There are three quality requirement levels outlined in AS/NZS ISO 3834. These are detailed in Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of the standard. You must select the level to which your fabrication activities will be certified.
There is no specific guidance on which Part you must select. However, broadly speaking:
- Part 2 is relevant for specialist welding fabricators, where the requirements are technically demanding and vary from contract to contract. It also applies when the risk of a failure can cause fatalities.
- Part 3 is for situations where welding technology and materials used are technically demanding but the variety and range of product types is restricted
- Part 4 applies when materials, processes, designs and configuration would be simple and repetitive, and the risk related to the failure of a welded component is minimal.
Part 2: Comprehensive Quality Requirements
You may wish to opt for certification to Part 2 if your welding activities are:
- Highly safety‐critical, where failure likely to result in loss of life, environment risk, and so on
- High level of manufacturing complexity: challenging materials, complex processes, and so on
- Wide range of products manufactured involving a variety of different materials and/or processes
- Broad range of metallurgical problems, such as toughness, corrosion, metallurgical imperfections, fatigue, and so on
- High significance of manufacturing imperfections related to static or dynamic loading and product performance
You may also wish to opt for certification to part 2 to give you a competitive edge, demonstrating that you have the full control of your welded products production activities.
Part 3: Standard Quality Requirements
You may wish to opt for certification to Part 3 if your welding activities have a:
- Medium level of safety criticality, where there are significant consequences of failure but these are not threatening loss of life
- Medium level of manufacturing complexity
- Limited range of products manufactured
- Limited range of metallurgical problems
- Limited significance of manufacturing imperfections on product performance
Part 4: Basic Quality Requirements
You may wish to opt for certification to Part 4 if your welding activities are:
- Not safety‐critical
- No manufacturing complexity; mature and routine processes
- Simple products manufactured
- No or very limited metallurgical problems
- Manufacturing imperfections are insignificant to product performance
Criteria for Quality Requirement Level Selection
ASN/NZS ISO 3834 provides a set of criteria that a manufacturer can use in defining which Part should be applied. These criteria include:
- Extent and application of safety critical products
- The complexity of manufacture
- The range of products fabricated
- The range of different materials used
- The extent to which metallurgical problems may occur
- The extent that fabrication imperfections may affect the product performance
In addition, product standards, regulatory requirements or contracts may specify the particular quality level of ISO 3834 that a fabricator must apply. Where these are absent, the manufacturer should select the Standard Part taking account of the criteria listed above.
How to Get Certified to AS/NZS ISO 3834
Ready to have your organisation certified to AS/NZS ISO 3834? You can:
