What is the manual welding process, as defined by LA city building code?

• A. SMAW
• B. GTAW
• C. GMAW
• D. FCAW

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how the code classifies a welding method that the welder controls entirely by hand. In this setup, the arc is struck and maintained with a hand-held electrode, and the filler metal is consumed as the weld is laid down. The electrode is flux-coated, providing shielding as the weld progresses, and slag forms that must be chipped away after welding. This is the classic manual process where no automatic wire feeding or machine-assisted electrode delivery is used. The LA city building code defines this manual welding method as Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), the stick welding process that relies on a consumable electrode and flux coating. The other listed processes involve automatic or semi-automatic wire feeding or use non-consumable electrodes with shielding gas, so they aren’t categorized as the manual method in this code.