BCSA updates welding publication

The British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) has published a second edition of the Typical Welding Procedure Specifications for Structural Steelwork.

First published in 2009, it was prepared to simplify and standardise welding procedures for structural steelwork and to develop qualified Welding Procedure Specifications for use in fabrication workshops. Since then, the field of welding has seen several developments, changes in welding practice and more recently a drive towards the use of higher strength steels.

BCSA Manager Fabrication and Welding Tom Cosgrove said: “This second edition builds on the information provided in the original publication, introduces the use of higher strength steels, other welding processes and updates the previous content to reflect current standards and specifications.”

Whereas the original document was based solely on the solid wire Metal-arc Active Gas shielded (MAG) process, this second edition also contains a small number of preliminary Welding Procedure Specifications (pWPS) and partially completed Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS), using MAG welding with flux cored electrode (FCAW) for high yield steel and Manual Metal Arc (MMA) for site welding.

In total, the publication contains 20 pWPS, to support the necessary welding procedure tests on the route to qualifying a typical WPS, and 49 partially completed WPS, which cover the majority of those required for typical buildings and bridges.

They cover weld types ranging from simple fillet welds to the more difficult butt welds made from one side without backing.

This second edition (BCSA Publication No 58/18) is available in PDF format only from the BCSA Publications and Online Shop: https://www.steelconstruction.org/shop/, with BCSA members receiving a 50% discount.