The welding regulations currently in force regulate, in rigid and rigorous ways, the welding process to ensure the safety of workers, the quality of the process itself and of the finished product, establishing the best means and techniques in relation to the end use.
There are many welding regulations in circulation, and this often creates confusion: let’s find out what they are and what they regulate.
The meaning of UNI EN ISO
The first necessary clarification concerns the meaning of the abbreviations UNI, EN and ISO:
- UNI: Italian National Unification Board. It is a private association that develops technical standards for all industrial, commercial and tertiary sectors. It represents the Italian state among the European (CEN) and world (ISO) standards organizations.
- EN: This acronym represents the CEN (European Committee for Standardisation). It is a body that operates at European level to ensure the maintenance of the same processing standards for member countries. As far as Italy is concerned, we are talking about the UNI EN.
- ISO: International Organization for Standardization. These standards are applicable worldwide, but the right to apply them is at the discretion of the country. In Italy we speak of UNI ISO standards, or UNI EN ISO if the same standard is used at European level.
The application of the three standards ensures that, as far as welding processes are concerned, the highest standards are guaranteed.
UNI standards: what are they?
But what are UNI standards? By quoting the UNI site directly, they are defined as a document that indicates “how to do things well“, respecting the environment, guaranteeing safety and certain performance.
They are created through a specific procedure that starts with the study, at the request of the market, institutions or consumers, of a new work to be regulated. At the end of the studies, the initial project is drawn up and, once completed, it is made freely available: the comments and indications received from those directly interested will lead to the final publication of the improved project.
In the future, we will examine two specific standards: UNI EN 1090, which regulates the processing of steel and aluminium structures, and UNI EN ISO 3834, which lists the requirements for high quality welding.
The main UNI EN ISO standards on welding
A part from the two standards mentioned above, which we will discuss in detail in the future, there are other UNI EN ISO standards that need to be known. To name a few:
- UNI EN ISO 9606-X: is the qualification standard for welders, designed to assess the ability of the operator to handle the torch, electrode or torch, regardless of the type of product.
- UNI 15614-X: verifies the welding process as a whole, from the best technique to be used to what parameters must meet to ensure a finished work of the highest quality.
- UNI EN ISO 4063: facilitates the exchange of unique information on the working documents, listing and coding the various welding procedures.
- UNI EN 1011: provides a guide for welding by fusion of metallic materials.
- UNI EN ISO 9692: regulates the welding and preparation of welding joints.
- UNI EN 6520-1: lists the welding defects with their characteristics.
As we can see, the complex world of welding is regulated by many regulations: to guarantee the highest quality work, it is necessary to respect them in a precise manner.
Bureau Veritas certifications
Bureau Veritas, a world leader in inspection and verification of conformity services, is one of the companies responsible for issuing certifications for companies in various sectors.
New welding professionals are certified by Bureau Veritas for processing carbon steel and stainless steel (Range 300). It is important for us to guarantee to all our customers a higher quality service that complies with current regulations.
