When sourcing fabricated metal components, it’s easy to focus on factors like price, lead times and manufacturing capacity. However, if your project involves structural or safety-critical components, the quality of the welding should be just as important – if not more so!
Whether you’re manufacturing height safety systems, access platforms, structural brackets or industrial equipment, you’ve probably come across the term coded welding. But what does it mean, and does your project need it?
Coded welding is welding carried out by a fabricator who has successfully achieved industry-recognised qualifications demonstrating they can consistently produce welds to an approved standard.
These qualifications assess a fabricator’s ability to work with specific materials, welding processes, joint types and positions. Rather than relying solely on experience, coded welding provides confidence that the welder has proven their skills under controlled testing conditions.
For manufacturers, this offers reassurance that critical components are being welded in line with recognised industry requirements.
Not every fabricated component requires coded welding. For many general engineering applications, standard welding carried out by experienced fabricators is perfectly suitable.
This is common across sectors including height safety and access systems, construction, rail and infrastructure, material handling and industrial engineering.
For products such as guardrails, roof access systems and platforms, where components play a role in protecting people, ensuring the correct welding requirements are met is particularly important.
Coded welding provides evidence that the people carrying out the work have demonstrated their ability to weld to defined requirements.
For OEMs and procurement teams, this can provide greater confidence in weld quality, help meet customer or industry specifications and support the quality assurance required for more demanding applications.
Yes. Robotic welding can be particularly valuable for repeat production, where maintaining consistent weld quality across high volumes is essential. At ADS, robotic welding is set up, operated and overseen by coded welders to ensure the correct welding procedures and quality standards are maintained.
Our long-standing partnership with Sapphire, which began in 2014, is a strong example of our complete manufacturing capabilities in practice.
ADS supports the end-to-end manufacture of their balconies, with robotic welding used for high-volume bracket production where consistency, repeatability and efficiency are particularly important.
Sapphire balcony being assembled at ADS Laser Cutting
As Sapphire explains:
“Robotics may look impressive, but the real value lies in the outcome rather than the technology itself. In our case, ADS Laser Cutting uses robotic welding to fabricate life-critical balcony bracket components, where consistency and repeatability are essential. By removing the natural variation that can occur in manual processes, we’re able to achieve exceptionally high welding standards. Ultimately, the benefit isn’t the robotics – it’s the quality and consistency of the finished product.”
This long-standing partnership demonstrates how skilled fabrication, quality control and manufacturing technology can work together to meet the demands of safety-critical production.
What should you look for in a fabrication partner?
If your project requires coded welding, it’s worth asking potential suppliers a few key questions:
At ADS Laser Cutting, we provide complete sheet metal manufacturing solutions from our Leicester facility, combining laser cutting, CNC folding, fabrication, finishing and assembly under one roof.
Our fabrication capabilities include coded welders and robotic welding, allowing us to support projects with demanding welding and quality requirements.
With 24 dedicated fabrication bays, we have the capacity to support everything from one-off prototypes and smaller batches through to complex, high-volume production requirements.
Whether your project involves safety-critical components or complex engineered products, our experienced team can work with you to identify the most appropriate manufacturing solution for your project.
If you’re looking for a UK manufacturing partner with coded welding, robotic welding and complete in-house fabrication capabilities, speak to the ADS Laser Cutting team about your project requirements.
Discuss your project with our team
No. Many fabrication projects don’t require coded welding. It’s typically specified for structural, safety-critical or customer-regulated applications.
Not necessarily. The key difference is that coded welding provides evidence that the welder has demonstrated competence for a defined welding process, material, joint and/or position within the scope of their qualification.
Yes. Robotic welding can be used on projects with coded welding requirements, provided the correct welding procedures, qualifications and quality controls are in place. At ADS, robotic welding is set up, operated and overseen by coded welders, ensuring the required welding procedures and project specifications are followed.
It is particularly valuable for repeat production, where consistency and repeatability across high volumes of components are important.
ADS Laser Cutting holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications, alongside EN 1090 EXC3 for structural steelwork. These standards support our approach to quality management, environmental management, health and safety, and the manufacture of structural components.
Yes. Customers can take advantage of our secure indoor and outdoor storage facilities, including two acres of external storage with 24/7 surveillance.
Sapphire balconies stored at ADS Laser Cutting’s secure external storage area
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