GRTgaz adopts welding management 4.0 with SIRFULL

In order to optimize the quality control of its welding practices, GRTgaz, one of the European leaders in natural gas transmission, has developed a software solution that meets the requirements of its quality standards and is accessible to both operational staff and engineers.

To carry out this project initiated in 2016, GRTgaz called upon the young Strasbourg-based software publisher, SIRFULL, known for its welding quality management software WQS | Welding Quality Solution*. – (renamed “SiRFULL | welding management” in 2018) – (more than a hundred users in Europe) or for its work on digitizing the inspection of pressure equipment at Storengy with the SiRFULL software.

(image: grtgaz)

Looking for a solution to harmonize all good welding practices

Welding is a key component of the gas transporter business. GRTgaz has six welding workshops in the Operations Division, spread across France, as well as an Integrity Division with expertise in this field. These workshops are involved in more than 300 connection sites per year and carry out nearly 250 fabrications of welded assemblies per year in the workshop. The objective for the actors of this profession is to have a homogeneous and always updated documentation at the level of its organization.

For GRTgaz, all those involved in the business who need to have access to welding documentation must be able to do so under optimum conditions. Libraries of welding notebooks, operating procedures, welder qualifications…. More than a simple static library, it is a whole set of know-how and processes that ensure the conformity of uses to the rules of the business and the associated good practices. Thus, the daily implementation of the processes by the operational staff is systematically in line with the requirements. GRTgaz therefore wanted to harmonize all its good practices and make them easily accessible through the implementation of a new unified software.

1 year project in agile mode / 50 users / 1 close support

GRTgaz has chosen the 4.0 solution proposed by SIRFULL: the WQS* welding software. From mid-2016 to mid-2017, a development phase in agile mode was implemented. A team of 10 people from GRTgaz (8 for the welding business and 2 for the IT department) and from SIRFULL has been able to collaborate by quickly taking into account the needs and the results of various user tests. Thus, this team was able to design and then adapt the different modules of the software. “The software developed by SIRFULL allows all the actors of the welding business at GRTgaz to find all or part of a technical file, wherever it is ” explains Philippe IULIANO, assistant to the head of the Interventions Department of the Technical Division, in charge of this project.

(image : ouest france)

A first positive feedback

Since the fall of 2017, the software and its various functionalities have been deployed progressively in order to make it easier for end users to get the hang of it. About fifty users, with different businesses and needs, have been able to use the platform made available.

GRTgaz was quickly able to see the extent of the capabilities of the SIRFULL software. “The software allows us to considerably increase our traceability capacity. For example, we will be able to find in a few clicks the manufacturing or construction sites involving a batch of electrodes and its certificate several years old. Today, it’s very tedious because all the files have to be accessed manually.” says Philippe IULIANO. The new tool also makes it easier to manage welder qualifications. “WQS* allows us to perform optimizations, to cross-check qualifications without the operator knowing the standard by heart. The 6 workshops specialized in the field of welding will be able to work with greater autonomy as of 2018 ” adds Philippe IULIANO.

In 2018, SIRFULL will continue to provide support to users to ensure they get the most out of the system.

*(renamed “SiRFULL | welding management” in 2018)

Learn more:

• Découvrez aussi le retour d’expérience d’EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT avec SiRFULL® | welding management ;
• En savoir plus  sur SiRFULL®| welding management ;
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