Supply of welding management cloud software system and support to necsa (advanced manufacturing) for a period of three years.

No specific eligibility criteria (e.g., CSD registration, tax clearance, B-BBEE level, CIDB grading) are stated in the provided document. Bidders must comply with the functional and technical requirements in the user requirements specification.

The purpose of this document is to define the user and business requirements for a Welding

Management System (WMS). The system shall provide comprehensive lifecycle management of

welding operations including, but not limited to: welder qualification lifecycle management, Welding

Procedure Specification (WPS) and Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) control, weld traceability

and mapping, inspection and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) integration, quality control, compliance

monitoring, and reporting and analytics.

2 business objectives

The system shall:

 Improve weld traceability and visibility.

 Eliminate manual spreadsheets and paper-based records.

 Improve compliance with welding standards and customer requirements.

 Reduce welding defects and rework.

 Improve audit readiness.

 Provide real-time project status reporting.

 Centralize welding documentation.

 Improve productivity and quality control.

3 references, abbreviations and definitions

Term Definition

WPS Welding Procedure Specification

PQR Procedure Qualification Record

WPQR Welder/Welding Operator Performance Qualification Record (EN/ISO terminology)

WPQ Welder Performance Qualification (ASME/AWS terminology)

NDT Non-Destructive Testing

NDE Non-Destructive Examination

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

User requirements for a welding

Revision 01

Management system

of 12

MAT-007

requirements and alert users when limits are approached or exceeded.

MAT-009

provide alerts for approaching expiration.

4.4 Welding procedure specification (wps)

Mnyani s

Approved General Manager

Advanced manufacturing

Distribution

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

User requirements for a welding

Revision 01

Management system

of 12

Table of contents

Approval & distribution ............................................................................................. 1

Revisions .......................................................................................................................... 3

1 purpose ..................................................................................................................... 4

2 business objectives .............................................................................................. 4

3 references, abbreviations and definitions ................................................ 4

4 requirements .......................................................................................................... 5

4.1 General System Requirements ............................................................................... 5

4.2 Weld Tracking and Traceability ............................................................................... 6

4.3 Materials Traceability .............................................................................................. 7

4.4 Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) ................................................................. 7

4.5 Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) Management .............................................. 8

4.6 Welder and Welding Operator Qualification Management ....................................... 8

4.7 Inspection and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Integration ..................................... 9

4.8 Repair and Non-Conformance Management ........................................................... 9

4.9 Documentation and document control ................................................................... 10

4.10 Reporting and Analytics ........................................................................................ 10

4.11 Data Migration and Legacy Integration .................................................................. 11

4.12 End-of-life and data extraction ............................................................. 11

4.13 Testing requirements ............................................................................................ 11

5 support ................................................................................................................... 12

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

User requirements for a welding

Revision 01

Management system

of 12

Revisions

This document has been revised in accordance with the following schedule:

Rev. No. Date approved Nature of Revision Revision Date Prepared

01 Refer to cover page First issue

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

User requirements for a welding

Revision 01

Management system

of 12

Approval & distribution ............................................................................................. 1

Revisions .......................................................................................................................... 3

1 purpose ..................................................................................................................... 4

2 business objectives .............................................................................................. 4

3 references, abbreviations and definitions ................................................ 4

4 requirements .......................................................................................................... 5

4.1 General System Requirements ............................................................................... 5

4.2 Weld Tracking and Traceability ............................................................................... 6

4.3 Materials Traceability .............................................................................................. 7

4.4 Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) ................................................................. 7

4.5 Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) Management .............................................. 8

4.6 Welder and Welding Operator Qualification Management ....................................... 8

4.7 Inspection and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Integration ..................................... 9

4.8 Repair and Non-Conformance Management ........................................................... 9

4.9 Documentation and document control ................................................................... 10

4.10 Reporting and Analytics ........................................................................................ 10

4.11 Data Migration and Legacy Integration .................................................................. 11

4.12 End-of-life and data extraction ............................................................. 11

4.13 Testing requirements ............................................................................................ 11

5 support ................................................................................................................... 12

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

Management System (WMS). The system shall provide comprehensive lifecycle management of

welding operations including, but not limited to: welder qualification lifecycle management, Welding

Procedure Specification (WPS) and Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) control, weld traceability

and mapping, inspection and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) integration, quality control, compliance

monitoring, and reporting and analytics.

 Improve weld traceability and visibility.

 Eliminate manual spreadsheets and paper-based records.

 Improve compliance with welding standards and customer requirements.

 Reduce welding defects and rework.

 Improve audit readiness.

 Provide real-time project status reporting.

 Centralize welding documentation.

 Improve productivity and quality control.

GEN-016 tablets and a dedicated mobile app (iOS/Android) for offline data capture of inspections,

weld logs, and NDT results.

Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015

the source raw material heat/lot (via material heat number), the filler material certificate,

WTR-004

the approved WPS/PQR, the qualified welder record, the NDT/inspection results, and

any non-conformance or repair records.

of 12

4.7 Inspection and non-destructive testing (ndt) integration

NDT-001

visual examination per code requirements.

The system shall support the generation and management of Inspection Requests (IR)

NDT-002 and Inspection Release Notes (IRN) with assigned inspector, required date, and linked

weld records.

Weld inspection logs shall capture: inspection date and time, inspector identity and

certification level (e.g., CSWIP 3.1, AWS CWI, EN ISO 9712 Level 2), inspection

NDT-003 method, acceptance criteria applied (code and clause reference), findings/defect

observations (using standard defect notation), and accept/reject disposition with

justification.

The system shall support the recording and tracking of non-conformances (NCRs)

NDT-004 raised during inspection, linking each NCR to the affected weld record(s), the root

cause analysis, corrective action, and close-out evidence.

NDT-014

expiration.

4.8 Repair and non-conformance management

REP-005 welds, with structured fields for defect description, root cause, disposition, and

corrective action.

REP-006 approval, corrective action tracking, and closure with appropriate signature

requirements.

REP-007 The system shall support configurable NCR categorization and severity classification.

4.9 Documentation and document control

EOL-002 extracts all weld records, documents, audit trails, and images in open, machine

readable formats (JSON, XML, PDF/A, CSV).

EOL-003 The export utility shall be validated and made available at no additional cost during the

notice period.

4.13 Testing requirements

areas:

 An overview of the customer support and maintenance services offered.

 The cost of the annual maintenance plan.

 Provision of 3 years of post-implementation support to assist with system stabilization.

 A commitment to regularly train service and support staff, as necessary, to ensure up-to-date

knowledge and skills.

 Delivery of service and support in accordance with the agreed Service Level Agreement

(SLA).

 After-hours emergency contact details, including applicable service rates for support provided

outside regular business hours.

 Detailed information on the frequency of new software version releases.

 A proposed plan for implementing new releases and upgrades (e.g., scheduling during

weekends or non-business hours).

 The process followed for testing new versions, upgrades, and patches prior to deployment.

 A detailed migration process to be followed when upgrading to new software versions.

4.1 GENERAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall be deployable as a cloud-hosted (SaaS), on-premises, or hybrid solution, configurable per organizational security policy. GEN-001 Where a cloud-based deployment model is proposed, the system shall be hosted exclusively within the borders of South Africa. The system shall be a multi-user, role-based web application accessible via standard GEN-002 modern web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox — latest two major versions) The system shall support concurrent users without performance degradation, with GEN-003 defined SLAs for response time (≤2 seconds for standard transactions under normal load). GEN-004 The system shall provide a configurable, role-based access control (RBAC) framework The system shall support single sign-on (SSO) via SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, or OpenID GEN-005 Connect, and integrate with enterprise directories (Active Directory, LDAP). The system shall provide a documented RESTful API and/or OData interface for GEN-006 integration with enterprise systems including ERP, PLM, MES, CMMS, and document management systems. The system shall comply with 21 CFR Part 11 and EU Annex 11 requirements for GEN-007 electronic records and electronic signatures where applicable. The system shall enforce electronic signatures that are unique to the individual, include GEN-008 date/time stamp Electronic signatures shall be linked to their respective electronic records such that GEN-009 signatures cannot be excised, copied, or otherwise transferred to falsify records. The system shall provide administrative interfaces for configuration of: organizational GEN-010 structure, projects, user roles, workflows, code libraries, material libraries, and system parameters. The system shall maintain a complete, immutable, computer-generated audit trail that GEN-011 independently records the date, time, user identity, and nature of all record creation, modification, and deletion actions. Audit trail entries shall not be modifiable or deletable by any user, including system GEN-012 administrators. The system shall support configurable data retention periods aligned with code GEN-013 requirements. The system shall provide archival functionality that preserves records in unalterable, GEN-014 retrievable format. The system shall maintain record accessibility and readability throughout the defined GEN-015 retention period, including after system upgrades or migrations. The system should provide a responsive mobile access web interface optimized for GEN-016 tablets and a dedicated mobile app (iOS/Android) for offline data capture of inspections, weld logs, and NDT results. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 Req. ID Requirement Statement Offline Capability – When disconnected, the mobile app shall store data locally GEN-017 (encrypted) and synchronize automatically when connectivity is restored, with conflict resolution rules defined. 4.2 WELD TRACKING AND TRACEABILITY Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall assign and manage unique weld identification numbers to each weld WTR-001 record upon creation. The numbers must be configurable to organisational conventions, and shall not be reused or modified after creation. The system shall capture and store weld joint attributes including: joint number, weld WTR-002 type (butt, fillet, socket, etc.), joint configuration, base material specification, thickness, diameter, batch/heat number and certificate reference. The system shall record the governing code(s) and acceptance criteria applicable to WTR-003 each weld joint. The system shall provide full forward and backward traceability for each weld, linking: the source raw material heat/lot (via material heat number), the filler material certificate, WTR-004 the approved WPS/PQR, the qualified welder record, the NDT/inspection results, and any non-conformance or repair records. The system shall support the recording of weld repairs, re-welds, and cut-outs, maintaining a complete and immutable history of all work performed on a given joint. WTR-005 Original weld records shall not be deleted; repair cycles shall be appended as child records. The system shall track real-time weld status through configurable workflow states (e.g., WTR-006 Pending, In Progress, Fit-Up Complete, etc.). The system shall enforce workflow rules preventing progression to subsequent states WTR-007 without completion of prerequisite activities (e.g., no NDT release without completed VT). WTR-008 The system shall flag and report non-conforming welds The system should allow bulk weld record import via a validated, versioned CSV or WTR-009 Excel template with field-level validation and error reporting prior to commit. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 4.3 MATERIALS TRACEABILITY Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall maintain a materials register linking all base materials to their CMTRs, MAT-001 heat numbers, material specifications (ASTM, EN, etc.), and mill source. The system shall capture all essential, supplementary essential, and non-essential MAT-002 variables as defined by the applicable code. The system shall enforce material specification compatibility checks between base MAT-003 material and selected WPS. The system shall support Positive Material Identification (PMI) result capture and MAT-004 linkage to material records. The system shall maintain filler material inventory with tracking by AWS/EN MAT-005 classification, brand, heat/lot number, and expiration date (where applicable). The system shall track filler material receipt, storage conditions (rod oven temperatures, MAT-006 exposure time limits), issue, return, and consumption. The system shall enforce low-hydrogen electrode exposure time limits per code MAT-007 requirements and alert users when limits are approached or exceeded. The system shall track shielding and backing gas batch/lot numbers and link MAT-008 consumption to specific weld joints. The system shall prevent issuance of expired or non-conforming consumables and MAT-009 provide alerts for approaching expiration. 4.4 WELDING PROCEDURE SPECIFICATION (WPS) Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall provide structured templates for Welding Procedure Specifications WPS-001 compliant with ASME Section IX (QW-482), EN ISO 15609, and AWS requirements. The system shall validate that WPS parameters fall within the qualified ranges WPS-002 established by supporting PQR(s). The system shall support multiple PQRs supporting a single WPS and multiple WPSs WPS-003 derived from a single PQR, with managed linkages. The system shall enforce version control with full revision history, preventing WPS-004 unauthorized modification of approved WPSs. The system shall provide WPS approval workflow with configurable review/approval WPS-005 stages and electronic signatures. The system shall alert users when a WPS is used outside its qualified scope (material, WPS-006 thickness, diameter, position, process). The system shall support WPS status management (Draft, Under Review, Approved, WPS-007 Superseded, Withdrawn) with status-based access controls. The system shall generate formatted, print-ready WPS documents conforming to code- WPS-008 required formats. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 4.5 PROCEDURE QUALIFICATION RECORD (PQR) MANAGEMENT Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall provide a structured PQR data entry module capturing all test weld PQR-001 parameters, mechanical test results (tensile, bend, impact, hardness, macro- examination), and NDT results as required by the applicable qualification standard. The system shall capture all essential, supplementary essential, and non-essential PQR-002 variables as defined by the applicable code. The system shall record all mechanical test results (tensile, bend, impact, macro, PQR-003 hardness, etc.) with linkage to applicable test reports and certificates. The system shall support attachment and linkage of NDT reports, photographs, and PQR-004 supporting documentation to PQR records. The system shall calculate and validate whether recorded mechanical test results meet PQR-005 the minimum acceptance criteria defined by the applicable code. Failing results shall be highlighted and shall prevent PQR approval. PQR-006 The system shall enforce electronic signature workflow for PQR review and approval. The system shall generate a formatted, print-ready PQR report matching the layout PQR-007 requirements of QW-483 (ASME IX) and the equivalent EN ISO 15614 forms, including all test data, witness signatures (electronic), and supporting document references. 4.6 WELDER AND WELDING OPERATOR QUALIFICATION MANAGEMENT Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall maintain a centralised Welder Qualification Register recording the full WQM-001 qualification history of every registered welder, including apprentice and contractor personnel. The system shall support simultaneous qualification tracking under multiple codes and standards for a single welder (e.g., ASME IX, EN ISO 9606-1, AWS D1.1). WQM-002 Qualifications under each standard shall be maintained as discrete records with independent validity periods. The system shall support multi-code qualification tracking, allowing a single test to WQM-003 qualify a welder under multiple codes (ASME, EN ISO, AWS) with code-specific scope calculations. The system shall automatically calculate and display the full range of approval (qualified WQM-004 range) for each welder qualification based on the essential variables defined in the applicable code. The system shall automatically calculate qualification expiry dates in accordance with WQM-005 the relevant code. WQM-006 The system shall issue automated, configurable alerts prior to qualification expiry The system shall automatically prevent a welder whose qualification has expired or is WQM-007 not applicable to the assigned WPS from being assigned to a weld record. This shall be a hard system control, not a warning. The system shall maintain complete qualification history including all renewals, WQM-008 extensions, lapses, and revocations. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 4.7 INSPECTION AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (NDT) INTEGRATION Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall provide structured inspection checklists for fit-up, in-process, and final NDT-001 visual examination per code requirements. The system shall support the generation and management of Inspection Requests (IR) NDT-002 and Inspection Release Notes (IRN) with assigned inspector, required date, and linked weld records. Weld inspection logs shall capture: inspection date and time, inspector identity and certification level (e.g., CSWIP 3.1, AWS CWI, EN ISO 9712 Level 2), inspection NDT-003 method, acceptance criteria applied (code and clause reference), findings/defect observations (using standard defect notation), and accept/reject disposition with justification. The system shall support the recording and tracking of non-conformances (NCRs) NDT-004 raised during inspection, linking each NCR to the affected weld record(s), the root cause analysis, corrective action, and close-out evidence. The system shall manage NDT requirements by weld joint, automatically applying NDT-005 sampling plans and extent of examination per code, client, or project specification. The system shall generate and manage NDT work packages with weld lists, required NDT-006 methods, and scheduled dates. The system shall track NDT status by weld joint through workflow states (Scheduled, In NDT-007 Progress, Evaluated, Accepted, Rejected, Pending Repair). The system shall capture and store defect indications with location NDT-008 (linear/circumferential position), size, characterization, and disposition. The system shall apply acceptance criteria from governing code and automatically NDT-009 determine accept/reject status where criteria are deterministic. The system shall require NDT operator/evaluator and reviewer electronic signatures on NDT-010 NDT reports. The system shall link NDT reports to weld joints, enabling consolidated view of all NDT-011 examinations performed on a given weld. NDT-012 The system shall maintain NDT personnel certification records The system shall enforce restrictions preventing NDT personnel from evaluating or NDT-013 approving examinations outside their certified scope. The system shall provide advance notification alerts for approaching NDT certification NDT-014 expiration. 4.8 REPAIR AND NON-CONFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall enforce structured repair workflow including: defect identification, REP-001 repair procedure assignment, repair execution, and re-examination. The system shall track repair iterations per weld joint, enforcing maximum repair REP-002 attempt limits per code or project specification. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall link all repair activities to the original weld joint while maintaining REP-003 distinct traceability for each repair cycle. The system shall require use of approved repair WPS for all repair welding and validate REP-004 welder qualification for repair scope. The system shall generate or integrate with non-conformance reports for rejected REP-005 welds, with structured fields for defect description, root cause, disposition, and corrective action. The system shall support NCR workflow including initiation, review, disposition REP-006 approval, corrective action tracking, and closure with appropriate signature requirements. REP-007 The system shall support configurable NCR categorization and severity classification. 4.9 DOCUMENTATION AND DOCUMENT CONTROL Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall provide integrated document management for all welding-related DOC-001 documents including WPSs, PQRs, WPQRs, NDT procedures, ITPs, specifications, and drawings. The system shall enforce document version control with check-in/check-out, revision DOC-002 history, and supersession management. The system shall support document approval workflows with configurable DOC-003 review/approval stages and electronic signatures. DOC-004 The system shall maintain document distribution control with acknowledgment tracking. DOC-005 The system shall support document categorization, tagging, and full-text search. The system shall prevent access to superseded or withdrawn documents in normal DOC-006 workflows while maintaining archival access for audit purposes. 4.10 REPORTING AND ANALYTICS Req. ID Requirement Statement The system shall provide standard report templates including: weld log, welder RPT-001 qualification matrix, WPS index, NDT summary, NCR register, and weld completion status. All standard reports shall be exportable in PDF (with embedded audit metadata), Excel RPT-002 (XLSX), and CSV formats. PDF exports shall be non-editable and shall include the system-generated electronic signature display block where applicable. RPT-003 The system shall provide ad-hoc query and report builder functionality allowing users to create custom reports without vendor intervention. The system shall provide customizable report templates (Work pack management, RPT-004 production report, project data books, Management of repairs (linking repair slip to Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 Req. ID Requirement Statement rejected welds), welder performance report & repair rate, Project Reports (project analysis, final manufacturing report, weld progress report (i.e. total vs completed, % exportable in Pdf/excel) and KPIs & report follow-up. The system shall support scheduled report generation and automated distribution via RPT-005 email to configurable recipient lists at defined intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, or triggered by threshold breach). Real Time Dashboards and Trend Analysis – The system shall provide configurable, live dashboards with graphical KPIs: first pass yield, welder defect rate, NDT backlog, RPT-006 repair rate by WPS, project progress, defect rate over time, and welder performance trending. Dashboards shall be exportable as PDF/PNG. 4.11 DATA MIGRATION AND LEGACY INTEGRATION Req. ID Requirement Statement The vendor shall provide a documented data migration plan covering extraction, DML-001 cleansing, transformation, load, validation, and rollback. The system shall support batch import of legacy weld data (CSV, Excel, or XML) with DML-002 field level validation and error reporting before commit. DML-003 Post migration, the system shall generate a reconciliation report showing record counts and exceptions. 4.12 END-OF-LIFE AND DATA EXTRACTION Req. ID Requirement Statement The vendor shall provide a minimum 24 months’ written notice before discontinuing any EOL-001 version or the entire product. Upon termination, the vendor shall provide a documented data export utility that EOL-002 extracts all weld records, documents, audit trails, and images in open, machine readable formats (JSON, XML, PDF/A, CSV). EOL-003 The export utility shall be validated and made available at no additional cost during the notice period. 4.13 TESTING REQUIREMENTS Req. ID Requirement Statement For every new version (major, minor, patch), the supplier shall provide an upgrade test TES-001 plan that includes: backup/restore validation, forward compatibility of existing data, and rollback procedure validation. Doc. No GIT-EA-URS-0015 USER REQUIREMENTS FOR A WELDING Revision 01 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM of 12 Req. ID Requirement Statement TES-002 An upgrade test report shall be signed off by both supplier and NECSA before the upgrade is applied to production. TES-003 The supplier shall assist NECSA with UAT, Integration test, performance test etc. of the upgrades and new installation of the application. 5 SUPPORT The bidder/service provider is required to provide comprehensive information addressing the following areas:  An overview of the customer support and maintenance services offered.  The cost of the annual maintenance plan.  Provision of 3 years of post-implementation support to assist with system stabilization.  A commitment to regularly train service and support staff, as necessary, to ensure up-to-date knowledge and skills.  Delivery of service and support in accordance with the agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA).  After-hours emergency contact details, including applicable service rates for support provided outside regular business hours.  Detailed information on the frequency of new software version releases.  A proposed plan for implementing new releases and upgrades (e.g., scheduling during weekends or non-business hours).  The process followed for testing new versions, upgrades, and patches prior to deployment.  A detailed migration process to be followed when upgrading to new software versions.

B-BBEE Minimum Level: 2

The system shall provide archival functionality that preserves records in unalterable,

Reviewed Quality Control Manager

Reviewed Quality Assurance Manager

Quality assurance