ML19225A404

Testimony Concerning Contention 14 Re Cable Trays Welding

ML19225A404
Person / Time
Site:	Zimmer
Issue date:	06/08/1979
From:	Hofstadter E MIAMI VALLEY POWER PROJECT
To:
Shared Package
ML19225A402	List: ML19225A401 ML19225A404 ML19225A418 ML19225A422
References
NUDOCS 7907190136
Download: ML19225A404 (3)

Text

TESTBGT T EDWLN p. HCESTADIER CONCESTE CQ7ILTICN 14

1. Q please state your full name and address.

A Edwin Hofstadter, 20 Aquilla, Florence, Kentucky, 41M2.

2. Q State your professional hvkground.

A I have been a Manufacturing Engineer in many areas of mnnufacturirg for over 40 years. For over 25 of these years I was in various supervisory levels and 18 of these years I was at the canager level. I was Manager of Industrial Engineering at Husky Products for 5 t years. There I uns responsible for Manufacturing Methods and I.al;cr Standards, Tooling and Equipnent, includingselecticn and procedurenent and =aintenance of same.

3. Q Were the welders at Husky who welded the cable trays for Zwer required to te certified at the time they did that welding?

A Yes, welders were recuired to be certified according to Section 9, A.S.M.E.

4. Q On stat do you base that anser?

A Certification procedures emmenced in Septenber of 1974, Rusky required this certification. Welders were to work on the 74 m plant with the understanding and stipulation that they would be properly certified.

5. Q Describe the type of certification required for welders in order to do welding on the cable trays, specifically the vertical fittings.

i A To obtain certification, welders were furnished four sets of test pieces. Onr was a practice piece stich they could pnseti e on for 15 minutes. Afterwards, they were given two test pieces--on f vertical and cne borizontal. Rese pieces were welded and checked fsu visual defects.

E en the pieces were grinded and checked for visual defects. Then the pieces were cut to check for fusion. If these were brrken, the welds were tnd, Pnd supposedly the welders were not given certificaticn. The welds dic'. not fuse. All the test pieces broke on +1e first round.

Certific.ttion was to prove that these welders had the trnining, skill, and aptitude to take good cuality relds. These welders did not, yet they were certified.

6. Q Did the welders at Husky who welded the cable trays for Zimner meet the certification requirenents described above at the time they did that welding?

A No.

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7. Q On what do you base that answer?

A Scme welders were falsely certified. A welder r::ust pass eight tests (four mig tests: altnimn, steel, inrizontal, vertical; and four tig tests: altninte, steel, borizontal, vertical) in order to becane fully certified. However, scme of the welders were declared fully certified even though they only passed two of the tests.

8. Q Were the welders who partom.ed the welds on the cable trays for Zimer ever tested for purposes of certification prior to perfn mi"C those welds?

A Yes, the testdrg for certificaticn started prior to cable tray work for Zinmer.

9. Q What, if any, role did you play in that testing process and sty?

A After the Zinner order had arrived in May,1974, we set up our certification testing for August, lJ74. I contacted Ghastone Iaboratories and the I2b helped develop the first tests. All welders were tested and all of then failed. I observed all of the testing be,w I was responsible for processes used for manufacturing.

10. Q Describe any programs or prm L'ures that you are aware of that Mmky a:: ployed to attenpt to trah and certify the welders who performed the welds on the Zinmer cable trays.

A After the welders failed, I contacted John Chrig at Bobart E nnfacturing.

He suggested we contact a welding school to which our welders cculd attend to overcane their particular problen areas. I contacted John Spievack of Technicron, Inc. , Schcol of Welding. He came to mmky and spent an afternoon with our welders during stRh time he observed then welding. Mr. Spievack offered two main concluT_ons in his zwt.:

1. Husky welders lack proper technical trnining to do quality welds;

2. The incentive systen cf paying welders is not cen-ducive to quality welding.

Because of the conditions that exist (welding machi m settings and gas flows),

it uns observed that in: proper welding is a v.umn occurance at Husky Prcducts and the welds are not stmeturally sound. This report was shown to the editor of We]d Engineer and be confirmed that Mr. Spievack's technical description of the welding was accurate. Mr. Spievack suggested Emky Prcducts should consider a training prcgram for its welders.

11. Q Describe in detail the Mmky incentive systen in force at the time the 7imne cable trays were welded at mmky.

A S+nnanMs are set en all welding jcbs. Husky welders were given a specific time to weld. If they welded unre pieces, they would get paid nore. Husk'f m s p ying for good welds and getting infericr welds. Even after the welders were tested for certification, the welds rmnined the sarre.

Prcdudion welding tcok place not the quality welding p:ocess that uns requdNd in specifications for Z2::mer. n ,s 7 -, L . j dJ '

12. Q iVhat a:ployees were subject to the incentive systen?

A All production exployees were subject to the incentive systen. All processes were on the incentive systen.

13. Q Describe in detail bow the incentive systen affects the quality of the welds produced.

A In order for a welder to meet required production levels and benefit fran the incentive systen that welder's mNnes were set at raaximun output levels. This condition is just below the point of bming holes in the parent metal and thus creates inferior welds. The metal is merely blasted tcgether. This method is costly and produces improper welds that do not meet specificaiton.

14. Q In what way, if any, does the incentive systen have the effect of reducing the quality of quality production welds as carpared with test welds?

A The welding test procedure is set up differently tPs production line welding. prcduction line welding was not in accordance with good welding procedures. Because of the incentive systen, welders tried to prcxiuce as cuny welds as possible in a short period of time. Welders used extranely high an;nrages and gas coverage. Welders ran extrenely bot velds due to speed and thus welds cooled quickly and cracked. penetration is poor and weakening of the parent metal takes place. Although these cceditions were not present during the testing for certification, the welders could not even pass on their test pieces.

15. Q Describe in detail in what way the welds on the cable trays at Zimner, specifically on the vertical fittings, do not meet the specifications.

A I feel it is mandatory tb_, I testify in person on this questian.

Visual understanding of th u welding process is necessary. I will answer this question with visa al aids.

16. Q Describe bow you came to the above conclusion.

A The welders had not met certification requirements or were certified falsely. 'Iberefore, it is clear that these welders were incapable of producing quality welds on the production line, espechily in light of Husky's incentive systen. These inferior welds ennnot meet specifications.

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