WELDING ECONOMY &

PRODUCTIVITY

M.P.Jayakumar
Senior Deputy General Manager
Human Resource Development Centre
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Tiruchirappalli 620 014

Email: mpj@bheltry.co.in
 WELDING ECONOMY &
PRODUCTIVITY

Productivity is a measure of Efficiency

Productivity = Output / Input
Productivity can be improved by
improving the capacity utilization or by
elimination of waste.
Productivity is an attitude of mind.
Waste is any unnecessary input or any
undesirable output from the system.
WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

• Time Study
• Production Study
• Work sampling
• Analytical Estimation
• Synthesis from Standard Data
• MTM-PMTS
• METHOD STUDY SHOULD
PRECEDE WORK MEASUREMENT
 STANDARD TIME
Standard Time for a welding operation is the
amount of time that the qualified, properly
trained and experienced welder should be take
to perform a specific welding operation under
specified conditions under normal performance.
• OBSERVED TIME * RATING FACTOR = NORMAL
TIME
• NORMAL TIME + ALLOWANCES = STANDARD TIME
• FATIGE ALLOWANCE, PERSONAL NEEDS AND
DELAYS.
• STANDARD TIME WILL BE CALCULATED BY
BREAK DOWN OF VARIOUS ELEMENTS IN
WELDING.
 ELEMENTS OF WELDING OPERATION

ARCING – Note down ampere, dia and length of

electrodes used.
CLEANING - Chisel / Wire Brush / Pneumatic
chipper, No. of layers used
MANIPULATION DURING WELDING – Change
electrode, adjust current, getting electrodes,
move accessories, Remove and put on helmet,
gloves, apron etc.
MANIPULATION OF THE JOB - Turning, lifting,
clamping, declamping etc of the job.
 Example – Calculation of
Standard Time
Sl. Description of the Preparati- Welding Manipul-
No. element on Time Time ation
Time

01. Collect documents 2.0

02. Study the Drawing 1.5

03. Connect the plug and 0.2

disconnect later

04. Switch on and Stop 0.3

later

05. Adjust Current 0.2

 Example – Calculation of Standard
Time..
06. Clean Work Place 1.5

07. Fill up the Job Card 2.0

08. Handover completed Job Card 2.0

09. Call Crane 3.0

10. Tie and loosen the piece 1.25

11. Bring the job from a distance of 0.9

20 Metres
12. Clamp the earthing cable 0.15

13. Weld 2Metres with basic coated 14.00

electrode
14. Complete Weld Ends 0.10

15. Move to side 0.60

 Example – Calculation of Standard
Time..

16. Call Crane 3.0

17. Rig and Untie 1.25

18. Change through 180 degrees 1.00

19. Weld Next side 2Metre 14.0

20. Complete the weld 0.10
21. Stamp welders Number 0.10
22. Call Crane 3.00

23. Rig and Untie 1.25

24. Take the piece away for 20 Metre 0.90
distance
Total time in mins. 9.70 28.20 16.40
 ANALITICAL CALCULATION

Introduction:
• In this method, arcing time, welding time,
requirement of welding consumables etc.
or to be estimated based on the data from
• Direct Time Studies and
• Welding information like are time, rate of
deposition, current etc. normally available
in electrode manufacturer’s literatures and
catalogure.
 ANALITICAL CALCULATION
• Analytically calculated times do not completely
replace direct time studies. However, they have a
number of advantages like :-
• They reduce the number of studies that must be
made.
• They can be used for predicting costs, schedules
and delivery periods while estimating and quoting
the firms offer.
• Analytical calculations are economical to apply
for obtaining Time Standards for a wider coverage
of operation in the plant.
 ANALITICAL CALCULATION
• Whenever new sizes or new edge preparation
etc. is being introduced, estimates could be
made with accuracy and consistency without
waiting for the job to be taken-up for production.

• Analytical calculation of welding data,

essentially involves first finding out general
expression for the weight of weld metal
deposited for a given edge preparation,
configuration and other welding data, using
previous time study results and secondary
substituting the numerical values (size of the
joint) in the expression to get the require data.
 WEIGHT OF WELD DEPOSITED

• The area of cross section of the edge

preparation when multiplied by the length
would give the volume for which the weld
metal has to be deposited. To facilitate
the calculation, the areas of cross section
is divided into sections like rectangle
and/or triangle.
• In case of pipe butt joints, circumferential
length is the circumference passing
through the centre of gravity of the
section.
 WEIGHT OF WELD DEPOSITED

• This volume when multiplied by the

specific gravity of steel would give the
weight of weld metal to be deposited to
complete the joint.
• From the weld metal weight other welding
details like arcing time, welding time,
consumables required can be arrived at using
the data obtained from time studies and
welding data hand book
 WEIGHT OF WELD DEPOSITED
• Step by step calculation involved to find out the
weight of weld metal to be deposited for a butt joint
in pipe by manual arc welding is given below:
• The area of cross section of the edge preparation is
divided in to layers depending on the size of
electrode used.
• Each layer is further divided in to rectangles and/or
triangles.
• The volume for which weld metal is to be deposited
in each section (rectangle or triangle) is found as
volume of the Section = Area of the section *
circumference passing through the centre of gravity
of that section.
 WEIGHT OF WELD DEPOSITED

• The volumes of all such section in a layer are

added to give the volume of metal to be
deposited in that layer.
• The volume of weld metal to be deposited in a
layer when multiplied by the specific gravity
(7.8 gms/cc) would give the weight of weld metal
to be deposited in that year.
• The weight of weld metal to be deposited per
joint is got by cumulating the weight for all the
layers.
 ARCING TIME
• The arcing time per joint is the duration of time
for which the are is struck and sustained during
the welding of the joint.

• Arcing Time = Wt. Of weld metal deposited

using a particular size of electrode / Deposition
Rate of Electrode.
No of electrodes burnt per shift 60 with Arcing
time of 120 mins.
 ARCING TIME

• The deposition Rate is the weight of weld metal

deposited per unit time (e.g. gms/min.). It
depends on the type of electrode, size of
electrode and the current used. It can be got
from Time Study results or it is supplied by the
electrode manufacturer themselves (e.g.. Advani
Oerlikon Welding Hand Book).
• Since the size of electrodes used changes for
each layer, the arcing time has to be found for
each layer and added to get total arcing time per
joint.
 WELDING TIME

The welding time can be found by

multiplying the arcing time by a factor.
This factor will depend on the type of
joint and nature of work can be
obtained from the previous time studies
on the similar work. Also some welding
data Hand Books provides these
information.
 CONSUMABLES
REQUIRED
No. of Electrodes = Wt. Of weld metal deposited using
a particular size of electrode /
Wt. Of metal yield per electrode.

The weight of metal deposited by burning an electrodes is

not equal to the weight of core material of the electrode.
The actual weight of metal deposited per electrode (I.e.)
Metal yield depends on the deposition efficiency for the
electrode and the length of the stub thrown away after
welding.
Deposition Efficiency = Metal yield per electrode /
Core Material Wt. Per electrode * 100
 CONSUMABLES
REQUIRED
The deposition Efficiency will be more
than 100 for iron powder electrode and less
than 100 for others. If ‘n’ is deposition
efficiency of the electrode, ‘L’ is the length
of electrode and ‘1’ is the length of throw
away stub, then metal yield per electrode.
= (Core Material Wt. Per * n/100 * (L-1)/L
Electrode)
 CONSUMABLES
REQUIRED

This analytical calculation,

at the best, can only
supplement and at any rate
cannot substitute Time
Studies. The accuracy of the
results obtained by this
method largely depends on the
norms got from time studies.
FACTORS INFLUENCING WELDING
ECONOMY
• Design for Economical use of filler metal
• Plan for Conservation of Material
• Use Setting up Fixtures to eliminate measuring
and to facilitate fit up.
• Use Positioning Fixtures/Rotators
• Use the most suitable size and economical type
of filler material
• Avoid over welding-use templates
Increasing the operator Factor (Time spent on
actual welding)
 OPERATOR FACTOR
• Represents the percentage of work day spent in
actual welding (ARC Time) .
• Percentage of ARC Time controls the economy of
deposition of weld metal .
• ARC Time varies from 10% to 50% depending
upon the type of work and handling facilities.
• The average figure of moderately heavy and large
fabrication work is approximately 40% of welders
working hours.
• High operator factors is an indication of
efficiency.
 OPERATOR FACTOR
• Jigs, Fixer, Setup, Fit up are directly related to
the operator factor.
• Their efficiency will have a great effect upon
welding speed and operator comfort and safety
.
• Changing from Vertical or Overhead to the flat
position can increase the welding speed as
much as 400% and increase the operator factor
and welder efficiency.
• The use of a helper will increase the operator
factor.
COMPUTER AIDED TIME STUDY

The analyst, using an electronic data

collector, can make a time study more accurately
and more quickly than by stop-watch time study
for many kinds of work. However, the greatest
benefits result from having the computer perform
the computations and clerical work after the time
study is completed on the production floor.
COMPUTER AIDED TIME STUDY
The computer deletes noncyclic,
abnormal, and foreign elements and processes
them separately. It determines the average time
for each regular element and for each noncyclic
element and applies the appropriate rating factor,
thus obtaining the normal time for each element.

Compiles the total normal time, adds the

allowance, and calculates time study data showing
the continuous reading and the subtracted time for
each element
COMPUTER AIDED TIME STUDY

Makes an elemental time distribution for each

element in the study and shows the number of
readings needed for a given degree of
accuracy.
This is all done quickly, accurately, and
economically. The time required to transmit
the data from the data collector to the
computer and to obtain the print-out depends
upon the available computer facilities and the
length and nature of the time study.
 FACTORS FOR IMPROVING
PRODUCTIVITY
INCREASING THE OUTPUT
Selection of Process (Flux core ARC vs Manual Arc)
• Use of positioners
• Use of Manipulators
• Increasing the operator factor (arc time)
• Use of proper filler metal (for Higher Deposition)
Use of Automation and Semi-Automation wherever
possible. Improve layout
• Reducing defect rate
• Use of correct size of electrode and current, WPS
• Reduction of Rework
 REDUCING THE INPUT
• Proper design of weld Joint
• Proper Edge Preparation
• Reduce Stub End Losses (15% to 20%)
• Reduction in over welding (Number of passes)
• Use of Higher deposition Electrodes
• Reducing the consumables like Gas, Electrodes
filer metal etc.
• Reducing the Labour and Overhead Cost
• Proper Estimation
• Recycling of flux