clause 17One weld. Where are its records?
Heat-to-joint traceability is the recorded link from each weld joint to the heat number of its base metal, the lot of filler metal used, the welder and the procedure. When a certificate is questioned or a consumable lot is recalled, it answers one question: which joints did that material touch?
The chain, link by link
Traceability is only as strong as its weakest link. Each link is carried by a different record, and in most shops each record lives in a different place.
| Link | Record that carries it | Where it usually lives |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal to heat number | Mill test report or material inspection document | Receiving file or purchasing inbox |
| Cut piece to parent plate | Heat number transferred at cutting | Paint marker on the steel, if it survived |
| Filler metal to lot | Consumable certificate and issue record | Stores log or rod oven sheet |
| Joint to welder | Welder ID or stencil against the weld number | Paper traveler or weld log |
| Joint to procedure | WPS number on the weld map | Drawing markup or job binder |
| Joint to examination | NDT report referencing the weld number | Inspector or subcontractor PDF |
Heat-to-joint answers the base metal question. Filler-lot traceability answers the consumable question. A recall usually needs both, plus the welder, because the follow-up is always “who welded those joints, and are they still qualified?”
What ISO 3834-2 asks for
ISO 3834-2:2021 clause 17 says identification and traceability shall be maintained throughout the manufacturing process, if required. The words “if required” matter: the depth of traceability is set by the contract, the product standard or the client. Where it is required, the documented system shall include, among other items:
- Welding consumables: designation, trade name, manufacturer, and batch or cast numbers.
- Parent material: identification and/or traceability, for example type and cast number.
- Welders and welding operators traced to specific welds.
- Welding procedure specifications traced to specific welds.
- Weld locations in the construction, and the location of repairs and temporary attachments.
The same clause names production plans, routing cards, NDT procedures and personnel, and mechanised welding units. A heat or cast number identifies one melt of steel and appears on its certificate. The consumable batch or lot number comes from the filler metal manufacturer. Both have to be written against the joint for the chain to hold.
Running a recall by hand
When a supplier flags a filler lot, a paper-based shop works the chain backwards, one record set at a time:
- Find the lot in receiving records and confirm the dates it was in stores.
- Find every issue slip or oven log entry for that lot, and who drew it.
- Match those welders and dates against travelers to get a list of weld numbers.
- Match weld numbers to drawings to find the physical joints, and to NDT reports to see what was examined.
- Decide which joints need further examination, and document the decision.
Each step is a manual join between two records kept by different people. Any gap, such as a lot number not written on an issue slip, turns a list into a guess. The usual result is a wider scope of rework or examination than the problem actually needed.
“A construction attorney once told me that in a court of law the reasoning is that if there is no record it didn’t happen.”
CWI, writing on the AWS forum
Where the chain usually breaks
- At the saw or the torch table. The heat number is on the plate, not on the offcut, unless someone transfers it.
- At the rod oven. Filler is drawn by the handful and the lot number is not written against a weld.
- On shared joints. Root, fill and cap by different welders get recorded as one name.
- On repairs. The repair is welded weeks later, from a different lot, and filed against the job instead of the weld.
- At the subcontractor. Bought-in welded parts arrive with a certificate for the part, not the joint.
“Auditors are looking for ‘objective evidence of quality’. This means documentation.”
CWI, writing on the AWS forum
How Clause5 handles it
Clause5 records heat-to-joint and filler-lot traceability as the work happens: lot to heats to joints to welders, in one query. The same chain feeds the qualification matrix and the turnover package, so a recall and a handover read from one set of records. The private beta is free for invited fabrication teams, with Professional scope added as workflows become available.
For reference only. Verify against the contract traceability requirements and the applicable product standard before setting a recall scope.
Clause5 is WPS software for fabrication shops: welding documentation with every value cited to the governing clause. The name comes from AWS D1.1 Clause 5, the prequalification section of the structural welding code, and the software is not that section of the code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heat-to-joint traceability means every weld joint can be traced to the heat number of the base metal it joins and to the batch or lot of filler metal used to make it, together with the welder who made it and the procedure that governed it. The heat number, also called a cast number, is the identifier printed on the material certificate. The practical test is whether a shop can answer, from records rather than memory, which joints are affected when a certificate or a consumable lot is called into question. Without the link recorded at the joint, the honest answer is every joint welded during the period, which is usually far more examination or rework than the actual problem requires.
A heat number, also called a cast number, identifies one melt of steel at the mill and is printed on the certificate for that material. Cut pieces keep it only if someone transfers the marking when the plate is cut. A filler metal batch or lot number is assigned by the consumable manufacturer and appears on the consumable certificate and packaging. ISO 3834-2:2021 clause 17 names both: batch or cast numbers for welding consumables, and type and cast number for parent material. Material certificates are often supplied as EN 10204 inspection documents. Under EN 10204:2004 clause 4.1, a type 3.1 inspection certificate is issued by the manufacturer, declares compliance with the order, supplies test results, and is validated by the manufacturer's authorized inspection representative independent of the manufacturing department.
No. ISO 3834-2:2021 clause 17 requires identification and traceability to be maintained throughout the manufacturing process if required, so the contract, the product standard or the client decides how deep it goes. Where it is required, the documented system covers items such as production plans, routing cards, weld locations in the construction, consumable batch or cast numbers, parent material cast numbers, repair locations, and traceability of welders, welding operators and welding procedure specifications to specific welds. A shop that works across several clients often finds that the strictest customer sets the practical standard, because running two levels of record keeping side by side is harder than running one level everywhere.
Work from the lot to the joints. First confirm the dates the lot was received and in stores. Then find every issue record or oven log entry for that lot and note who drew it and when. Match those welders and dates to weld numbers on travelers or weld logs, locate the physical joints on the drawings, and pull the examination reports for each one. Decide which joints need further examination or other action, and document that decision with the evidence behind it. How narrow the final list can be depends almost entirely on whether the lot number was written against the weld at the time it was made, rather than reconstructed from stores records afterwards.
Traceability items from ISO 3834-2:2021 and EN 10204:2004. Not affiliated with ISO or CEN.