Date:

03 December 2013

Enquiries:
Tel: +27 11 800 4324
+27 72 371 0912

Dear Boiler Serve Contractors / Power Station Engineering Managers / Power Station
Maintenance Managers / Power Station Outage Managers

PRACTICE NOTE WELDING RULE BOOK CONCESSIONS

Background

Since the introduction of the Welding Rule Book (WRB), there have been numerous
concessions applied for, to mitigate the requirements therein. The individual
circumstances and need for these concessions vary and are not for discussion in this
communication. It can however be said that the intention of the Eskom Welding
Engineering team is to move away from the need of concessions. One initiative to meet
this goal is the revision of the Welding Rule Book, taking into account all the learnings of
the last two years. The other should be adequate outage planning.

However, in the interim is has become evident that there is much confusion surrounding
the concession development, application and approval process in relation to the Welding
Rule Book specifically. It is the intent of this communication to clear up any confusion by
defining the process to be followed.

Before proceeding, it is important to note that the application, review and approval of an
engineering concession is inherently a process that originates from the intention to deviate
from the prescribed technical requirement/s. As such this has associated potential risk to
plant and personnel. Consequently, adequate engineering input and assessment should
be applied at all times to ensure that good engineering principles are adhered to.

Group Technology Division

Boiler Engineering
Eskom Enterprise Park, Building One, First Floor
Corner Simba and Leeukop road, Sunninghill, SA
Tel +27 11 800 4324 Fax +27 86 668 9024 www.eskom.co.za
Eskom Holdings SOC Limited Reg No 2002/015527/06
Way Forward
The following shall be adhered to when applying for a WRB concession:

1. Basis for concession application:

There are two distinct scenarios that result in the need for a WRB concession, as follows:

Scenario One:
The contractor can meet the requirements of the welding rule book but power station
personnel prohibit this (for whatever reason eg. impact on outage timeline).

Scenario Two:
The contractor cannot (for whatever reason) meet the requirements of the WRB.

NB: If there is occurrences outside of this that warrant the need for a concession, then this
will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

2. Concession Application
The concession application protocol for the two scenarios as detailed above is as follows:

Scenario One:
a) It is the responsibility of the relevant power station engineering representative to
apply for the concession. Not the contractor. This should be the responsible system
engineer.
b) The concession will be addressed to the responsible chief welding engineer (or
his/her delegate) for the specific station.

Scenario Two:
a) It is the responsibility of the contractors Welding Engineer (or his/her delegate)
representative to apply for the concession.
b) The concession will be addressed to the responsible site engineering
representative.
c) The responsible chief welding engineer for the specific station (or his/her delegate)
shall be consulted and shall provide the necessary technical support for the
concession approval or rejection.

3. Minimum technical information

It is often identified that incomplete information is issued together with a concession
request. This then results in numerous back and forth communications between the
involved parties which wastes time and created confusion.

In an effort to eliminate this, the following shall be included as part of the concession
application (irrespective of the applicable scenario above), as a minimum:
 Power Station Name and applicable unit/s.
Plant category (1,2 or 3).
Design and operating temperatures/ applicable.
Design and operating pressure/s applicable.
System design code.
Component design/fabrication code
Material/s to be welded (parent metal/s and consumable/s)
Dimensions / geometry (weld configuration). A sketch will be provided if necessary.
All relevant design drawings.
Welding procedure qualification record/s, welding procedure specification/s and
welder qualification record/s.
Process medium (steam, oil, gas, water etc.)
Number of affected welds.
Valve manual and specification (if applicable).
Reason for the concession application.
Detailed technical justification (this shall include the relevant technical expert input
from the correct engineering/quality disciplines).
Associated risk and/or risk assessment.
Proposed mitigation methodology, as applicable (including non-destructive testing).
Contact details of personnel involved. As a minimum this shall be the applicant
(system engineer or contractor technical specialist), the GMR 2.1, the responsible
AIA representative and the project/outage manager.
Validity period for the concession.

4. Technical Approval
With respect to technical involvement, the following individuals should be involved in the
decision making process, as a minimum:
a) The system engineer.
b) The contractors welding engineer (or his/her delegate).
c) The responsible AIA representative.
d) The responsible Eskom Welding Engineer
e) The on-site Eskom welding administrator/inspector (if applicable).

The signatures of the above mentioned personnel shall appear on all WRB concessions.
Any deviations from this shall be discussed with and agreed to by the Eskom Welding
Care Group Chairman.

5. Documentation
As far as practically possible, uniformity should be practiced regarding concession
templates.

It is recommended that the template provided in Appendix A be used for Eskom originating
concessions. This is the template provided in Eskoms quality manual QM-58. Contractor
concession templates should be as per the contractual agreement.
6. Turnaround times
From the date that the need for a concession is identified and made known to all the
relevant personnel (contractor, site engineering, AIA and welding engineering), the
following timelines shall apply:

a) Information gathering and issuing of concession: 3 working days maximum.

b) Review by Eskom welding engineer and relevant feedback issued: 5 working days
maximum.

It is important to note that the responsible person, as defined in section two above, should
make all efforts to ensure that these timelines are adhered to.

If there is a justified need to increase these time constraints, then it shall be communicated
to all the relevant contractor, AIA, site and welding engineering representatives and
thereafter mutually agreed to.

7. General
Eskom and Contractor management are requested to distribute this communication
to all their relevant personnel.
Proper outage planning with consideration for the requirements of the WRB is
strongly suggested as to avoid the need for any concession applications.
All concerns and/or queries can be directed to the Eskom Welding Care Group
Chairman.

Donovan Govender, Pr.Eng, IWE

Eskom Welding Care Group Chairman
APPENDIX A: