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2010 Young Welder of the Year Competition - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 17 SEPTEMBER 2010 |
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New painting course raises the bar |
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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.
“All SAIW courses need to be periodically reviewed and, when necessary, modernised and upgraded,” says Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) Executive Director Jim Guild. “At the end of last year an opportunity arose to attend to the Painting Inspector course, which has been running for many years.”
The course, which currently attracts up to 100 students annually, involves the training of inspectors in the corrosion protection of steel structures with protective paint systems. This is of particular relevance to the processing and structural steel where coating systems fulfil a critical role.
The new course scheme was developed in cooperation with British industrial and marine coatings expert Bill Waugh. Waugh has trained and examined students in more than 30 countries and has developed, or has helped develop, painting schemes for overseas training institutes.
Some 30% of the old syllabus has been revised and upgraded, turning the new course into a hybrid of Levels 1 and 2 of overseas painting courses, says SAIW Training Manager Etienne Nell. It will be known simply as the SAIW Painting Inspector course. “The course duration will remain at five days so the learning intensity will be increased, making it a more interesting and more challenging course.
“The new course is both more in-depth and more practical. We have focused on the activities of the paint inspector and tailored the syllabus to meet their job responsibilities. As always, we have had excellent input from our industry clients, so we are sure we will meet their requirements.”
The theoretical modules of the course are: corrosion theory, surface preparation, paint technology, coating manufacture and testing of coatings, coating application, coating faults, maintenance painting, working practices, health and safety legislation, and inspection duties. Practical training consists of environmental testing, identification and use of abrasives, surface preparation, wet film thickness measurement, dry film thickness measurement and safety.
The examinations have been revamped and now include a theory exam with both multiple choice and narrative questions and a practical examination which tests a student’s skills in test methods used in day-to-day activities, as well as the ability to report on inspections and tests.
Training the trainers
To ensure SAIW staff are up to the job, Bill Waugh made a second visit to the Institute to present the new course and examine lecturing and examination staff. Etienne Nell was very pleased that all staff members managed to pass the new course with flying colours.
The course comprises four days of theoretical and practical training followed by a one-day examination. A maximum of ten students per course will be accepted because of the practical slant of the syllabus. SAIW has invested significantly in new practical equipment to support the course.
The new SAIW Painting Inspector course is geared towards coating applicator inspectors and plant or welding inspectors who wish to increase their knowledge and become dual purpose inspectors. The course is also suited to other personnel who wish to gain an introduction to coating inspection as part of a wider plan to enter the corrosion protection field.
The course will also be an integral part of the Institute’s new Inspection diploma. For more information please visit the SAIW website or contact Etienne Nell or Debbie Spadino at the SAIW on 011 2982100.
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Welding institute levels global playing field for local industry |
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April 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.
SAIW offers training, qualification and certification programmes that are accredited by the International Institute of Welding (IIW), making it a standard bearer for established best practice, says Chief Executive Jim Guild. “These internationally harmonised qualification and certification programmes facilitate the movement of personnel within the worldwide community and also assist companies competing in the international marketplace.”
SAIW is the only organisation in sub-Saharan Africa accredited to train and qualify personnel to IIW standards, and to audit and certify welding companies and fabricators to the IIW-accredited ISO 3834 benchmark. Its qualification and certification programmes are administered by SAIW Certification, a subsidiary established in order to isolate these activities from SAIW training and consultancy services.
The recent assessment, called a surveillance audit, was conducted by Henk Bodt from the Netherlands, a lead assessor of the IIW’s International Authorisation Board (IAB) and a specialist in the area of qualification and certification. In addition to company certification, Bodt assessed the various international qualifications offered by SAIW, ranging from International Welder to International Welding Engineer.
The IIW/IAB conducts renewal audits of its Authorised National Bodies (ANBs) – national organisations appointed to supervise IIW-accredited training – and Authorised National Bodies for Company Certification (ANBCCs) every five years, with surveillance audits in-between. Some 40 countries have ANBs and about half also have ANBCCs. In 2008, SAIW became the first ANBCC outside Europe accredited to certify welding companies and fabricators to ISO 3834. It has already certified 15 South African companies, providing them with global recognition of the quality of their product and systems.
IIW/IAB audits are conducted at the highest level, by qualified and experienced assessors. Henk Bodt has been conducting similar audits since the early 1970s. He is a former interim chief executive of the Netherlands Institute of Welding, chairman of the European Welding Federation (EWF) Technical Committee and currently a director of the board of the EWF, which initiated the momentum to harmonise welding related standards worldwide.
Bodt also wrote, and is currently expanding, the guidelines for the International Welder qualification. “Companies are realising more and more that we need educated welders, not just trained welders,” he says.
He describes the development of an internationally harmonised system for training, qualification and certification as a significant breakthrough.
“Using a single syllabus for each of the IIW training courses and a harmonised system for examinations management, the same qualification can be awarded in any country. This means that an International Welder educated in Brazil has the same level of competency as one educated in South Africa. The same holds true for company certification.”
The scope of the IIW/IAB audit of personnel training and qualification includes access criteria, which are equivalent but different for each country as they are based on national education systems; the course syllabus, including teaching duration, and control of the system. “A lot of work has also gone into developing a standard examination system, so that those gaining an international diploma will have achieved the same minimum standard.”
IIW/IAB assessments, which are in essence peer reviews, help ensure that SAIW fulfils its mandate to further local welding-fabrication and related standards, says Jim Guild. “International requirements and client specifications place increasing emphasis on the control of welding activities and the competence of welding personnel. The IIW/IAB system goes a long way to levelling the international playing field for South African industry.”
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IWT course to train topflight welding co-ordinators |
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March 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.
In contrast to Europe, South Africa has qualified 14 IWEs and 14 IWTs and it is estimated that there are now about ten IWEs and five IWTs still active in the country.
An increasing number of South African companies are being certified, or seeking certification, to the international ISO 3834 standard for fabricators. The need for technically proficient personnel to run the ISO 3834 scheme, combined with an industry need for training that will upskill employees, has prompted the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) to add the IWT course to its range of courses.
“People are the key to ISO 3834 since the standard is based on having a suitably qualified and experienced welding coordination team controlling the quality of the welding process from beginning to end,” says Sean Blake, SAIW Project Manager. “The requirement that welding coordinators/managers have the necessary training and experience is achieved by incorporation of another standard: ISO 14731 ‘Welding Co-ordination – Tasks and Responsibilities’.”
In this context, IWE, IWT and IWS (International Welding Specialist) qualifications are the preferred and recommended route for personnel in these supervisory positions. “These courses give a holistic view of welding, which is what ISO 3834 aims to entrench,” says Blake.
IWT is the qualification level between IWS and IWE. SAIW already conducts IWS training, while an IWE course is run in conjunction with Wits University.
The few IWTs who qualified in South Africa have come through the transition route in recognition of previous qualifications and there has been no course available specifically for this qualification. The introduction of this course now completes various levels required by industry and offered internationally.
Access conditions
Access to the course requires students to have a National Diploma or equivalent qualification in a suitable engineering discipline. It is an IIW prerequisite that students on the IWT course have an engineering qualification as a foundation for this programme.
Although it isn’t a mandatory requirement of ISO 3834 for a welding coordinator to hold an international welding diploma, it is advisable. “Ideally companies should employ coordinators with qualifications appropriate to the quality level of their certification,” says Blake.
“In Germany, companies are in a position to demand approval of welding documentation and procedures by qualified personnel such as IWEs and IWTs. In South Africa, the power generation industry is leading the way by requesting sign-off of welding procedures by IWE and IWT qualified personnel for the manufacture of critical equipment. This emphasizes the urgency to train more topflight welding coordinators to help bridge the skills gap and ensure quality fabrication into the future.”
Flagship Course
The IWT course will become a flagship welding course, responding to industry requirements at the highest level.
The course programme covers four modules: Welding Processes and Equipment; Materials and their Behaviour during Welding; Construction and Design, and Fabrication Applications Engineering. The duration of the course is 338 hours and includes sixty hours of practical welding.
The first course is scheduled to start on 31st May this year. Module and course details are available on the SAIW website or contact Etienne Nell or Debbie Spadino at the SAIW on
011 2982100.
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First structural steel fabricators certified to ISO 3834 |
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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.
This increases the number of South African companies certified since ISO 3834 was introduced by SAIW about two years ago, to fifteen. The other companies that have been certified are involved in the fabrication and maintenance of pressure vessels, boilers, heat exchangers, tank containers and road tankers.
27 more companies from both the structural steel and pressure vessel industries have applied to be audited by SAIW Certification.
“Structural steel fabricators are usually certified to ISO 3834 Part 3, Quality Requirements for Fusion Welding of Metallic Materials,” says Sean Blake, SAIW project manager. “ISO 3834 Part 3 is the quality level recommended by SAIW for structural fabrications and on-site construction but fabricators do have the option to apply for the more stringent Part 2.”
Re-work no longer an issue
AGS Engineering, the manufacturing arm of construction company August General Servicing (AGS), was the first local structural steel fabricator to receive certification. The company recently acquired a second workshop in Alrode, Germiston following the award of a contract for the fabrication and installation of bag filter units for Medupi and Kusile power stations.
“ISO 3834 Part 3 certification was a requirement by Hitachi/Eskom for the contract – not that we had to be certified, but we had to comply with ISO 3834 part 3, which defines the standard quality requirements for fusion welding in both workshops and on-site,” says Douglas Louw, Quality Manager.
“ISO 3834 makes the welding requirements very clear and informs a welder exactly how and why he should be following a welding procedure specification. It ensures that welders understand the link between their work and the end result of the whole product.”
As a result of ISO 3834 and AGS’s quality management decisions, re-work is no longer an issue. “We prefer to spend five minutes longer and encourage welders to get it right first time. And because the welder is doing his own inspection, which is verified by our in-house quality personnel, the independent inspection people seldom find faults.”
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Nigerian Students at SAIW Notch Up Firsts |
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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 high-profile Nigerian delegation visited South Africa recently to attend the final graduation ceremony at SAIW, which saw nine Nigerian students receive International Welding Specialist certificates after four months’ training in Johannesburg. All of the original intake of 20 students had qualified as International Welders and 14 went on to achieve International Welding Practitioner status..
"The Nigerian students, some of whom had only limited welding skills when they arrived in South Africa, worked incredibly hard to meet the certification standards and progress through the different qualification levels. Spending up to four months so far from home isn’t easy and we take our hats off to these students for their staying power and commitment," says SAIW Training Manager Etienne Nell.
"SAIW lecturers and instructors in the practical welding school also responded magnificently and went the extra mile to help our visitors achieve great results."
Professor Andy Koursaris, SAIW President, said at the graduation ceremony the "Train the Trainer" project was a wonderful example of regional cooperation. “A skills revolution is needed on the African continent, and this programme has shown us what can be achieved when we work together.”
The Nigerian Petroleum Technology Development Fund provided funds for the training programme, which is aimed at building local skills capacity in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, one of the largest in the world. In terms of the agreement with the NIW, the SAIW, an authorised national body of the IIW, is to help Nigeria train and certify welding personnel to international standards.
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