment specification, members of the Design Engineering group began
putting into practice the training they had received and began making
drawing improvements as recommended in the Survey and Evaluation
report.

Manufacturing Engineering
The training of the Manufacturing Engineering Group also followed
the Key Results Areas as defined in the Barckhoff Method for the
Manufacturing Engineers. Their training began before the last of the
Design Engineering classes. This was done to maintain the pace of the
training after the Design Engineering Group produced the weldment
specification document. This document was then turned over to
Manufacturing Engineering and was used as part of their training.
Manufacturing Engineering then incorporated the weldment
specification into the workmanship standards for the company. This
standard describes the workmanship, welding technique and quality
requirements, and is used as a training document for the welder training,
and also as a working document on the production floor. This document
is then used along side the workmanship sample board and production
mockups that were placed in a Weld Quality and Process Center located
in every welding production department to serve as visual aides for
defining weld quality and product output requirements.
Before Knapheide developed the workmanship standards document,
along with visual workmanship samples and production mockups, there
were no clearly defined quality standards that could be used by the
manufacturing engineers, production welders and the quality control
inspectors. Without these welding standards and visual aids in place, it
was difficult for Knapheide to hold their welders accountable to be their
own inspectors.

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Internal Welder Trainer

The selection and training of the Internal Welder Trainers was one of
the more important tasks in ensuring the success of the Total Welding
Management System at Knapheide. The number of Internal Welder
Trainers needed varies from company to company depending on the
level of welding being done and the number of welders. Based on their
number of welders and the variety of welding, Knapheide set the number
of Internal Welder Trainers at six and designated one of the six as group
leader.
These individuals, once trained, would become the future trainers
and welding technicians for the welding workforce. In addition, these
individuals received training as welding technicians to develop welding
procedures to work in conjunction with the manufacturing engineers to
develop the work methods, to test new fixtures and to serve as a ready
resource to the welding supervisor to address production problems as
they arose.
At Knapheide, the selection of these individuals was done in a
painstaking manner, as they recognized the critical importance of this
role in the overall success of Total Welding Management.
The first important decision was to select the Internal Welder
Trainers from among production employees and leave them as part of the
production workforce. This was done because as trainers to the welders
the Internal Welder Trainers would need to work with the welders on
production parts and that task would be made easier if they were and
remained production employees. Also, when necessary, they could work
on production parts.
The advantage of selecting Internal Welder Trainers from the current
welding work force was their extensive knowledge of the products and
welding being done. The posting for the Internal Welder Trainer
positions was open to all current welders, of which thirty-six applications
were received. The company set up a committee to review the applicant’s
qualifications and interview candidates.
Following their selection, the Internal Welder Trainers went through
three weeks of intensive training to prepare them to perform their duties.
This training consisted of teaching the science of welding and includes
other topics such as the evaluation of various welding processes and the
development of qualified and documented welding procedures. Most
importantly, they were taught how to work with welders, how to teach,
using both lecture and demonstration, and the “how-to” train welders to
understand and control the science of welding by application of the
essential welding variables of each specific welding process used.
As part of the Internal Welder Trainer training program, they were
taught to prepare a workmanship samples board and production

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mockups. The workmanship sample boards contained examples of both

acceptable and unacceptable welds that demonstrated the various
attributes of each weld such as, porosity, undercut and weld bead profile
as defined in the weldment specification developed by Design
Engineering.
The mockups of the company’s products were also used to
demonstrate the location, size and shape of the required welds. The
quality of the welds in the mockups was deliberately made to be neither
the best nor the minimum of the acceptable quality, but somewhat
average. These workmanship sample boards and mockups were then set
up in the area of each of the product lines as part of the Weld Quality and
Process Center.
The Weld Quality and Process Centers established by the Internal
Welder Trainers at Knapheide was a multi-use tool that served as an
example and reminder of the type of welds expected. The centers were
also established to serve as a teaching and training aid for the supervisors
and the Internal Welder Trainers to work with welders who may be
having welding performance difficulties.
The Weld Quality and Process Centers consist of the workmanship
sample board, welding production mockups, the workmanship
standards, work methods and welding procedures, blueprints and
welding process prints. The Work Center Control Plan and a flow chart of
how the welding management system works was also included. Anyone
who needed to understand how the welding management system works
could find the answers in the Weld Quality and Process Centers.

Maintenance Training and Documentation

Knapheide recognized from the Survey and Evaluation Report’s
recommendations that one area of welder support that had a direct effect
on the day-to-day welding quality and productivity was the maintenance
department. At Knapheide, as in most maintenance departments, the
existing maintenance system was more a “run it until it breaks” approach
rather than preventative maintenance. This approach led to quality
problems when equipment that was not performing properly continued
to be used. It also led to production problems when breakdowns finally
occurred resulting in downtime while the equipment was being repaired
or replaced.
To change this situation, the maintenance department personnel
needed to be trained in the principles of Total Welding Management and
their important role in the system. This training was followed by the
development of a written Preventative Maintenance Plan and
Procedures. The Preventative Maintenance Plan defined the “how” and
“when” welding and other equipment in the workstation was to be

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checked, what checks the welder was to make on the equipment each
shift and what checks were to be made by the maintenance department.
The procedures also detailed the response and response time expected
from maintenance for equipment breakdowns that would get the welding
workstations back in service with the minimum amount of downtime.
Some of the significant improvements that occurred with this effort
were a reduction in the number of quality problems related to equipment
and a reduction of welder lost time due to equipment breakdowns.
Knapheide also realized a sizeable reduction in the usage of welding
equipment consumables and replacement parts and a subsequent savings
of maintenance personnel time needed to repair welding equipment.
A further example of the effectiveness of the preventive maintenance
program at Knapheide was the reduction of breakdowns in welding gun
and cable assemblies from an average of eight to ten units per day to an
average of two to three units per day.

Welding Fixtures
Another area that Knapheide recognized needed improvement, as
part of their total welding management program, was fixtures and gages.
This was recognized as an early priority from the results of the Survey.
At Knapheide, welding fixtures play an important role in both
locating and positioning parts correctly to produce cost effective and
quality weldments. Unfortunately, far too many welding fixtures were
poorly designed. One of the major causes of this appeared to be the fact
that the welding fixture designers were originally trained as machining
fixture designers.
Poor welding process accessibility to weld joints was a major
problem with the design of welding fixtures. This led to conditions where
parts loaded into the fixture could only be tack welded and then had to be
removed to be finish welded, which was both time consuming and
counterproductive. In other cases, due to poor process accessibility, only
a few of the welds were made in the fixture. Then the partially welded
components had to be removed, the part flipped over and the remainder
of the welds completed outside of the fixture. In other instances, the
poorly designed welding fixtures had no provision such as spring tension
releases. After the welding was completed the part was difficult to
remove or had be removed by beating it out of the welding fixture. In
almost all cases such fixtures were either modified by the welders to
make them more serviceable or they were abandoned.
From the survey, Knapheide recognized that these conditions led to
poor fixture design and took steps to correct the condition even before
Phase III began.

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Barckhoff personnel trained and worked with the fixture designers

on both existing and new welding fixtures to instill in them correct
welding fixture design principles, throughout Phase III—Implement and
Sustain. This training was also given to other individuals that designed
fixtures. The following are the welding fixture design concepts that all of
the fixture designers were taught and expected to follow with every
existing and new welding fixture design:
• Welding fixtures will rotate and/or spin, when applicable, to
permit the welder to bring the weld joints to him in the proper
position for welding, not continually having to walk around the
fixture to reach the weld joint.
• Welding fixtures, where possible, should not be designed as
tacking fixtures, requiring the assembly to be removed before
welding, but should be welded complete while still held in the
fixture.
• Welding fixtures should be designed for maximum welding
process accessibility to allow welders to properly position the
welding gun or electrode and their heads so as to see the weld
puddle, eliminating blind welds.
Gradually, through the application of these welding fixture design
concepts and the review of existing welding fixtures to determine if they
met these concepts, Knapheide improved the quality of their welding
fixtures.
After training, the Internal Welder Trainers began to work with the
welders, and proof the welding fixtures off line to see that the fixtures
supported the goals of:
• Reducing arc time per weldment.
• Locating the weld joints in the most favorable welding position.
• Reduce component parts handling time.
• Reduce welder work effort and fatigue.
• Reduce floor-to-floor assembly cycle time.
• Reduce operator error.
• Improve weld quality.
• Reduce motion and delay time by introducing the concept of
bringing the work to the welder.

Welding Gages
Knapheide also reviewed the survey recommendations and took
action to supply and make available weld measurement gages for the
welders so they could check and verify their own work.
The weld gages most often found missing from the welding
operations were the fillet gages, reinforcing gages, and weld preparation
gages used to check gapping and weld preparation of plate and pipe

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edges. There exists in the welding industry virtually all the welding
gages that any manufacturing firm doing welding could need. Designing
such a unique or special purpose gage can resolve any exceptions, due to
special circumstances. However, the presence much less the use of such
gages, is nearly nonexistent in many companies. Even in companies
where such gages are found there is no plan for their use. Such was the
case with Knapheide. They did not have gages and, therefore, did not
check weld sizes. They also did not measure the weld lengths being
deposited.
This lack of measurement using weld gages lead to consistent
overwelding. The welders had no idea that they were even doing
something that was not required. Knapheide addressed this situation
during the welder training when the weld gages were distributed to the
welders and supervisors and instructions were provided to ensure that
they could use the gages correctly. Both the welders and their supervisors
were expected to check weld sizes daily. By continually checking a
percentage of their welds, Knapheide welders developed the ability to
recognize when they were making welds of the correct size and length
and thus reduced overwelding.

Supervisors
Knapheide recognized that from a support point of view the welding
supervisor is a critical position in the welding management system.
The bulk of all contacts with the welders on each shift are through the
welding supervisors. Besides written instructions such as the engineering
prints, workmanship standards, work methods and welding procedures,
the welders look to the supervisor for support.
Too often, welding supervisors are used as parts expediters and
material “gofers” to keep their welding product lines or departments
running, instead of being used to support welding quality and
productivity on the production floor. Rather than spending their time
making their area of responsibility more cost effective to support the
welder, they were spending a considerable amount of their time chasing
down design or manufacturing engineering, or component parts
fabrication problems that were discovered in the welding department. In
essence what has happened is that in most companies the welding
supervisors have ceased being supervisors. One of the goals of the
support function training at Knapheide was to move the responsibility
for dealing with these other problems, now being handled by the welding
supervisors, back to the departments where they belonged and to teach
the supervisors how to be welding supervisors and a better support to the
welders.

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The training of welding supervisors at Knapheide thoroughly

covered the “science and art” of welding. Many, had never been welders,
and lacked the confidence to properly support the welders using the
Work Center Control Plan. Training in the effect and control of the
welding variable significantly shortened their learning time span and
gave them the confidence they needed to work with experienced welders.
The welding supervisors were also taught the requirements of the
system from a weld metrics standpoint, and how to properly monitor the
welding operations in their department by the use of monitoring sheets to
detect, identify and correct situations when they occur to get the welding
back under control.

Work Center Control Plan

As part of the Knapheide Welding Management System, they
recognized that they needed to put in place a control mechanism, which
would track performance against planned production in a given
workstation and respond effectively to deviations from plan. This became
their Work Center Control Plan.
When planning for a successful workstation, besides development of
the fixtures, equipment, work methods and welding procedures, a plan is
needed to detail how problems are to be handled. In the course of any
welding shift, in even the best run operations, situations arise that
potentially will result in quality problems or loss of production time. For
example, a dimensional problem with a fabricated part may result in an
excessive gap that can lead to a poor quality weld or welding equipment
that is not working correctly or is broken down. These are situations that
threaten to disrupt the quality or productivity output of the workstation.
The Work Center Control Plan was designed to address those situations
by identifying a responsible individual for corrective action (an actor)
with a response and, in some cases, a response time.
In essence, their Work Center Control Plan is used to identify every
type of situation that could or, in most cases, has occurred in the welding
workstations. These situations, then have a ‘resource’ identified. This
could include the supervisor, one of the support functions such as Design
Engineering, or Maintenance, and the type of response. The response is
defined in terms of how the resource will get the situation resolved in the
shortest period of time to allow the welder to return to productive work.
By identifying the resource and the response, it is possible to work with
the support department or whomever the resource is to make sure that
they are properly prepared to support the production workstations.
This support is somewhat different from the type of support that was
provided during the preparation of the workstation. In the preparation
stage the support was in the form of providing what was thought would

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be needed to make a productive workstation. In the resource role, the

need is to provide a corrective action in a timely manner. In many cases it
is to get the workstation operating again.
An example of these two types of support is maintenance, which has
both the responsibility to see that equipment is in good working order
and that proper preventive maintenance is carried out. However, should
that piece of equipment breakdown, the maintenance department as a
resource will need to address the situation in a timely manner such as
within ten minutes after receiving the breakdown call. At this time they
must be prepared to either fix the equipment or switch the equipment out
for a replacement unit that is in good working order.
Knapheide’s Work Center Control Plan has allowed for the
resolution and future prevention of numerous situations, which
previously would have resulted in defective welded assemblies, and lost
production time.

Welder Training
After all Knapheide support function personnel had been trained and
had time to generate and implement the guideline documentation
originating in each functional area, they began training of the welders.
Again, the purpose of training the welders last was to allow time for
all the support functions to begin preparing the workstations for the
welders return after their training. In this way, the training that the
welders received prepared them for the work environment that they
would return to and allowed them to begin using the training that they
had just received while it was still fresh in their minds. The old adage, “If
you don’t use it, you lose it,” is important in training, as training needs to
be conducted “just in time” to be most effective.
Upon completion of the training, the welders began to follow the
welding management system. The startup of production in the new
control areas soon resulted in occurrences, which were not in accordance
with the Work Center Control Plan. When these situations occurred such
as engineering print errors, missing parts or missed dimensions, the
welders were taught to record and turn into their supervisors the
problem on an Operator Shift Report, which documented and described
the problems. This Operator Shift Report was used to track problems and
then assign them to a support function for corrective action.

Operator Shift Report

During the development and training phase for the Welding
Management System at Knapheide, the creation and subsequent daily use
of the Operator Shift Report by the welders raised some concern. As in all
organizations, the creation of paperwork must be evaluated against the

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good gained from its use. The Operator Shift Report was created to allow
the welders, on a daily basis, to identify problems or difficulties that they
experienced during their shift in carrying out the training that they
received so that they could follow the welding management system.
These Operator Shift Reports allow the supervisors, Internal Welder
Trainers and support functions to receive timely information on any
problem that occurs. The purpose of recording them on the Operator
Shift Report is to allow the organization to track all of the problems
identified so that corrective action and follow up can be conducted.
Instead, what occurs in many companies is that the problems are
forgotten and reoccur at some later date where the remark can be heard,
“Oh yes, that has happened before.”
Results
The Knapheide Manufacturing Company has been on the journey of
weld quality and productivity improvement through the development of
its own Total Welding Management System for over two years. They
have made significant progress in improving all aspects of their welding
operations and are very proud of what they have accomplished and how
it has helped them maintain and improve their competitiveness.
Prior to starting their Total Welding Management System, one of
management’s major concerns was the lack of available manufacturing
floor space at a critical time when business was growing at an
unprecedented rate, so much so, that all available floor space was in use.
Another concern management had was the low operating factor or
arc on time on the shop floor. It was observed during the Phase 1—
Survey that the operating factor was 14.8%. At the time of this writing,
that operating factor had improved to 30%. The difference came from the
wasted hours that were reduced within the Five Welding Do’s.
During the Implement and Sustain phase of Knapheide’s Welding
Management System, sales volume increased by 30% requiring the need
to increase production output by 13%. A further increase occurred during
the first half of 2004 when Knapheide experienced an additional increase
in sales of over 40%. As a result of the improvements gained from TWM,
they were able to easily and competitively handle this increase in sales.
Below are the highlights of what Knapheide management sees as
some of the major results to date from their Welding Management
System:
1. 63,000 hours saved annually which was the equivalent of 31
welders that did not need to be hired,
2. a 14% increase in welding assembly output, resulting in an
overall factory workforce productivity improvement of 7%,

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3. a reduction in work in process inventory, that resulted in the

elimination of what would have been necessary storage space
and is now being used for production floor space,
4. the benefit of capital avoidance of not having to add additional
floor space, production lines, capital equipment and
consumables, supervision and training.
Other benefits Knapheide received from their Total Welding
Management System are:
1. a lower weld defect rate,
2. a better cosmetic weld appearance,
3. a reduction in warranty costs,
4. greater customer satisfaction,
5. an organized and controlled workstation,
6. a better employee attitude, and
7. a higher employee morale.
Knapheide has not only adopted the philosophy, concepts and
principles of the Total Welding Management System in their welding
operations, but also use it in all departments company-wide. For
example, the Welder Shift Report discussed above was originally
developed for welders to report problems for corrective action. This same
concept of reporting problems is now being used in all departments
throughout the company, not just welding.

Continuous Improvement
As this book is being published, Knapheide management reported
further continuous improvement in their welding operations that
resulted in an additional increase of 34,000 hours saved in the twelve-
month period—from 63,000 hours (as was reported earlier) to 97,000
hours, which is now equivalent to 50 welders they did not need to hire to
handle their increased business.
By now having the Knapheide Total Welding Management System in
place to help them to respond to ongoing business changes, Knapheide is
experiencing continuous improvement in their overall welding quality
and productivity. They are now able to handle increases in their business
more effectively and thus contribute to their overall profitability.
Now that we have reviewed the implementation and results of Total
Welding Management at Knapheide, and the results they have received
to date, let’s review in the final chapter how you can get started on your
journey to weld quality and productivity improvement along with some
of the commitments required and pitfalls to avoid.

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Getting Started
This chapter will review key principles of Total Welding
Management that are important for successful implementation and
identify what separates the winners from the losers. Let’s get started with
a quick summary of the key points to be covered.
1. Review the beliefs and values behind the Total Welding
Management System.
2. Share experiences on why some companies succeed when others
fail to improve their weld quality and productivity.
3. Review the Six Managerial Steps as the management framework
for TWM.
4. Discuss some of the rewards from success besides profit
improvements.
5. Present a few final thoughts on keys to success and your new
culture.
6. Discuss how to start the journey for successful improvements in
becoming more competitive and profitable throughout your
welding operations.
The Total Welding Management System is built on two basic
foundations:
1. The first is the technology of welding as a science. The welding
process can be controlled as any other manufacturing process.
The characteristics of welding such as weld size and length,
shape and strength, and linear travel speed are now clearly
defined and repeatable.
Controlling the variables, such as weld joint design,
component parts fabrication, equipment performance, welding
process, welder knowledge and techniques give predictable
results, the same, as you would expect from your machining or
fabrication operations.
2. The welder and the supervisor are the heart of any weld quality
and productivity improvement process. This team applies the
technology of welding with the management system to achieve
planned results.

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Success that has been achieved by companies in improving their

welding profitability rests on these two foundations—process definition
and control and focus on serving the welder. This applies in operations
that use manual as well as robotic and fully automated welding.
Each company that I have worked with had unique differences. There
were product differences, work force differences, geographical
differences, as well as management and cultural differences. These
differences make every company unique. Yet all of these companies,
despite their unique differences, applied the same set of principles and
systems embodied in the Total Welding Management System, The
Method, and the Six Managerial Steps.
Let’s answer three important questions (see Table 10):
1. What did companies do that made them successful in improving
welding performance?
2. What did the companies that failed to get lasting welding
improvement not do?
3. Why did some companies succeed while others failed? What
separates the winners from the losers?

Management Commitment
The winners who committed to improvement and who stuck with the
formal process for improvement won big. They made a plan, worked the
plan, realized it’s a process, and achieved sustainable results.
The losers start the process, are not fully committed, do not stick with
it and end up losing organization commitment and support. They take
the quick fix band-aid approach. People in the organization then begin to
wonder if management doesn’t follow through with commitment on this
program why would they on any future programs?
As with any change process, another important consideration is the
built-in resistance in any organization to change. Top management must
accept the responsibility to deal with this resistance quickly and
effectively when it occurs. As an example, if a key manager is not
supporting Total Welding Management, he needs to be given the clear
choice of either getting on the team or mutually agreeing to leave the
organization. Some weld quality and productivity improvement
programs have suffered because a key manager never bought into the
philosophy of teamwork and supporting the welder. If these issues are
not addressed quickly and effectively they can poison any improvement
process.
Resistance sometimes occurs when people in the organization get
impatient for quick results. An old adage says “make the plan, work the
plan, realize it’s a process and let the process work.”

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Table 10. Winners and Losers

Winners Losers

Held shared beliefs about the welders,
teamwork and the upside down organiza-
tion and the importance of company-wide
goals.
Implemented a complete Total Welding
Management System and took ownership.
Had understanding and hands-on commit-
ted top management and a management
team focused on welding improvement
and support of the welder.
Made available time and provided man-
agement resources for management, tech-
nical and shop personnel to learn the Total
Welding Management System. Technical,
weld design, and weld processes, as well
as welder’s skill training and much more
were also provided.
Used outside resources for management
and supervisory training, technical train-
ing, and welder training as well as project
reviews until the organization developed
the knowledge and skills to be self-
sufficient. Applied the science of welding
as taught.
Used the formal process for project man-
agement based on the Six Managerial
Steps and held frequent management
project reviews.
Management was patient for results and
set realistic goals and project schedules,
but held people responsible and account-
able for results.
Did not completely trust welders; saw
each functional responsibility as more
important than teamwork and company
goals.
Tried to apply only bits and pieces.
Management delegated improvement
projects. This was one of many company
programs resulting in limited resources for
each.
Training was limited to a few people and
focused on welder training. It often
excluded management, supervisors, and
technical people. Little or no management
training was conducted on the Total Weld-
ing Management System.
Minimized the use of outside resources,
tried to manage and train on their own
without the knowledge and skills available
in house. Applied more of the art of weld-
ing with some of the science.
Did not adopt a formal process for project
management, and often delegated project
management to lower levels in the organi-
zation. Held infrequent and often informal
project reviews with little reporting.
Management wanted results immediately
and shortcut some of the essential project
steps with little accountability and lots of
blame.

If your company is not willing to make the full commitment, you

should perhaps try other ways to improve profitability besides weld
quality and productivity through Total Welding Management.

Additional Benefits
For the winners, once the programs start with the management
processes in place; they begin to show results. Additional benefits also
begin to accrue.

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1.Teamwork and cooperation begin to extend to other operational

areas of the company and other company projects. Once people
experience the value of teamwork, they want more of it: and
become comfortable sharing resources and working together.
2. The formal management system put in place to support welder
quality and productivity improvement now extends to other
projects as people learn and see the value of the six managerial
steps, and a company-wide focus on goals and projects.
3. A system to support Work Center Planning and Control with a
resource (actor), response (action plan) and timely response for
every situation is put in place that increases workstation output
and profitability when there are deviations from planned quality
and output.
4. As welding improvement goals are achieved and progress
reported to all employees, everyone feels better about the
company and is now more ready to accept company-wide goals
and programs.
5. A new culture begins of teamwork, support, and focus on
company goals, programs and results. Employees become more
involved in and committed to being part of the business rather
than just workers.
6. The fabrication department often becomes part of the Work
Center Planning and Control system that results in properly
sized and shaped input component parts entering the welding
department. This helps reduce rework and material fitup
problems.
7. Self-esteem builds, and people begin to feel good about
themselves and the company.
This feeling moves into other departments. Attitudes improve.
Before TWM, these additional benefits were never imagined or
considered. They evolve in companies who do an excellent job, in not
only using the total welding management tools, but also in applying
these universal principles and concepts to manage their entire company.
Most successful companies end up evolving into their own welding
management system based on the model of the Total Welding
Management System. This is what is meant by your Total Welding
Management System.

Total Welding Management Principles

Let’s again review the underlying principals of the Total Welding
Management System that has been confirmed through years of successful
application in many companies.

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We now know that the starting point, as well as the finishing point
for welding improvement is the welder. The Total Welding Management
System is built on the fundamental beliefs that welders:
1. Want to do a good job everyday
2. Are proud of their work.
3. Want to improve and are open to learning
4. Need to be supported.
5. Want to be responsible for the quality of their own work.
6. Need some feedback on performance and coaching to improve.
If top management and the manager’s of the Four Critical Functions
hold and practice these beliefs about welders, then your company will be
successful in implementing the Total Welding Management System using
the Six Managerial Steps through the three phases of The Method.
If these beliefs are not shared, then conflict will exist among the Four
Critical Functions and a lack of focus on the welder will result. Any
improvements realized will be temporary at best. Engineering prints will
continue to be thrown over the wall from Design Engineering to
Manufacturing Engineering and Manufacturing Operations with little
collaborative effort. The end result could be even a loss of productivity as
the welders build expectations for better support. If these expectations
are not fulfilled by the Four Critical Functions, this could have a negative
effect on morale and attitude and, therefore, weld quality and
productivity.
If the management team does not understand and buy into this new
set of values about the welder, then it would be advisable not to start The
Total Welding Management System. Some companies already hold these
values but need the structured approach of The Method, the Six
Managerial Steps, and The Total Welding Management System model to
provide the organizational process for improvement.
This new view of the welder and welder support is represented by
the concept of the Upside Down Organization. The president, COO, or
general manager views himself at the bottom of the organization with the
primary role of providing leadership, direction and support to the
managers of the Four Critical Functions to assure that they work together
to support the welder.
If top management does not provide the leadership to assure that the
Four Critical Functions work together and support the welder, significant
improvements will not happen. Knowledgeable, hands-on, involved
leadership is mandatory for significant improvements.

The Six Managerial Steps

The Six Managerial Steps, together with The Method, put in place the
structure to identify, quantify, plan, implement, and control

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improvements that results in greater welding profitability. This is the

closed-loop system that is essential to get and maintain the
improvements and provide for continuous improvement. Without a plan
for change and a system that includes feedback and corrective action, any
improvement will be short lived.
The foundation and framework of the Total Welding Management
System are the Six Managerial Steps and include:
1. Information Gathering and Analysis
2. Planning and Goal Setting
3. Training
4. Implementation and Fine Tuning
5. Measurement and Control
6. Management Reporting
The Six Managerial Steps are similar to the process used to manage
any improvement project. We have all been involved for example, in new
manufacturing control systems, i.e. Manufacturing Resource Planning or
Enterprise Resource Planning. The steps in setting up a project plan for
that would be similar:
1. Identify systems needs by reviewing current system and
identifying gaps from ideal or future state and evaluate options.
2. Assemble project team and select consultant to develop project
plan goals, resources, timelines, measures, and the training plan.
3. Train key team members on new system and procedures.
4. Begin implementation and modify as it progresses.
5. Measure progress on all activities.
6. Monthly management review of project against goals.
The understanding of these management steps and adherence to
them throughout the process is essential for success.

Training
The third managerial step, which is training, is intended to instill the
knowledge and understanding of the Total Welding Management
System, The Method, and the Six Managerial Steps in your company’s
management team so that they can apply them.
Without the team’s complete understanding, they will not be able to
accept the management responsibility for the project, and it will fail. This
training is successful only when each manager involved in the process
understands the management principals, understands and buys into the
concepts of welder support and teamwork; and is committed to the
project goals. With this level of understanding and commitment, your
program will be successful.
As a clarifying point the principles and concepts of Total Welding
Management including The Method with the Up Side Down

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Organization, the Five Welding Do’s, the Four Critical Functions and
their corresponding Five Key Results Areas and the Six Managerial Steps
not only apply to companies with manual welding, but as well to
companies that have gone to robotics or full automation or a combination
of all three. The same input and welding process variables apply to each
of the three and without Work Center Planning and Control and support
by the Four Critical Functions the result will be the same, inconsistent
product quality and output and thus lower profitability. The difference
with automation is that problems with be repeated quicker if not brought
under control.

Ready To Start
Now that you have the keys to success, along with how the process
works, is your company ready to be a winner? Here are some questions
that you need to answer for your company to determine if you are ready
to start the journey to Total Welding Management.
1. Are you a company that does welding? Does your welding
operations have an impact on your company’s bottom line?
2. Examine your own organization values and beliefs. Are they
compatible with ours? If not, are you willing to change them?
3. Do you understand the commitment you have to make as the
leader of the organization to gain potential improvements? Are
you willing to make the personal and resource commitments?
If the answers to these three questions are yes, then begin with a
Survey and Evaluation. This is the first step in the journey to improved
weld quality and productivity, leading to increased profitability. Are you
ready for the journey? You, the leader of the company, with the support
of your management team, can only make this decision.
I wrote this book to share with you my experiences, both ups and
downs, of over 40 years helping companies in welding and welding
management. I deeply believe that the welding operations of every
company have a great opportunity to become a significant company profit
generator through the application of the principles outlined here. This
book provides the path for you to follow in the achievement of that goal.
I have also attempted to develop in Total Welding Management a set
of management concepts and principles and an approach to management
that will survive the test of time. One that can be applied not only in
today’s business environment but in any future business environment
where there is a need to make continuing improvements in business
operating results by more effectively managing both the technical and
human resources in any organization.
The management system in this book is truly universal in its
applicability. My technical world has been welding, but the principles

173
CHAPTER 13

can be applied to any business, manufacturing or service, where people

are brought together to serve their customers in the most effective way
possible.
I hope that this book has provided you with some insight on what is
possible in your company. The choice and the next steps are yours. Have
a great journey!

Jack R. Barckhoff, P.E.

174
 Acknowledgments
This book would not exist without the opportunity that I was given
beginning over 40 years ago to work with many companies that were
producing many different types of welded products. Most important
were the many welders, supervisors, engineers and managers I worked
with in each of the companies during the process of developing the Total
Welding Management System.
I am thankful for my association with James F. Lincoln and the
opportunity of working under his system of Incentive Management that
promoted the philosophy of ‘The Actual Is Limited: The Possible Is Immense.’
Thank you to Walter E. Vuchnich for his encouragement to my
commitment to the Total Welding Management System at a time when
others had misgivings about it.
Thanks to Jack Eide and Robert Lockwood for their foresight and
encouragement to form Barckhoff and Associates, Inc. in pursuit of my
passion and commitment to Total Welding Management.
To Walter R. Edwards, P.E, who worked with me in the very early
stages of developing the Total Welding Management System using the
Barckhoff Method and to my former associates Gregory Krause, P.E. and
John M. Menhart, P.E. for their participation in its early application.
To my associate Donald L. Lynn, P.E., who has served with me since
1990 in the advanced stages of development and application of the Total
Welding Management System.
Thank you to Ray W. Shook, Executive Director, Andrew Cullison,
Publisher and Ron C. Pierce, P.E., (Chairman of Welding Engineering
Supply Co., Inc./Chairman of the AWS Foundation) and the American
Welding Society’s staff for their support of Total Welding Management.
To Clint Vogus and Dave Edwards for their help in the early drafting
and proofing of the many revisions.
Thanks to Jim K. Barnett, Harry Marcionetti, Rocky K. Murray and
others who participated in implementation of the Knapheide Welding
Management System modeled in this book.
Significant thanks also to those individuals who reviewed this book
throughout its many drafts and revisions.
And, finally to all those special people in my life who have not been
specifically mentioned and helped make this book possible.

xiii
 Dedication
I dedicate this book to the memory of my beloved mother who
inspired me from early childhood to be industrious and make a
difference; also, to the welders and supervisors that the principles of
Total Welding Management support.

v
 List of Figures
Figure Page
1 Reducing Unit Costs through Control of the
Welding Variables ................................................................................ 5
2 Total Welding Management Closed Loop Feedback System ...... 10
3 Work Center Control Plan................................................................. 21
4 Welder Support System ..................................................................... 22
5 Welding Team Support System........................................................ 23
6 Upside Down Organization .............................................................. 24
7 The Five Welding Do’s and the Four Critical Functions .............. 26
8 Welding Elephant ............................................................................... 33
10 The 3-4-5-6 Method for Profit Improvement .................................. 41
11 Three Phases of The Method............................................................. 46
12 Typical Manufacturing Company.................................................... 48
13 Critical Functions with Corresponding Key Results Areas ......... 50
14 Relative Cost Comparison—Fillet Welds vs. Groove Welds ....... 52
15 Cost-Reduction Grid .......................................................................... 78
16 Design Engineering—Matrix ............................................................ 87
17 Manufacturing Engineering—Matrix .............................................. 87
18 Manufacturing Operations—Matrix................................................ 88
19 Quality Assurance—Matrix .............................................................. 88
20 Quality and Productivity Evaluation Cells..................................... 95
21 Cell 2-9................................................................................................ 100
22 Cell 2-3................................................................................................ 100
23 Workstation Data Sheet ................................................................... 101
24 Potential Savings Summary ............................................................ 105
25 Management Overview ................................................................... 107
26 Six Managerial Steps as a Closed Loop System ........................... 110
27 Step 1—Information Gathering and Analysis .............................. 111
28 Step 2—Planning and Goal Setting ................................................ 112
29 Step 3—Training ............................................................................... 113
30 Step 4—Implementation and Fine Tuning.................................... 114
31 Step 5—Measurement and Control................................................ 114
32 Step 6—Reporting............................................................................. 115

viii
Figure Page
33 Improvement Results With and Without Control
Systems............................................................................................... 117
34 Applying The Six Managerial Steps for
Development—Implementation—Control ................................... 122
35 Project Log Sheet for Company B................................................... 137
36 Project Gantt Chart for Company B ............................................... 139
36 Project Gantt Chart for Company B (Continued)......................... 140
37 Integrated Project Plan..................................................................... 152

ix
 List of Tables
Table Page
1 What Each Managerial Step Provides to the Closed-Loop
Management System ........................................................................ 116
2 Company B—Potential Savings Summary Chart ........................ 127
3 Summary of Critical Functions and Key Result Areas ............... 128
4 Summary of Recommendations from Survey and
Evaluation.......................................................................................... 128
5 The Six Managerial Steps, Defined ................................................ 134
6 Key Results Area for Company B................................................... 135
7 Appropriate Measurements from the Company B Projects ....... 141
8 Potential Annual Savings in the Knapheide Survey Report ...... 148
9 Potential Annual Production Improvement per Welder ............ 148
10 Winners and Losers.......................................................................... 169

x
 Author’s Notes
To clarify a few terms used in the book, note the following:
1. Recognizing that we live in a world where everyone has an equal
opportunity in all professions, we use the words ‘him’ or ‘his’
when we are referring to the generic gender without prejudice.
2. The term ‘shop floor’ or ‘welding shop floor’ as used in this book
refers to the area in a company where production takes place.
Depending on the specific product manufactured, the shop floor
could also be referred to as the welding floor, welding area,
production area, welding department or welding and fabrication
yard.
3. The use of TWM in this book refers to the system of Total
Welding Management.

xiv
 Glossary of Terms
The definitions of the terms in this glossary are specific to this book
and Total Welding Management and intended to help clarify the words
used in this book.
Application Welding Procedures. The document that defines the
required welding variables to be used for a specific welding job to
assure repeatability by properly training welders and operators.
Applied Science. In reference to welding as an applied science, it refers
to the use of the knowledge of welding as a science applied for
predictable and controllable results.
Arc On Time. The time during which an arc is maintained in arc welding.
Arc Voltage. The electrical potential between the electrode and the
workpiece.
Automation. Control of a welding process with equipment that requires
only occasional observation of the welding, or no manual adjustments
of the equipment controls.
Art. An art is a skill or ability gained by experience, study or observation
and dependant on each individual for results. In reference to welding
as an art, it means that the quality and repeatability of welding is
highly dependant on the knowledge or skill of the individual rather
than on scientific or known principles. This was how welding was
viewed prior to its development as a science.
Base Metal or Materials. The metal or metals that are being joined by
welding (e.g., A36 steel, 4140 alloy steel or T6 aluminum). In welding
the base metal defines the filler metals that can be used effectively to
weld a specific base metal.
Bevel Angle. The angle between the bevel of a joint member and a plane
perpendicular to the surface of the member.
Blacksmith Mentality. In welding this refers to the view that welding
was an unrefined and dirty process. This was an early view of welding
held by some managers.

175
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Butt Joint. A joint between two members aligned approximately in the

same plane.
Cell. A cell is part of the evaluation matrix tool used to evaluate potential
welding quality or productivity improvement opportunity as well as a
potential control opportunity. It is further the junction point where one
of the Welding Do’s cross a junction point of one of the Key Results
Area of one of the Four Critical Functions.
Certification. In welding the formal process of testing and qualifying a
welder to specific welding codes or standards. Also used to refer tot he
formal documentation by a company that a welder has met all of the
qualification requirements. Generally, certification requires retesting/
recertification either semi-annually or annually and also when a
welder changes employers. Welding certifications are required in
many industries such as defense, aerospace, pressure vessels and
transportation.
Closed Loop Feedback System. A core concept in Total Welding
Management that views the management of welding as a system with
a specific plan for each weldment (documented procedures and
processes to be followed), control tolerances for each process which
identifies out of tolerance conditions, resources to evaluate causes of
out of tolerance situations, and a response (corrective action) to bring
situations back into control. This is the heart of a Total Welding
Management System.
Company Culture. A set of values, beliefs, practices and norms which
determine how a company operates. They are generally unwritten and
are established over a long period of time. Most companies, as they
move towards Total Welding Management, must change parts of their
culture and adopt a new set of company values.
Company Goals. The goals or results that the company as a whole is
trying to achieve, i.e., increased profitability or improved quality. In
high performing companies, individuals or departmental goals
support and are subservient to company goals.
Component Parts. The fabricated or machined metal parts that make up a
weldment.
Control Plan. A document for each specific weldment that defines the
procedures and processes to be used to produce the weldment to meet
specifications in the most cost effective way. It also defines
measurements to be used to assure processes remain under control.
COO. An abbreviation for Chief Operating Officer.

176
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Corrective Action. Action taken to correct an out of control situation. It is

the process of determining why a deviation from standard occurred
and taking action to prevent reoccurrence.

Cost Center. An activity or department in a company that adds cost

rather than contributes to profitability. Welding departments had
traditionally been viewed as cost centers due to poor quality and
productivity and management’s belief that they could not be
controlled and improved.

Craft. Any process that is highly dependent on the skill of an individual

(i.e. music). Welding in the early development period was viewed as a
craft rather than a science.

Deposition Rate. The amount of weld material, by weight, deposited in a

unit of time.

Design Engineering. One of the Four Critical Functions in Total Welding

Management that has the responsibility to design products and
components to meet customer requirements. In designing weldments
the design engineer is responsible for the five Key Results Areas of
material selection, weld size determination, manufacturing review and
weldment specification.

Equipment and Tooling Selection. One of the five major responsibilities

or Key Results Areas of Manufacturing Engineering. It involves
selecting the best weld equipment (power sources, wire feeders, filler
metal, etc.) and tooling (fixtures, clamps, etc.) so that the welder can
complete every weldment to meet print specifications in the most
productive way.

Essential Welding Variables. The various inputs of a welding process

such as “amperage’ or ‘travel speed’ that must be controlled to get
repeatable and consistent results.

Fabrication Department. The function or department in a manufacturing

company that is responsible for manufacturing the metal components
parts (or piece parts) that are welded into a final weldment or welded
assembly. Operations performed in the Fabrication Department can
include cutting, burning, forming and machining.

Filler Metal. The metal added in making a welded joint.

Fillet Weld. A weld of approximately a triangular cross section joining

two surfaces approximately at right angles to each other with a lap
joint, T-joint or corner joint.

177
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Four Critical Functions. In Total Welding Management, this refers to the

four major departments in a company that must focus their day-to-day
activities on serving the welder for the best quality and productivity.
They are:
1. Design Engineering
2. Manufacturing Engineering
3. Manufacturing Operations
4. Quality Assurance
Function Managers. The head of a department or function in a company
such as the design engineering manager or quality assurance manager.
The five major goals are the Five Welding Do’s that every welding
company seeks to optimize for improved weld quality and
productivity. Each of the Four Critical Functions in Total Welding
Management focuses on these five goals. They are:
1. The Reduction of weld metal volume
2. The Reduction of arc time per weldment
3. The Reduction of rejects, rework, and scrap
4. The Reduction of work effort
5. The Reduction of motion and delay time
Fixture. A device designed to hold and maintain component parts in
proper relation to each other for welding.
Groove Angle. The included angle between the groove faces of a weld
groove.
Hands-On Leadership. Refers to the involved responsibility of top
management to be actively involved in leading a company through the
transformation to Total Welding Management. Without it, failure is
certain.
Implement and Sustain. The third of the three phases of The Method in
which results of the Survey and Evaluation (Phase I) and the plans set
in Management Planning and Goal Setting (Phase II) are implemented,
leading to a Total Welding Management System for your company
which includes putting in place management planning and control to
assure that results achieved are maintained and improved on over
time.
Implementation and Fine Tuning. The fourth of six managerial steps.
This step takes place after the management team is trained in the
principles of Total Welding Management and represents putting in
place all the detail action plans identified in Phase—II of The Method
(Management Planning and Goal Setting.) Fine-tuning refers to
making adjustments in procedures and practices as experience is
gained.

178
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Information Gathering and Analysis. This is the first of the six

managerial steps represented in the Phase 1—Survey and Evaluation
of The Method. This step can also be used to gather information on
specific projects or issues that are encountered in implementing Total
Welding Management.
Inspect, Measure, and Report. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas
for Quality Assurance. It represents the process of assuring that each
welding job meets specification. Measurement data is kept on any
deviations, and summary reports are prepared for management to
measure quality performance and serve as a basis of problem solving
and corrective action.
Internal Welder Trainer. An individual selected and trained within a
company and charged with the responsibility of training and
qualifying new hires, retrain and requalify existing welders, trouble
shoot technical problems and at times be the ‘right arm’ of the welding
supervisor to correct welding problems on the shop floor.
Key Results Area. Each of the Key Results Areas represent the five
unique welding related responsibilities for each of the Four Critical
Functions in their role of supporting the welder. As an example, one of
Design Engineering’s Key Results Areas is Weld Size Determination.
Each of the Four Critical Functions has their own five unique Key
Results Areas.
Machine Performance. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas for
Manufacturing Operations. It focuses on assuring that all equipment
used by the welder is performing at required levels.
Management Planning and Goal Setting. This is the second phase of The
Method. In this phase, the CEO and the management team take the
detailed results from the Phase I—Survey and Evaluation, review
them, and set specific action plans, goals, and timeframes. This
becomes the detailed road map to Total Welding Management.
Manufacturing Engineering. One of the Four Critical Functions in Total
Welding Management. This function represents the bridge between
Design Engineering and Manufacturing Operations. After Design
Engineering has defined the specifications and the ‘what,’ then
Manufacturing Engineering must define the ‘how to.’ The Five Key
Results Areas that they are responsible for include workmanship
standards, welding process selection, equipment and tooling selection,
method and procedure development and work center planning.
Manufacturing Operations. One of the Four Critical Functions of Total
Welding Management. It has the responsibility for directing and

179
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

coordinating all the production related activities involved in

producing the product. Many of these production activities are part of
the Work Center Plan developed by Manufacturing Engineering. The
Five Key Results Areas that Manufacturing Operations is responsible
for include: personnel training and qualification, material input,
equipment performance, method and procedure application and work
center control.

Manual Welding. Welding with a weld gun, torch, or electrode holder

held and manipulated by hand.

Manufacturing Review. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas for
Design Engineering. It represents the process of reviewing design
drawings and specifications to assure that each weldment can be made
effectively based on the equipment, manufacturing practices, and
welder skills in your shop.

Material Fitup. The resultant condition of the work piece or work pieces
in preparation for welding.

Material Input. This is one of Five Key Results Areas for Manufacturing
Operations. It represents the responsibility to assure that all
component parts of a weldment are delivered to the weld station on
time and in conformance with print specifications. This will assure that
the welder will have minimum down time and rework.

Materials Selection. This is one of five Key Results Areas for Design
Engineering. It focuses on selecting the best material for each
weldment based on design requirements and weldability of materials.

Method and Procedure Application. This is one of Five Key Results

Areas for Manufacturing Operations. It focuses on assuring that the
welding equipment, tooling, processes and techniques are applied by
the welder to meet specifications.

Method and Procedure Development. This is one of Five Key Results

Areas for Manufacturing Engineering. It represents selecting and
applying the welding process to the right equipment and tooling.

Method Sheet. This is a document that is often used to detail the process
that the welder should use for a specific weldment. It is developed by
Manufacturing Engineering.

Operating Factor. The percentage of arc time or arc-on time of the

welding cycle time to complete a series of events involved in making a
weld or weldment. Could also be the total arc time percentage of a
total welding shift.

180
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Personnel Training and Qualification. This is one of the Five Key

Results Areas for Manufacturing Operations. It focuses on assuring
that each welder is fully qualified to weld each job assigned. If a
welder is not fully qualified, then training, often by an Internal Welder
Trainer or Weld Leader, is required before the job is assigned to the
welder.
Porosity. Cavity type discontinuities found by gas entrapment during
solidification or the filler metal deposit.
Process. A grouping of base operational elements used in welding.
Power Source. An electrical device for supplying current and voltage
suitable for welding.
Process Selection. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas for
Manufacturing Engineering. It represents choosing and then
specifying the most efficient and cost effective welding process for
each weldment.
Production. This generally refers to the department within a company
that is responsible for the actual manufacturing of the product. In Total
Welding Management, Manufacturing Operations includes the
production department.
Quality Assurance. One of the Four Critical Functions in Total Welding
Management. This function has the responsibility to establish the
company quality policy and the overall quality system and assure that
it is followed.
Reduce Arc Time per Weldment. This is one of the Five Welding Do’s or
goals of Total Welding Management. It represents the goal of
optimizing the amount of weld time required per weldment.
Reduce Motion and Delay Time. This is one of the Five Welding Do’s or
goals of Total Welding Management. It represents the goal of reducing
and/or eliminating all wasted motion and delays caused by such
things as poor component parts fitup, rework, or waiting for parts.
Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap. This is one of the Five Welding Do’s
or goals of Total Welding Management. It focuses on improving
overall weld quality.
Reduce Weld Metal Volume. This is one of the Five Welding Do’s or
goals of Total Welding Management. It focuses on assuring that the
weld metal volume or weld joints are right for a specific weldment.
Over welding and poor parts fitup are two of the primary causes of
excess weld metal volume.

181
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Reduce Work Effort and Fatigue. This is one of the Five Welding Do’s or
goals of Total Welding Management. This goal focuses on assuring
that all effort required by the welder is optimized and fatigue reduced
so that the welder can be most productive.
Semi-Automatic Welding. Welding with equipment that automatically
controls one or more of the welding conditions.
Shop Floor. Shop floor in this text refers to the physical area where
production work takes place. It could be a workstation, work area,
welding bay, or in the case of large construction projects, a yard or
even a vessel, boat or ship.
Survey and Evaluation. This is the first of three phases of The Method. It
defines, based on detail observations of welding jobs on the shop floor,
the specific savings potential from implementing Total Welding
Management in your company. It also includes recommendations on
actions required to achieve the potential savings.
The Method. The three-phased process that leads to improvement in
weld quality and productivity by transforming your company to a
Total Welding Management System. It consists of: Phase I—Survey
and Evaluation, Phase II—Management Planning and Goal Setting,
and Phase III—Implement and Sustain.
Total Welding Management. Can also be referred to as the Total
Welding Management System. It represents the complete closed-loop
management system for your welding operations to achieve significant
improvements in welding quality and productivity through the
application of the principles, concepts and systems in this book.
Transverse/Work Angle. The angle less than 90 degrees between a line
perpendicular to the major work piece surface and a plane determined
by the electrode or wire axis and the weld axis.
Travel Angle. An angle less than 90 degrees between the electrode axis
and a line perpendicular to the weld axis, in a plane determined by the
electrode axis and the weld axis.
Upside Down Organization. The organizational concept based on the
principle that the CEO and managers of the Four Critical Functions
serve the welder for improved weld quality and productivity. The
concept views the organization chart with the welder at the top and
everyone else supporting the welder.

182
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Weld. A localized coalescence of metals or non-metallic materials

produced either by heating the material to the welding temperature,
with or without the application of pressure, or by the application of
pressure alone and with or without the use of filler metal.

Weld Axis Position. A line through the length of the weld perpendicular
to and at the geometric center of its cross section.

Weld Bead. A weld resulting from a weld pass.

Weld Cycle Time. The total time and series of events required to
complete all the steps involved in making a weld or weldment.

Weld Joint. The opening between two joint members in a weldment that
provides space to contain weld metal.

Weld Joint Selection. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas for Design
Engineering. It represents selecting and applying the appropriate type
weld joint consistent with welding economics and quality
requirements.

Weld Leader. A trained experienced welder that is used to train other

welders, when requested by the supervisor, on the job and to assist in
technical problem solving on the shop floor. His main responsibility is
to weld.

Weld Metal. Metal in a fusion weld consisting of that portion of the base
metal and filler metal melted during welding.

Weld Metal Volume. The specific amount of weld metal deposited in a

given size weld, weld bead, or weld joint.

Weld Size Determination. This is one of Five Key Results Areas for
Design Engineering. It represents determining the proper size of weld
for a specific type of joint and application.

Welder. One who performs manual or semi-automatic welding.

Welder Support System. This refers to the Four Critical Functions taken
as a group whose primary focus is to perform their jobs effectively so
as to support the welder for weld quality and productivity
improvement. They include Design Engineering, Manufacturing
Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Quality Assurance.

Welding. A joining process that produces coalescence of materials by

heating them to the welding temperature with or without the
application of pressure or by the application of pressure alone, and
with or without the use of filler metal.

183
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Welding Consumables. Those electrodes or materials that provide the

filler metal to the weld.
Welding Crew or Team. Two or more welders and/or operators under
the direction of a line manager such as a welding supervisor, foreman,
lead person or a combination of all of the above.
Welding Cycle Time. The time represented by the complete series of
steps involved in making a weld or weldment.
Welding Department. This refers to the department within a company
that is responsible for welding. In most companies this falls under the
responsibility of the Manufacturing Operations.
Welding Electrode. A component of the welding circuit through which
current is conducted and terminates at the arc.
Welding Filler Metal. The metal or alloy added in making a weld joint
that alloys with the base metal to form weld metal in a fusion-welded
joint.
Welding Operator. A person who operates adaptive control, automation,
mechanized or robotic welding equipment.
Welding Operations. All of the departments within a company that
contribute to or support welding.
Welding Parameters. The welding variables within a welding procedure
resulting in a deposited weld.
Welding Position. The relationship between the weld pool, joint, joint
members, and the welding heat source during welding.
Welding Procedure. The detailed method, essential welding variables
and practices involved in the production of a weldment.
Welding Procedure Specification. The document that provides the
required welding variables for a specific weld application to assure
repeatability by properly trained welders and operators.
Welding Process. A grouping of basic operational elements used in
welding.
Welding Process Selection. This is one of Five Key Results Areas for
Manufacturing Engineering. It represents choosing and then
specifying the most efficient and effective welding process for each
weldment.
Welding Sequence. The order of making welds within the welding cycle
of a weldment.

184
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Welding Technique. The details of a welding procedure that are

controlled by the welder or welding operator.
Welding Technology. This represents the documented body of
knowledge about welding that is currently available. It is the science
behind welding.
Welding Variables. The essential welding variables of a welding process
that determine the weld or weld bead size and shape. Depending on
the welding process, these variables could be amperage, wire feed
speed, arc voltage, contact tip to work distance, transverse/work
angle, travel angle, travel speed and orientation of the electrode/wire
to the weld joint.
Welding Workstation. A designated work place with one welder or
operator assigned to complete a specific welding operation.
Weldment. An assembly whose component parts are joined by welding.
Weldment Specification. This is one of Five Key Results Areas for
Design Engineering. It involves defining, describing and explaining all
of the welding requirements for a weldment. Design Engineering
documents it in a Weldment Specification.
Wire Feed Speed. The rate at which wire is consumed in welding, arc
cutting, or thermal spraying.
Work Center Control Plan. This represents the detailed plan (weldment
specification, workmanship standards, welding process, work
methods and welding procedures, equipment, techniques, etc.) for
each weldment and is used to control quality and productivity.
Work Measurement Standards. The elemental breakdown of the
welding cycle times to include motion, sequencing and time allowance
for each element of the operation to build or fabricate a weldment. The
standard also includes fatigue, delay, and personal time allowances.
Workmanship Standards. This is one of the Five Key Results Areas for
Manufacturing Engineering. It represents providing the welding
production requirements to shop personnel to meet the quality
standards for each weldment (acceptable/non-acceptable).

185
INDEX

Index Terms Links

Control Plan 18 20 21 151 155

159 163 164 176 185

A
Applied Science 16 175
Automation 4 5 8 18 84
173 175 184
C
Cell 73 77 94 96 99
100 118 127 128 176
Certification 21 38 57 83 96
136 176
Closed Loop Feedback System 10 58 176
Control Plan 18 20 21 151 155
159 163 164 176 185
Corrective Action 2 10 39 56 58
60 71 86 88 90
95 96 99 114 119
128 130 131 134 136
140 141 143 147 163
172 176 177 179
E
Essential Welding Variables 12 16 34 107 129
158 177 184 185

This page has been reformatted by Knovel to provide easier navigation.

Index Terms Links

F
Five Welding Do’s 25 34 41 43 49
63 65 66 70 77
87 88 91 104 108
111 120 127 138 147
165 173 178 181
Four Critical Functions 13 25 36 37 40
47 49 59 60 65
66 70 72 75 77
85 87 89 91 104
106 111 120 125 130
132 138 142 147 171
173 176 181
H
Hands-On Leadership 11 12 27 30 34
178
I
Implement and Sustain 42 43 94 108 110
112 113 115 124 125
131 151 161 165 178
182
Inspect, Measure, Report 71 74 86 88 95
128 129 136 179
Internal Welder Trainer 21 31 42 43 56
125 129 131 156 158
159 161 165 179 181
K
Key Results Area 41 45 49 50 63
65 66 72 73 75

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Index Terms Links

Key Results Area (Cont.)

77 86 87 91 104
106 108 111 118 120
121 125 127 135 157
173 176 177 179 183
M
Management Planning and
Goal Setting 42 94 106 108 109
111 120 121 123 124
126 127 130 136 142
150 178 179 182
Q
Qualification 20 21 38 56 82
83 88 89 95 96
99 128 129 136 176
180 181
R
Reduce Arc Time per Weldment 25 44 65 67 68
90 95 96 100 106
127 148 181
Reduce Motion and Delay Time 25 44 65 69 73
87 95 106 127 148
161 181
Reduce Rejects, Rework, and Scrap 25 44 65 67 74
87 88 91 95 148
181
Reduce Weld Metal Volume 25 44 65 73 74
87 88 95 96 99

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Index Terms Links

Reduce Weld Metal Volume (Cont.)

100 118 126 127 135
141 148 182
Reduce Work Effort 25 44 65 68 69
87 95 96 106 127
148 182
Robotics 4 5 8 18 84
173
S
Six Managerial Steps 32 41 93 94 108
115 120 133 134 138
143 167 171 172 178
Survey and Evaluation x 42 44 65 72
75 77 79 87 88
91 97 99 106 111
123 124 126 135 141
145 157 159 173 178
179 182
T
The Method iv 29 30 34 36
37 40 45 46 65
72 75 83 88 93
94 106 108 116 121
123 131 142 145 168
171 172 178 179 182
Total Welding Management System xii 1 9 11 12
25 27 30 32 34
35 37 43 49 59
83 86 93 98 106
108 110 112 113 115

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Total Welding Management

System (Cont.)
116 120 125 126 138
139 143 145 148 149
151 155 156 158 165
176 178 182
U
Upside Down Organization 5 11 13 15 22
27 31 43 47 61
63 83 169 171 182
W
Welder Support System 15 20 22 25 36
37 40 44 45 47
62 63 70 183
Welding Team 21 23 47 49 60
68
Welding Technology 1 18 43 185
Work Center Planning and Control 12 13 15 20 28
56 69 170 173

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