Overview
EN ISO 15613:2025 - Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials - establishes how a preliminary Welding Procedure Specification (pWPS) is qualified by a pre‑production welding test. Published by CEN and identical to ISO 15613:2025, this standard updates and supersedes EN ISO 15613:2004. It applies to welding of metallic materials using arc, gas, beam, resistance, stud and friction welding processes and provides a framework for confirming that a proposed welding procedure achieves required quality and performance before production.
Key Topics and Requirements
- Preliminary welding procedure specification (pWPS): structure and information required to define the intended welding parameters prior to qualification.
- Qualification by pre‑production test: process for demonstrating that the pWPS produces acceptable welded joints through representative test pieces.
- Welding of test pieces: guidance on preparing and executing welding trials that reflect production conditions.
- Testing and acceptance: mandatory destructive and/or non‑destructive tests to assess weld quality (see clauses for fusion and resistance welding categories).
- Range of qualification: definition of which base materials, joint types, thicknesses and process variants are covered by the qualification.
- Validity and documentation: requirements for the Welding Procedure Qualification Record (WPQR) and the duration/limits of the qualification.
- Process coverage: explicitly applicable to arc welding, gas welding, beam welding (laser/electron), resistance welding (spot/seam/projection/upset/flash), stud and friction welding.
Practical Applications
- Use this standard to validate new welding procedures before full production, reducing risk of defective welds and costly rework.
- Valuable for manufacturers and fabricators in industries such as pressure equipment, construction, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding and heavy engineering where welded integrity is critical.
- Helps employers, welding coordinators, qualified welding inspectors and third‑party examiners produce defensible WPQRs and ensure compliance with procurement or regulatory specifications.
- Can be used to support conformity with EU Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/68/EU where applicable (see Annex ZA for the relationship).
Who Should Use It
- Welding engineers and procedure developers
- Quality managers and NDT/welding inspectors
- Certification bodies and third‑party examiners
- Fabrication shops and OEMs implementing controlled welding systems
Related Standards
- ISO 15607 (general rules for WPS)
- ISO 15609 series (Welding Procedure Specification - arc, gas, beam, resistance, hybrid)
- ISO 15614 series (Welding procedure test methods)
- ISO/EN ISO 25901 (welding vocabulary and safety terms)
Using EN ISO 15613:2025 ensures a consistent, auditable approach to qualifying welding procedures via pre‑production tests, improving weld reliability and regulatory alignment. Keywords: EN ISO 15613:2025, ISO 15613, pWPS, WPQR, welding qualification, pre‑production welding test, welding procedure specification.