At Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works (HBBW), welding documentation and compliance with ASME Section IX are integral to daily operations. Jake Hixson, Director of Quality, joined the company with extensive experience from his time at an Authorized Inspection Agency, where he spent ten years inspecting and teaching Section IX seminars—including how to write WPSs, PQRs, and WPQs. With that foundation, he recognized early on that manually preparing these documents involved a lot of complexity and switching between multiple sources. To drive efficiency and regain structure in the program, HBBW reinstated ProWrite.
Reducing Time Spent on Manual Documentation
In Hixson’s experience, the biggest challenge in welding compliance has been the amount of time required to complete documentation by hand. Creating WPSs, PQRs, and WPQs involved repeatedly referencing multiple files, ASME Section IX, and witness reports. “It was very time consuming to do all that switching,” he noted.
ProWrite replaced that fragmented process with a centralized system. “I just have to input the values from the witness report and the program takes care of the rest.” With a large number of welders active in the shop and a high volume of documentation, this efficiency gain made a clear difference.
Addressing Gaps in Recordkeeping
Upon reviewing the welding program, Hixson found that critical elements of code compliance were not fully supported. “Welder continuity was non-existent when I arrived, so there were some major issues in terms of record keeping.” ProWrite offered a reliable solution for reestablishing control over documentation. “The software gives me an abundance of confidence that we can get back on the right path.”
The company had not been using specialized welding software at the time. With increasing demands and the need for consistent records, the decision to re-adopt ProWrite was clear.
Hixson described the state of the welding program before ProWrite’s return as “controlled chaos,” and emphasized the value of a purpose-built system. “The software is a solid program that could help any shop better their control on the welding program.”
Simple Deployment and Immediate Use
Implementation was smooth and exceeded expectations. “The implementation process was a breeze,” said Hixson. “The software exceeded our expectations.”
ProWrite is now used primarily by the Director of Quality and the Field Services QA/QC Manager. The software has helped both roles work more efficiently, particularly in drafting procedures and maintaining welder continuity. “It has greatly improved their workflow by making it easier to write WPSs, PQRs, and WPQs, and most importantly, it allows us to easily track welder continuity.”
Better Efficiency and Consistency
Hixson noted that the software is intuitive for those with a working knowledge of Section IX. “If you have the right experience, then using the program is extremely intuitive. The right experience would be a basic knowledge of how Section IX works.”
Accuracy in procedure development had always been maintained, but at the cost of significant time. With ProWrite, the same level of accuracy is now achieved far more efficiently. “The program allows us to get to those accurate welding documents in a much quicker time frame.” Although a formal time or cost analysis has not been conducted, Hixson expressed full confidence in the software’s value. “I am confident that the ProWrite software is making our organization better.”
Strengthening Code Compliance and Inspection Readiness
Maintaining Code compliance includes being prepared for audits and inspections. Hixson reported that ProWrite has made this process easier for both internal teams and Authorized Inspectors. “It is easier for our AI to go through the welding documentation produced by ProWrite.”
He contrasted this with a previous period when HBBW was using another software tool, which led to inspection issues. “The documents produced by that software did cause issues with the AI from time to time. Mainly because the format of their welding documentation is drastically different from Section IX. ProWrite’s forms are similar to Section IX, which makes it easier to read and interpret what the document is telling you.”
Features That Support Daily Work
Among the features Hixson highlighted, built-in material lists stood out as especially valuable. “My favorite part of the program are the built-in material lists. This would include the weld wire materials.” The system’s ability to auto-fill multiple variables—essential and non-essential—based on a single input makes documentation faster and more consistent. “It makes writing these documents, WPSs/PQRs/WPQs, so easy.”
Welder continuity tracking also plays a central role. “That is a great function that helps us maintain Code compliance.”
A Strong Support Experience
In addition to the functionality, Hixson praised the support team behind the software. “Hard work and great work should not go unrecognized, and your team excels at both.”
When asked about features he’d like to see added, Hixson responded simply: “I cannot think of any specific updates for the software at this time.”
Although the team had only been using the software for about a month at the time of feedback, Hixson expressed confidence in ProWrite’s long-term role at HBBW. “I am confident as we move forward in time that ProWrite will take us where we want to go, and it will be a breeze to do so because we are using ProWrite.”
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