SAIW in talks with universities
13 July 2011
Jim Guild, SAIW executive director, says the shortage of higher-end skills in the field of welding and fabrication technology is dire and intervention is needed to try and reverse the situation.

Smaller companies on accreditation roll
13 July 2011
With more than 30 companies already accredited according to the ISO 3834 standard via the Southern African Institute of Welding’s (SAIW) Welding Fabricators Certification Scheme and more than that number in the process of being accredited, one thing has become clear: smaller companies are realising the benefits of accreditation in making it easier for them to do business both locally and abroad.

AIA – In Service and Competent Person update
13 July 2011
As you will know, the pressure equipment regulations (PER) requirement for in-service inspections to be carried out by an AIA-In Service came into effect from 1st April.

NDT Offers Excellent Career Opportunities
13 July 2011
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) says there are excellent career opportunities in the field of Non Destructive Testing (NDT) and it is important that young people get to know about this.

BEWARE THIS STAMP!
4 June 2011
This stamp is a fraud! It was used by a Competent Person inspector, Udo Hans Knobel -sometimes known as Mark Knobel - who was certified by SAQCC CP for pressure vessel inspection PRIOR to December 2005. It has recently been seen on pressure vessel inspection documentation issued in 2010.

Group Five scoops another accreditation
14 March 2011
Group Five Oil and Gas (GFOG) has done it again! After being the first construction company in the country to receive an ISO3834 accreditation and the first site-based company certified in accordance with the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) Welding Fabricators Certification Scheme, it is now the second company to have two of its divisions separately accredited.

SAIW Expands NDT Training
13 March 2011
The Southern African Institute of Welding will invest what is necessary to run training courses, in ToFD (Time of Flight Diffraction), Phased Array and Eddy Current, advanced inspection techniques, which are growing rapidly in popularity in South African Industry.

Columbus' Lucien Matthews Opens New SAIW Building
11 March 2011
In opening the new SAIW building and auditorium, on Friday 25th February 2011, Columbus Stainless Steel Manufacturing GM, Lucien Matthews, said that the primary industry wholeheartedly supports the SAIW in its endeavours. "We understand the importance of the Institute in respect of the fabrication industry and the resultant use of our products," he said.

New Diploma in Inspection Technology
4 February 2011
The diploma - which confirms successful completion of a three-year training programme in welding-related inspection technologies - will give practitioners a headstart in the workplace. The programme leading to the award of the diploma was created by SAIW in conjunction with leading industry players and comprises one academic year of theoretical training through modular short courses and two calendar years of supervised practical training.
Many past students of the Institute will be well on the way to achieving the diploma qualification through their existing qualifications and their practical experience.

Pressure Equipment Regulations. Introduction of a new category of AIA and the impact on SAQCC Certified Competent Persons
24 January 2011

SAIW President, Prof Madeleine du Toit’s lecture on the State of the Welding Industry in South Africa, given at the inauguration of the new building.
24 January 2011

SA's Top Young Welder Crowned
3 November 2010
East Cape Midlands FET College International Welder in training Chris van Zijl has won the Young Welder of the Year 2010 competition and will represent South Africa at the 41st WorldSkills Competition to be held in London in October 2011. He also won the Carbon Steel Category by achieving the most marks on the pressure vessel.

Sasol inspector training programme bears fruit
30 September 2010
In 2007, Sasol Synfuels in Secunda embarked on a dedicated Pressure Equipment Inspector training programme in conjunction with the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) to address the threat posed by the chronic shortage of certified inspectors throughout industry. Some three years later, the first of 18 students have been awarded Inspector of Pressurised Equipment (IPE) or Competent Person (CP) certification by SAIW Certification.

Welding stalwart recognised at SAIW Awards
13 September 2010
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) recognised exceptional achievement across a broad spectrum when it presented its annual awards recently.

Swapping Guns For Welding Rods
23 August 2010
In the troubled oil-rich Niger Delta region in southern Nigeria many former militias, having rejected militancy, are now ready to swap their guns for welding rods and the first group of Niger Delta welder trainers who will help train them and the youths of the Niger Delta region, recently graduated as International Welding Practitioners (IWP).

SANS 347 will boost SAIW Certification Scheme
23 August 2010
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) Certification's Welding Fabricators Certification Scheme, which accredits welding fabricators to the SANS 3834 standard will be boosted by the fact that SANS 347:2010, which is due to be published later this year, affirms that fabricators who design and construct Pressure Equipment (PE) in South Africa to the ASME code, will, inter alia, require SANS 3834 accreditation. This is according to SAIW Certification's John McLeish.

ISO3834 growing in popularity in welding Industry
27 May 2010
The Southern African institute of Welding (SAIW) says it is coping with the demand as pressure grows from an increasing number of fabricators that want ISO 3834 accreditation. The three latest companies to get accreditation , all pressure vessel fabricators, are: Carbon Steel Fabricators and Turnmill Proquip Engineering from Vanderbijl Park and SHM Engineering from Durban

Welding Institute Levels Global Playing Field for Local Industry
14 May 2010
An international audit of the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) has underlined its world-class contribution to local industry in terms of skills and capacity building in the field of welding-fabrication and related technologies.

IWT Course to Train Topflight Welding Co-ordinators
10 May 2010
Europe, particularly Germany, has qualified thousands of International Welding Engineers (IWEs) and International Welding Technologists (IWTs), the world's highest welding-related qualifications. South Africa is lagging far behind, posing some serious challenges in a country that needs to sustain a viable fabrication industry.

Certification Scheme Flies
7 May 2010
iso-3834-picRecent high-profile certifications are clear indications that the SAIW Certification Welding Fabricators Certification Scheme has succeeded in terms of the industry understanding how it can help them improve business both locally and abroad.

New-Look Young Welder Competition Launched by SAIW
24 April 2010
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) in conjunction with its members, main sponsor MERSETA, and sponsors has announced that entries are open for the 2010 Young Welder of the Year Competition.

New Paint Course Raises the Bar
18 April 2010
The SAIW Painting Inspector course, which plays a vital role in developing and expanding the skills and expertise of plant and construction inspectors, has been refreshed and revitalised, bringing it in line with best practice worldwide.

First Structural Steel Fabricators Certified to ISO 3834
7 March 2010
Gauteng-based AGS Engineering, Tass Engineering and DSE Structural Engineers and Contractors have become the first South African structural steel fabricators to be certified according to ISO 3834 by the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW). ISO 3834 is the standard demonstrating welding fabrication excellence against international benchmarks.

Nigerian Students at SAIW Notch Up Firsts
7 February 2010
The pioneering "Train the Welder Trainer" programme that the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) undertook in conjunction with the Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) has been a great success. The programme has not only produced Nigeria's first International Welders, but also its first International Welding Practitioners, first International Welding Specialists and – last but not least – Africa’s first female International Welding Specialist.

A first for SAIW Certification Scheme
9 November 2009
First for ISO 3834 Group Five Oil and Gas (GFOG) a division of Group Five Energy (Pty) Limited has received ISO 3834 accreditation from SAIW Certification for its Chevron Refinery operation in Cape Town.

Nigerian Government delegation visits SAIW
15 October 2009
The Southern African Institute of Welding's (SAIW) train the trainers' project, which it has undertaken in conjunction with the Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) to train welding instructors, took an important step forward with the recent visit of a high-powered delegation from the Nigerian Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

SAIW - From Strength to Strength
14 October 2009
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) is stronger now than it has ever been in its 60-year history. This is according to SAIW executive director Jim Guild. "e;We have earned the respect of the international and local welding fraternities as an institute that provides world-class training programmes and acts as the custodian of the integrity and quality of the Southern African Welding Industry"e;, Guild says.

GRW gets ISO 3834 Certification
13 July 2009
GRW, winners of the 2008 SAIW Gold Medal Award and South Africa's leading tanker manufacturer, has been awarded ISO 3834 certification by SAIW Certification.

Top of the Pops!!
12 July 2009
After a grueling competition, which ended at the SAIW in Johannesburg on Friday 27th February, and which was contested by some of S.A.'s top young welders, Louis Steynberg has come out tops. Damian Pedro from boilermaker John Thompson in Cape Town was runner-up.

60 Up! Now for the Next 60!
12 July 2009
2008 was the Institute's 60th anniversary year and undoubtedly the highlight was the successful conference held at Gold Reef City in May. The conference was titled Integrity of Welded Structures in the Energy, Processing and Transport Industries in Southern Africa and the programme had a good mix of local and international speakers presenting top quality papers.

Spencer Erling, 'Horses for Courses' Standard Gets Thumbs Up
12 July 2009
At a recent seminar held mainly for end-users, engineering consultants and allied companies like insurance consultants, the ISO 3834 standard the basis for the SAIW Welding Fabricators Certification Scheme got a cracking thumbs up from presenters and attendees alike.

Farewell John Begg
7 July 2009
John Begg, President of the SAIW from 2002 to 2006, a long-serving Councilor who also served as Chairman of the Technology Board, which became the Training and Technology Board, has passed away after a long and bravely borne illness.

Weld your way to Canada
3 December 2008
YOUNG WELDER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION, 23 - 27 February 2009. The SAIW in conjunction with its members and sponsors has opened its entries for the 2009 Young Welder of the Year Competition, aimed at promoting skills excellence in the welding community. All young welders in South Africa are invited to enter the competition, the first round of which consists of an individual assessment of entrants in the different regions.

Welding Fabrication History Made
3 December 2008
The Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) made history when the first local welding fabricators were certified to ISO 3834 in a ceremony held at the institute in November 2008.

NDT World Conference
3 December 2008
The 17th World Conference on Non Destructive Testing was held recently in Shanghai, China. SAIW's Jim Guild, Centre Technique des Industrie's Macanique et Electrique's (CETIME) Ferid Herelli and K.A Danso of the National Nuclear Research Institute Ghana Atomic Energy Commission reported back to the Conference on the progress made by the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (AFRA).

Welding Inspectors
22 October 2008
SAIW Certification and Training Manager John McLeish says in the year ending December 2008, a total of 332 Level 1 and 98 Level 2 Welding Inspectors qualified.

Get on the Certification Bandwagon
22 October 2008
Get on the bandwagon! This is the cry of Sasol engineering specialist Paulo De Gavino Dias, chairman of the board that manages the SAIW Welding Fabricator Certification Scheme process. Six companies have so far been certified.

Hobnobbing with Hobbacher
22 October 2008
More than 250 industry professionals from around the country availed themselves of the opportunity to attend the interactive seminars on Avoiding fatigue in welded fabrications presented by world authority Prof Dr Adolf Hobbacher during the first week of August. The seminars were arranged by the SAIW and took place in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
