This European Standard defines the qualification testing of welders for the fusion welding of steels.
It provides a set of technical rules for a systematic qualification test of the welder, and enables such qualifications to be uniformly accepted independently of the type of product, location and examiner/ examining body.
When qualifying welders, the emphasis is placed on the welder' s ability to manually manipulate the electrode / welding torch / welding blowpipe and thereby producing a weld of acceptable quality.
The welding processes referred to in this standard include those fusion-welding processes which are designated as manual or partly mechanized welding. It does not cover fully mechanized and automated welding processes (see EN 1418).