Welders have used forged certificates – E24

Kvaerner’s quality control has revealed that “it appears that the correct test has not been performed for some of the certificates” for the welders of one of its subcontractors. The company in question has been a long-time supplier to Kvaerner.

The company reports to E24 Wednesday night. So far, 15 welders have been found to have falsified certificates.

According to Kvaerner and Equinor, the quality and safety of Norwegian courses should not be affected.

– In this case, we have so far disclosed that they have a certificate, but have never taken the test required for the certificate. They also have other certificates that may be correct, says communications director Torbjørn Andersen at Kvaerner at E24.

Kvaerner still doesn’t know who was behind the forgery.

– We currently have no basis to assess whether incorrect or deliberate misinformation has been made. In any case, this is very serious, Andersen continues.

– Have these people also worked on previous projects?

– We are working to get an overview of the history of the people in question now, says Andersen.

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Comprehensive alert review

Kvaerner has now started its own review of “certificates for subcontractor personnel” which “includes all of Kvaerner’s operations in Norway”.

The certificates to be forged bear the logo of the German engineering and certification company TÜV. They have been notified and confirm the Kvaerner information on their website.

In reality, the subcontractor was supposed to contribute welding work at the Kvaerner shipyard this fall, but the company claims they will now try to find others to do the work until the matter is cleared up.

According to Kvaerner, the police and clients have been notified. The company believes that the quality and construction of the offshore facilities are not affected. According to Kvaerner, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority has also been informed of the case.

– Kvaerner has zero tolerance for deviations from requirements and standards that are set to ensure proper quality, and where deviations can affect life, health, environment and safety, says Steinar Røgenes, Shipyard Director, Operators and Kvaerner’s engineering organization, adding:

– When we discover inaccuracies in important documentation, we take it very seriously. The case shows that we as an industry have strong systems in place that will ensure that quality and safety requirements are upheld.

He has worked in many great Norwegian fields.

The relevant subcontractor writes on their website that they have worked on a number of large oil and gas projects, including several of the major projects on the Norwegian platform in recent years.

This applies to projects like Johan Sverdrup, Njord A, Johan Castberg, Nyhamna, Aasta Hansteen, Goliath, Edvard Grieg, and more.

Kvaerner has not participated in all of these projects.

Kvaerner affirms that they have control systems with a series of barriers, which will guarantee quality and safety:

• First, the qualifications of those who will work on the projects are examined, and this is where the fakes have been discovered.
• So everyone who is going to weld at Kvaerner must pass a weld test that is representative of the job they need to do.
• For new welders, there is also an extended test, where ultrasound and X-ray testing are used on the welder’s first welds, to verify quality.
• The last link is a visual inspection of all welds made.
• In addition to this, ultrasound and X-ray tests are performed on all critical welds, as well as pressure tests on critical piping systems.

– So you don’t suspect that a mistake has been made in the actual welding here?

– No. Everything that we have with control systems confirms that the quality is correct in the facilities, both during the construction phase and during the installation and commissioning of the facilities. But we still take this very seriously, says Andersen.

– This is a subcontractor that Kvaerner has used for many years and has delivered good quality work. They are also used by other industrial companies in Norway and across Europe, Andersen continues.

Equinor: – Seriously

Fredrik Jebsen Bråten, spokesperson for Technology, Projects and Drilling at Equinor, confirms that they have been notified by Kvaerner and that Equinor has notified the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority.

– We take this matter seriously. At the same time, it is important to note that the control systems that have been established have worked in that this has been revealed in the first of many barriers. Safety is the first priority, says Bråten.

He says they currently have no basis to say that the welding quality of the projects delivered is affected by the case.

– The projects that have been delivered, approved and put into operation on the Norwegian platform have been reviewed and quality assured in accordance with the standards that guarantee personnel, facilities and safety. We currently have no basis to say that weld quality has been affected in projects delivered as a result of this case, he continues.

– What is Equinor doing now?

– We are in dialogue with Kvaerner and we are continuously informed about the case. We will continue the dialogue with the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority.

German certification company warns

The subsidiary of the German certification and engineering company TÜV, TÜV Rheinland Polska, confirms in a statement that counterfeit certificates have been discovered.

The company has “submitted a report to the prosecution on falsifications of certificates of competence of welders,” it writes in its statement.

“Information about illegal practices in this area came to the company through companies that requested confirmation of the authenticity of the certificates issued (…) It turned out that some of them used forged certificates,” writes TÜV.

TÜV now requests that everyone who receives welding certificates verify the authenticity carefully and that they can contact TÜV to confirm the documents.