Weld and process monitoring is a combination of measuring and monitoring weld conditions and at the same time measuring and monitoring the additional factors that make up a quality weld.
Before the advent of the consumer GPS, a driver had the instrumentation of the car dash. While useful, it did not provide information about direction, time of travel, or time to destination. The GPS changed the way we drive. It is a feedback mechanism to make our driving more efficient, avoid problems, take corrective action and make better decisions. Like the GPS, weld and process monitoring accomplishes the same thing. One can look at the dials and gages on the welding equipment, but having the monitoring in place gives an overlord assistance to the users to make better decisions.
There are many variables that make up a good weld. At a high level, it seems simple enough with the right recipe of gas, volts, amps, speed and heat, a good weld is expected. Yet, we hear time and time again of weld related issues and there are encyclopedias of information and research towards quality welding and weld related defects.