For fabricators, engineers, and inspectors, compliance with the ASME welding standard is the price of entry to the global pressure equipment market. More importantly, it is the assurance that a weld will not fail under pressure, temperature, or time.
Changes that affect the mechanical properties (e.g., strength, ductility) of the weld. Changing an essential variable (like switching from manual to automatic) requires a new PQR and WPS.
While this article focuses on the welding standard ASME, it is worth noting that other countries have equivalent standards. However, ASME has achieved de facto global status because: