WPS, PQR and WQR: what each record proves and the order they are written
Last reviewed
Short answer
A PQR (Procedure Qualification Record) is the evidence: it records the parameters actually used on a test weld and the mechanical test results. A WPS (Welding Procedure Specification) is the instruction: it converts that evidence into ranges a welder may work within on production. A WQR (Welder Qualification Record, also called WPQ) is about the person: it proves a named welder produced an acceptable weld to a qualified procedure. The order is always preliminary WPS, then test weld, then PQR, then WPS, then WQR.
Key numbers
- PQR records
- Actual parameters used, plus mechanical test results
- WPS records
- Permitted ranges derived from one or more PQRs
- WQR records
- A named welder, tested against a qualified procedure
- AS/NZS 1554.1 butt thickness range
- 0.5 to 2.0 times the thickness of the thinner test plate, with no upper limit at 36 mm and above
- Written order
- pWPS, test weld, PQR, WPS, WQR
The PQR is evidence, not an instruction
A Procedure Qualification Record captures what was actually done on a qualification test weld: the process, the parent material, joint geometry, position, consumable, preheat and interpass temperature, and the amps, volts and travel speed recorded run by run. It then records the results of the required mechanical tests.
Because a PQR is a record of a single event, its values are actuals, not ranges. A PQR that shows 240 A does not permit 240 A plus or minus anything on production. It is the WPS, derived from the PQR, that carries the permitted range. Treating PQR actuals as if they were ranges is one of the most common documentation errors in fabrication QA.
- AS/NZS 1554.1 mechanical tests
- Specimen counts come from Table 4.7.1, and vary by SP or GP weld category and by whether consumables and preparation are prequalified
- Typical test method standards
- AS 2205.2.1 (transverse butt tensile), AS 2205.3.1 (bend), AS 2205.5.1 (macro), AS 2205.6.1 (impact), AS 2205.7.1
The WPS converts evidence into permitted ranges
A Welding Procedure Specification is the document a welder actually works to. Every variable on it is bounded: a thickness range rather than a test plate thickness, a current range rather than a recorded current, a position set rather than the single position that was tested.
Those bounds come from the essential variables of the governing standard applied to the PQR. Under AS/NZS 1554.1 Table 4.11(A) item (o), a butt weld qualification test qualifies production thickness from 0.5 to 2.0 times the thickness of the thinner test plate, and Clause 4.1.2(k) removes the upper limit entirely once the material reaches 36 mm. The electrical tolerances are process dependent, which is why a single blanket tolerance across a WPS register is usually wrong.
- Current tolerance
- Plus or minus 15% for MMAW and GTAW; plus or minus 10% for SAW, GMAW and FCAW
- Voltage tolerance
- Plus or minus 15% for MMAW and GTAW; plus or minus 7% for GMAW, FCAW and SAW
- Travel speed tolerance
- Plus or minus 15%
- Preheat
- A decrease of more than 20 degrees C below the qualified preheat is an essential variable
The WQR qualifies the person, not the procedure
A Welder Qualification Record (WQR, or WPQ under ASME nomenclature) proves that a named individual welded an acceptable test piece using a qualified procedure. It carries its own ranges, and those ranges are deliberately different from the procedure ranges: welder qualification is generally more permissive on thickness and more restrictive on position.
WQRs also expire, and under AS/NZS 1554.1 Clause 4.12.2.4 they expire for three separate reasons: six months or more without the relevant process, a change of employer for welders not qualified to AS/NZS 2980, NZS 4711 or ISO 9606-1, and any specific reason to question the welder’s ability. A register that tracks only issue dates will quietly go out of date on all three.
- Procedure qualification asks: does this recipe produce a sound weld?
- Welder qualification asks: can this person follow the recipe?
- A valid production weld needs both, plus a welder whose qualified range covers the joint being welded.
What carries across in ForgeQM
ForgeQM generates a draft WPS from an approved PQR rather than asking you to retype it. Material, process, welding code, joint design, positions, preheat and interpass, filler and gases, PWHT and technique fields, and the pass rows all carry across.
Where the governing standard has digitised essential variables, the qualified ranges are calculated rather than copied. For AS/NZS 1554.1 that means the 0.5t to 2.0t butt thickness range; for AS/NZS 1554.3 it means a 0.5 to 2.0 times bar diameter range. Single-ended PQR values are deliberately not rendered as if they were two-sided qualification ranges.
Frequently asked questions
Can you have a WPS without a PQR?
Only where the governing standard offers a prequalified route. AS/NZS 1554.1 and AWS D1.1 both allow prequalified procedures within defined limits, in which case the WPS is supported by the standard rather than by a test weld. Outside those limits, a WPS needs a supporting PQR. ForgeQM blocks activation of a WPS for a mandate standard unless it has a supporting PQR or a prequalified route, and any override is recorded with a reason.
Does one PQR only produce one WPS?
No. A single PQR can support several WPSs, for example different joint configurations within the same qualified thickness and process range. Some standards also allow a WPS to be supported by multiple PQRs, which is how a wider thickness range or a multi-process procedure is built up.
Is a WPQR the same as a PQR?
Broadly yes. WPQR (Welding Procedure Qualification Record) is the ISO and European term, and PQR is the ASME and Australian term. Both name the record of the qualification test weld. Be careful not to confuse WPQR with WPQ, which is a welder qualification, not a procedure qualification.
What thickness does a PQR qualify under AS/NZS 1554.1?
For butt welds, Table 4.11(A) item (o) makes it an essential variable to move outside 0.5 to 2.0 times the thickness of the thinner test plate. Clause 4.1.2(k) then qualifies that: the band applies below 36 mm, and at 36 mm and above no upper limit applies. On a T butt joint between members of unequal thickness, the limitation applies to the prepared member abutting the non-prepared member. Fillet welds are frequently not limited on thickness.
Sources
This guide is written against the published standards below. Standards are revised, and project specifications override general guidance, so confirm clause numbers against the edition your contract names before relying on them.
- AS/NZS 1554.1:2011 Structural steel welding, Part 1: Welding of steel structuresTable 4.7.1 mechanical test matrix, Table 4.11(A) essential variables including item (o) on thickness, Clause 4.1.2(k) thickness limitations, Clause 4.12.2 welder qualification, Table 5.2.2 joint assembly tolerances.
- AS/NZS ISO 9606-1 Qualification testing of welders, Fusion welding, Part 1: SteelsWelder qualification test pieces and qualified ranges. Accepted as evidence of welder ability under AS/NZS 1554.1 Clause 4.12.2.2.
- AS 2205 series, Methods for destructive testing of welds in metalTest methods referenced by the AS/NZS 1554.1 mechanical test matrix.
- ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IXAlternative procedure and performance qualification framework, and the source of the WPQ and WPQR terminology.
Related guides
- Welding Qualification Ranges ExplainedA qualification test on one plate qualifies a band of production work. How welder thickness, position, joint type, process and material group ranges are derived, where they differ from procedure ranges, and what triggers reapproval.
- AS/NZS 1554 Weld Categories: SP vs GP vs FPSP and GP are weld categories in AS/NZS 1554.1, and FP belongs to AS/NZS 1554.5. What each category changes about qualification, workmanship, inspection extent and acceptance, and which part of the 1554 series applies to your material.
- MDR and ITP: Building a Fabrication Handover PackAn ITP plans the inspection, an MDR proves it happened. What a manufacturing data record contains, how it maps back to the ITP hold and witness points, and why compiling it at the end of a job is what makes handover painful.
Stop checking this by hand
ForgeQM applies the AS/NZS 1554 series as checks while you write the record, not after. Qualification ranges are generated from the PQR, NDT extents come back with the clause they came from, and job data carries across every document through to the MDR.
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