The welding industry has been challenged by tightening norms and regulations against increased call for higher quality and productivity.

1. Industry 4.0 in Welding Production
Kemppi Oy, Lahti, Finland
Summary. The welding industry has been challenged by tightening norms and regulations against increased call for
higher quality and productivity. Currently, the industry trends involve large, global production processes with new
construction materials in demanding business environments that experience hypercompetition. With Industry 4.0
shaping the market, managers are facing serious challenges on how to efficiently manage welding production on a
global scale. Kemppi ARC System 3 is a comprehensive, cloud-based welding management software solution that
answers to the needs of the market while pioneering the Industry 4.0 wave in welding.
1 Introduction
In the world of welding, quality and productivity re-
quirements are increasing on a regular basis. Every-
one from contractors to project owners are under
pressure to meet the new demands of the welding
industry. With absolute safety at the core of every
operation, one can only ask: how much do we really
know about the quality of welding?
2 Industry trends
Nowadays, business environments across all indus-
tries are becoming more challenging, resulting in the
state of hypercompetition. In addition, managers are
faced with global management issues related to multi-
ple site productions. Management challenges involving
cultural differences, extensive networks, and functions
on several time zones must be tackled successfully.
Along with globalization, the extent of construction has
elevated to a new level. New materials, such as high
strength steels, aluminum, titanium and corrosion
resistant steels have been introduced to meet the
needs of even larger and larger projects. Naturally,
this has a central effect on the welding process and
requires close attention on weld quality.
The welding industry is heavily regulated by various
norms and standards – EN 1090 for instance – which
define the welding production process from start to
finish. At times, customer requirements can even ex-
ceed the industry standards in search of additional
proof of safety, which manifests in documentation and
involvement of classification societies.
Meanwhile, demands for productivity are increasing.
Many companies aim to optimize their welding produc-
tion process and flow, reduce energy costs on arc time
and control total life-cycle costs with efficient fleet
management. Moreover, such measures require quali-
fied welders of whom there is a worldwide shortage.
3 Solution in action – Kemppi ARC System 3
With Industry 4.0 shaping the industrial market from
conventional manufacturing towards digitalization, a lot
of forces are in motion at the same time. In order to
meet the new industry requirements and provide
means for managing the change, Kemppi has em-
braced digitalization by focusing on the development
of a universal, cloud-based welding management
software, Kemppi ARC System 3.
Picture 1. Kemppi ARC System 3 network
Kemppi ARC System 3 (KAS 3) is a complete solution
for monitoring, controlling and documenting the whole
welding network on a global scale. In addition, it en-
sures quality, productivity and traceability in every
phase of welding production process.
3.1 Modular software
Kemppi ARC System 3 consists of three modules,
each with different functions:
• ARC Coordinator (ARCC),
for creating, managing, searching and reusing
all welding procedures, and for up-keeping
and managing welders’ and inspectors’ per-
sonal information and qualifications;
• ARC Quality (ARCQ),
for welding controlling, and automatic data col-
lection from work stations by utilizing hardware
(Smart readers and optional adapters); and

2. • ARC Production Management (ARCPM),
for managing, documenting and reporting the
whole welding production, along with an em-
bedded engineering sub-module that can be
used by a third party, e.g. an engineering
company, for defining the welding project.
Picture 2. KAS 3 modules within the welding process
Kemppi ARC System 3 answers directly to the need of
better quality and higher productivity by exploiting digi-
tal opportunities. By operating within every step of the
welding process, KAS 3 is able to provide qualitative
proof throughout the production.
3.2 Benefits of Kemppi ARC System 3
With regard to Industry 4.0, Kemppi ARC System 3 is
completely universal, which refers to compatibility with
any manufacturers’ welding equipment. In the welding
network, this enables constant follow-up on whether
e.g. subcontractors are following welding quality re-
quirements. When configuring the welding project,
ARC Coordinator both stores information on any WPS
and aids in managing the basic requirements of all
industry standards with ARC Quality, and finds the
personnel qualified for the weld.
In addition, ARC Quality contributes to a convenient
way of managing multi-site operations globally. All of
the collected data on weld quality is transferred into a
cloud service, which can be accessed through a web
user interface from any physical location. Not only
does the real-time quality administration decrease
weld defects, but also the need of quality audits. Now,
each weld is 100% traceable down to every detail from
physical location, welder qualifications to parameters
and consumables.
With ARC Production Management, vast production
documentation can be created with just one click from
the digitally stored data. Previously, this action would
have taken hours on end. Moreover, real-time welding
efficiency reports for cost follow-up allow a more effi-
cient management of a welding project.
4 Conclusion
As a comprehensive solution for total welding man-
agement, Kemppi ARC System 3 enables companies
to elevate their productivity and welding quality in the
spirit of Industry 4.0, and ensure welding process
compliance with the predominant industry standards.
With cloud-based operations, Kemppi ARC System
allows global networking and increases transparency
with no exceptions.
For the first time ever, such system is available. As a
result, safety can be guaranteed and demonstrated
with qualitative proof from any physical location.