AWS D1.1/D1.
1M:2015
C-6. Inspection
C-6. Inspection
C-6.l Scope
C-6.1 Scope
This clause of the code i_s designed t0 clarify the separate
responsibilities of the Contractor/fabricator/erector, as
opposed to the Owner/Engineer, etc.
The provisions clarify the basic premise of contractual
obligations when providing product and services. Those
who submit competitive bids or otherwise enter into a
contract to provide materials and workmanship for struc-
tural weldments in conformance with the provisions of
the code assume an obligation to furnish the products as
specified in the contract documents and are fully respon-
sible for product quality.
In this clause, the term fabrication/erection inspection is
fabrication/erection inspection
separated from verification inspection. In the original
draft of this section, these separate functions were desig-
nated as quality control and quality assurance, respec-
tively. These terms were replaced with the broader terms
now contained in the code to avoid confusion with the
usage in some industries (e.g., nuclear). Quality assur-
ance means specific tasks and documentation procedures
to some users of the code. It was advantageous to use
more general terms that place greater emphasis on timely
inspection. Inspection by the Owner should be planned
and timely if it is to improve the quality of the construc-
tion.
C-6.1.1 Information
C-6.1.1 Information Furnished
Furnished to
t0 Bidders.
Bidders. It is essen-
tial that the Contractor know in advance which welds are
subject to NDTs and which testing procedures will be
used. Unless otherwise provided in the contract docu-
ments, the quality criteria for acceptance of welds are
stated in Clause 6, Part C and Clause 9, Part F for tubu-
E. It is not necessary to write in the contract documents
exactly which weld or what portions of specific welds
will be examined by a specific test method. A general de-
scription of weld test requirements may be specified
(e.g., “10% of the length of all fillet welds shall be in-
spected by MT," or “All CJP butt joint welds in tension
flanges of girders shall be radiographed").
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AWS D1.1ID1.1M:2015
If the location of tension flange butt joint welds is not 0b-
vious, their location should be designated on the plans.
When spot checking is specified (e.g., 10% of all fillet
welds), it should not be taken to imply that the Contrac-
tor be notified prior to welding which specific welds or
portion of welds Ell be tested. It is a basic premise of
the specifications that if random tests or spot tests are
made, there should be a sufficient number of random
tests to give a reliable indication 0f weld quality.
There are different acceptance criteria for statically
loaded structures, cyclically loaded structures, and tubu-
lar structures. The basic difference in acceptance criteria
for each of these structures is based upon the difference
between static, and fatigue loading.
When fatigue crack growth is anticipated, initial weld
discontinuity sizes E smaller. All criteria are estab-
lished in an attempt to preclude weld failure during the
anticipated service life of the weldment.
C-6.1.2 Inspection
C-6.1.2 Inspection and
and Contract
Contract Stipulations.
Stipulations. This
subclause describes the responsibility of the Contractor
for fabrication/erection inspection and testing, which is
basically the quality control responsibility described in
other contract documents. The Owner has the right, but
generally not the responsibility, to provide independent
inspection to verify that the product meets specified re-
quirements. This quality assurance function may be done
independently by the Owner or their representative or,
when provided in the contract, verification inspection
may be waived or it may be stipulated that the Contractor
perform both the inspection and the verification. When
this is done, quality control and quality assurance remain
separate functions. Verification inspection should be per-
formed independently by personnel whose primary re-
sponsibility is quality assurance and not production.
C-6.1.3 Definition
C-6.1.3 Definition of
0f Inspector
Inspector Categories.
Categories. This sub-
clause describes the difference between the Inspector
representing the Owner and the Inspector representing
the Contractor.
COM MENTARY
COMMENTARY AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2015
AWS D1.1ID1.1M:2015

C-6.1.5 Inspector
C-6.1.5 Inspector Responsibility.
Responsibility. This subclause re- mentation may cause serious delays in the acceptance of
quires that the Inspector verify that all fabrication and weldments.
erection by welding is performed in conformance with
the requirements of the contract documents. This in- C-6.4.2 Retesting
C-6.4.2 Retesting Based
Based on
on Quality
Quality of
of Work.
Work. Exam-
cludes not only welding but also materials, assembly, ples of methods the inspector may choose to demonstrate
preheating, NDT, and all other requirements of the code the ability to produce sound welds include the following:
and provisions of the contract documents.
(l) an interview of the welder,
C-6.1.6 Items
C-6.1.6 Items to
to be
be Furnished
Furnished to
to the
the Inspector.
Inspector. In-
(2) increased visual inspection for a limited time
spectors need a complete set of approved drawings to en-
period,
able them to properly do their work. They need be
furnished only the portion of the contract documents de- (3) observation of the welding, or a simplified weld
scribing the requirements of products that they will in- test developed to evaluate the issue of concern,
spect. Much 0f the contract documents deal with matters
that are not the responsibility 0f the Inspector; these por- (4) requalification in compliance with Clause 4 or
tions need not be furnished. Clause 9 for tubulars.

C-6.1.7 Inspector
C-6.1.7 Inspector Notification.
Notification. If the Inspectors are not C-6.4.3 Retesting
C-6.4.3 Retesting Based
Based on
on Qualification
Qualification Expiration.
Expiration.
notified in advance of the start of operations, they cannot If evidence cannot be supplied that shows a welder,
properly perform the functions required of them by the welding operator, or tack welder has used the welding
code. process within the last six months, he or she is not con-
sidered qualified to weld using that process without new
qualification testing. Because active welders can main-
tain their certification as long as they continue to do good
C-6.2 Inspection
C-6.2 Inspection of
of Materials
Materials work, it is important that Inspectors regularly evaluate
the quality of the welds produced by each welder, weld-
and Equipment
and Equipment ing operator, and tack welder.
This code provision is all-encompassing. It requires in-
spection of materials and review 0f materials certifica-
tion and mill test reports. It is important that this work be
done in a timely manner so that unacceptable materials C-6.5 Inspection
C-6.5 Inspection of
of Work
Work and
and Records
Records
are not incorporated in the work. Except for final visual inspection, which is required for
every weld. the Inspector inspects the work at suitable
intervals to ensure that the requirements of the applicable
sections of the code are met. Such inspections should be
C-6.3 Inspection
C-6.3 Inspection of
of WPS
WPS Qualification
Qualification conducted, on a sampling basis, prior to assembly, dur-
ing assembly, and during welding. The inspector identi-
The requirements of this section, including any qualifica- E final acceptance or rejection of the work either by
tion testing required by Clause 4, should be completed marking on the work or with other recording methods.
before any welding is begun on any weldments required The method of identification should not be destructive to
by the contract documents. Qualification should always the weldment. Die stamping of welds is not recom-
be done before work is started, but all qualification does mended since die stamp marks may form sites for crack
not have to be completed before any work can be started. initiation.

C-6.5.4 Inspector
C-6.5.4 Inspector Identification
Identification of
of Inspections
Inspections Per-
Per-
formed. Die stamp marks may form sites for crack
formed.
initiation.
C-6.4 Inspection
C-6.4 Inspection of
of Welder,
Welder, Welding
Welding
Operator, and
Operator, and Tack
Tack Welder
Welder
Qualifications
Qualifications
C-6.4.1 Determination
C-6.4.1 Determination of
of Qualification.
Qualification. It is important
C-6.6 Obligations
C-6.6 Obligations of
of the
the Contractor
Contractor
that the Inspector determine that all welders are qualified C-6.6.1 Contractor
C-6.6.1 Contractor Responsibilities.
Responsibilities. The Contractor
before work is begun on the project. If discovered after conducts inspection to the extent necessary to ensure
welding has begun, lack of welder qualification docu- conformance with the code, except as provided in 6.6.5.

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AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2015
AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2015
Part C
Part C
Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance Criteria
C-6.8 Engineer’s
C-6.8 Engineer’s Approval for
Approval for
Alternate Acceptance
Alternate Acceptance Criteria
Criteria
The criteria provided in Clause 5, Fabrication, are based
upon knowledgeable judgment of what is achievable by a
qualified welder. The criteria in Clause 5 should not be
considered as a boundary of suitability for service. Suit-
ability for service analysis would lead to widely varying
workmanship criteria unsuitable for a standard code.
Furthermore, in some cases, the criteria would be more
liberal than what is desirable and producible by a quali-
fied welder. In general, the appropriate quality accep-
tance criteria and whether a deviation produces a harmful
product should be the Engineer's decision. When modifi-
cations are approved, evaluation of suitability for service
using modern fracture mechanics techniques, a history of
satisfactory service in similar structures, or experimental
evidence is recognized as a suitable basis for alternate
acceptance criteria for welds.
C-Table§ 6.1
C-Tables 6.1 and
and 9.16,
9.16, Item
Item 8—Piping
8—Piping Porosity.
Porosity. Ta-
bles 6.1 and 9.16 contain visual acceptance criteria for
surface-breaking piping porosity, since this is visually
detectable, and may significantly reduce the cross-sec-
tional areas of the weld available to resist applied loads.
Other forms of surface-breaking porosity do not reduce
the cross-sectional area as significantly (see Annex l for
a definition of piping porosity).
C-6.9 Visual
C-6.9 Visual Inspection
Inspection
This subclause makes visual inspection of welds manda-
tory and contains the acceptance criteria for it. The fabri-
cation requirements of Clause 5, are also subject to
visual inspection. Allowable depth of undercut was re-
vised in the 1980 edition of the code to more accurately
reflect an acceptable percentage reduction of cross-sec-
tional area for three categories of stress. The undercut
values are for structures and individual members that are
essentially statically loaded.
Undercut values for cyclically loaded structures or
tubular structures (6.9 and 9.25) have not been changed
and should be specified for structures and individual
members subject to cyclic loading.
C-6.ll NDT
C-6.11 NDT
Except as required in 9.2.6.1, the weld quality require-
ments for NDT are not a part of the contract unless NDT
523
COM MENTARY
COMMENTARY
is specified in information furnished to the bidders or is
subsequently made a part of the contract. Both the
Owner and Contractor should give careful attention to
the provisions of 6.6.5 and 6.14.1. When, in addition to
the requirement for visual inspection, NDT is specified,
the acceptance criteria of 6.11, 6.12, or 6.13 apply. The
acceptance criteria for ASTM A514, A517, and A709,
Grade HPS 100W high-strength quenched and tempered
steels are based on inspection, visual or NDT, conducted
at least 48 hours after completion of the weld. Since
high-strength steels, when welded, and weld metals are
susceptible t0 delayed cracking caused by hydrogen em-
brittlement, stress rupture, etc., it has been necessary to
impose this time restriction to assure that any delayed
cracking has a reasonable chance of being discovered
during inspection.
C-6.12 RT
C-6.12 RT
Discontinuitv Acceptance Criteria for Stati-
C-6.12.1 Discontinuity
cally Loaded
cally Loaded Nontubular
Nontubular Connections.
Connections. See Figures C-
6.7 and C-6.8.
Cvclicallv Loaded Nontubular Connec-
C-6.12.2.1 Cyclically
tions in
tions in Tension.
Tension. See Figure C-6.9.
C-6.l3 UT
C-6.13 UT
C-6.13.1 Acceptance
C-6.13.1 Acceptance Criteria
Criteria for
for Statically
Statically Loaded
Loaded
Nontubular Connections.
Nontubular Connections. In the notes in Table 6.2, the
key words that are most often misinterpreted are “ . . .from
weld ends carrying primary tensile stress.” This phrase
generally refers to the ends of groove welds that are sub-
ject to applied tensile design loads that are normal to the
weld throat. When box columns are used with moment
connection members welded to the outside surface and di-
aphragm plates welded on the inside to transfer the pri-
mary stress through the box column member, the ends of
the moment plate-to-box column plate welds are subject
to the 2L distance from the weld end, but the welds on di-
aphragm plates on the inside of the box are not subject to
this restriction. The weld ends of the diaphragm plates do
not carry primary tensile stress because this stress is car-
ried through the width 0f the adjacent box member plates.
The note of Table 6.2 on scanning levels was added be-
cause experience with UT acceptance level provisions
previously required by the code resulted in acceptance of
some rather large gas pockets and piping porosity that
can occur in ESW and EGW welds. The shape of these
gas defects, which are peculiar to ESW and EGW welds,
is such that they reflect less ultrasound than the usual
weld discontinuities. Testing at 6 dB more sensitive than
standard testing amplitudes will not guarantee accurate
COM MENTARY
COMMENTARY
evaluation of gas defects in ESW or EGW welds. This
type of discontinuity is easily evaluated by RT, which is
recommended if indications of pipe or other gas disconti-
nuities are seen at scanning levels.
C-6.13.2 Acceptance
C-6.13.2 Acceptance Criteria
Criteria for
for Cyclically
Cyclically Loaded
Loaded
Nontubular Connections.
Nontubular Connections. See Clause C-6, Part F. The
code provides acceptance criteria for welds subject to
tensile stresses that differ from those subject only to
compressive stresses. Groove welds subject to compres-
sive stresses only and which are indicated on design or
shop drawings are required to conform to the acceptance
criteria of Table 6.2. Groove welds subject to tensile
stresses under any condition of loading and welds subject
only to compressive stresses but not specifically desig-
nated as such on design or shop drawings are required to
conform to the acceptance criteria of Table 6.3, which
are up to 6 dB higher than those in Table 6.2.
Part D
NDT
NDT Procedures
Procedures
C-6.14 Procedures
In addition to visual inspection, which is always neces-
sary to achieve compliance with code requirements, four
NDT methods are provided for in the code: (l) RT, (2)
UT, (3) MT, and (4) PT.
RT and UT are used to detect both surface and internal
discontinuities. MT is used to detect surface and near
surface discontinuities. PT is used to detect discontinui-
ties open to the surface. Other NDT methods may be
used upon agreement between Owner and Contractor.
C-6.14.6 Personnel
C-6.14.6 Personnel Qualification.
Qualification. In addition to Level
II technicians, Level III individuals may also perform
NDT tests provided they meet the requirements of NDT
Level II. NDT Level III engineers and technicians are
generally supervisors and may not be actively engaged in
the actual work of testing. Since there is no performance
qualification test for individuals qualified to NDT Level
III, all individuals providing testing services under the
code are reguired to be qualified to Level II, which has
specific performance qualification requirements.
C-6.15 Extent
C-6.15 Extent of
of Testing
Testing
It is important that joints to be nondestructively exam-
ined be clearly described in the information furnished to
bidders as explained in Part A of this Commentary.
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AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2015
AWS D1.1ID1.1M:2015
Part
Part E
E
Radiographic Testing
Radiographic Testing
C-6.16 RT of Groove Welds in Butt
Joints
C-6.16.1 Procedures
C-6.16.1 Procedures and
and Standards
Standards (RT).
(RT). The proce-
dures and standards set forth in this section are primarily
designed for the RT of CJP groove welds in cyclically
loaded structures and statically loaded structures. Typi-
cal geometries for structural connections and design re-
quirements for these structures were taken into account
in the preparation of the specification. An effort was
made to incorporate the methodology of ASTM and to
utilize procedures described in the ASME Boiler and
Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code
Pressure Vessel Code whenever possible.
C-6.17 RT Procedure
The single source of inspecting radiation is specified to
avoid confusion or blurring of the radiographic image.
Elsewhere in the code, limits are placed on the size of
the source to limit geometric unsharpness. RT sensitiv-
ity is judged solely on the quality of the IQI image(s), as
in both ASTM and ASME.
C-6.17.3 Removal
C-6.17.3 Removal of
of Reinforcement.
Reinforcement. When the Owner
wishes weld surfaces to be ground flush or otherwise
smoothed in preparation for RT, it should be stated in the
contract documents. The Owner and the Contractor
should attempt to agree in advance on which weld sur-
face irregularities will not be ground unless surface irreg-
ularities interfere with interpretation of the radiograph. It
is extremely difficult and often impossible to separate in-
ternal discontinuities from surface discontinuities when
reviewing radiographs in the absence of information de-
scribing the weld surface. When agreement can be
reached on weld surface preparation prior to RT, rejec-
tions and delays will generally be reduced.
C-6.17.3.1 Tabs.
C-6.17.3.1 Tabs. Weld tabs are generally removed
prior to RT so that the radiograph will represent the weld
as finished and placed in service. Contraction cracks are
commonly found in the weld at the interface between
weld tabs and the edge of the plate or shape joined by the
weld. These cracks are hard to identify in the radiograph
under the best conditions. It is considered necessary to
remove the weld tabs before attempting to radiograph the
boundaries of the welded joint (see also 06.17.13).
C-6.17.3.3 Reinforcement.
C-6.17.3.3 Reinforcement. When weld reinforce-
ment, or backing, or both, is not removed, shims placed
under the IQIs are required so that the IQI image may be
evaluated on the average total thickness of steel (weld