30 production sites in the world,
3 production sites in France
As part of the world’s leading manufacturer of air filtration solutions, CAMFIL France makes a point of honour of the quality of its products, particularly those for the nuclear sector. In this highly regulated field, clients expect their suppliers of nuclear filtration solutions to be transparent and rigorous in the traceability of the equipment delivered.
Addressing quality and safety issues, the documentary traceability of the equipment manufactured by CAMFIL France is essential. However, this follow-up can prove to be “long to manage daily“, says Alexandre Kurzer, IWT / QHSE technician and SIRFULL Welding referent at CAMFIL France.
For each order, the documentary follow-up traces the Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and the Procedure Qualification Records (PQR) in Excel or PDF templates, to link the Welder Qualifications and the welding logbook…
However, “We were seeing customer complaints“. These problems are due to the repetitive nature of these monitoring tasks and the multitude of data editing tools used (EXCEL, WORD, PDF, etc.).
To ensure that documentation work is not done to the detriment of welding know-how, “we set out to find a professional and easy-to-use software solution to modernize the traceability of our jobs. »
Project progress and usage of the SIRFULL Welding system
In 2017, CAMFIL France deploys SIRFULL Welding on the sheet metal part positioned on the supply of nuclear equipment. Indeed, “the customers of this sector are in demand for a robust quality follow-up. » Before the launch, the user team received training and support in the recovery of historical data (more than 70 PQR, 300 WPS and Welder Qualifications).
Following these steps, CAMFIL France was able to retrieve its welding qualifications in the online digital work environment and edit the content of a customer project from a web browser. In the solution, the welding coordinator can detail all the p repair steps at the manufacturing of equipment: drafting of Operating Procedures, management of company qualifications and welders’ certificates, location of welds on the equipment plan, importing certificates of materials used… More precisely, “sheet metal welding traceability is established by different people authorized in the SIRFULL Welding solution” details Alexandre Kurzer. These users can synthesize this information and export it to a Customizable welding notebook in PDF format.
Besides, the welding coordinator and the team of business managers can collaboratively lead a manufacturing project until its delivery thanks to a table of weld scheduling and non-destructive testing.
With the help of the production data, the company can edit a final work file (or End of Manufacturing Report) with the content and format expected by the client. This document provides valuable information for the commissioning of the equipment (controls performed, non-conformities detected and corrective actions, consumables used, etc.).
To customize the tool in the long term, SIRFULL integrates new WPS templates and specific welding client specifications at the request of CAMFIL France. All these updates are made remotely thanks to the SIRFULL Welding CLOUD.
Outcomes and Outlook of the Project
Welding quality is not the business of one person, but a whole team. Indeed, the welding coordinator evolving in SIRFULL Welding gives good results in terms of “autonomy and time saving” thanks to better coordination around welding preparation and follow-up tasks.
“The tool has been adopted very quickly by all the account managers“. They can collaborate with the welding coordination on project management, consult and update parts of the file from the common environment. Also, SIRFULL Welding brings better readability on welding quality management during audits; the digital support allows to easily read and share WPS, PQR, WPQ as well as all consumable and material certificates.
According to Alexandre Kurzer, “the tool is a real competitive advantage” in a market where not all manufacturers can reconcile respect for standards, compliance and responsiveness. Also, the digital transformation carried out by CAMFIL France clears the way towards the ISO 3834 certification; a new asset for its competitiveness. Moreover, SIRFULL Welding will be able to help CAMFIL France to improve its welding quality system with future auditors.