The Welding Institute’s Joining Processes Technical Group successfully hosted its first Technical Group Meeting online this week, with the overall event looking at ‘Welding and Repair of High Temperature Plant.’ The online event was hosted over one morning with guest speakers from industry delivering in-depth presentations to a global audience, including from France, Sweden, Australia, Malaysia, South Africa and Norway, to name a few!
Technical Head, Materials and Corrosion - Uniper Technologies Limited
Professor Scott Lockyer is Technical Head of Materials and Corrosion at Uniper Technologies Limited’s (UTG) Integrity and Inspection Solutions department. Scott’s role involves providing technical leadership and oversight of materials activities such as R&D, failure investigation and component life assessment. Scott joined UTG in 2005 following technical management and principal engineer roles in a number of engineering consultancies, including TWI Ltd. Prior to this, Scott was a Research Fellow in the Department of Materials at Oxford University. Scott holds a degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science and a PhD in Metallurgy from the University of Liverpool. He was also appointed Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Advanced Materials at Loughborough University from 2013-2017 and has subsequently continued in this post.
Scott’s presentation was titled, ‘Welding and Repair of High Temperature Plant,’ which looked into multiple case studies, including IBN1 (MarBN) steel and IBN1 (MarBN) steel matching consumable, steam conditioning valve, high pressure steam pipework, high pressure steam chest (turbine valve) drain, grade 91 outlet manifold branches and T24 membrane wall tubes. This was followed by conclusions, which looked into the repair options for high temperature plant and additionally the conditions under which all repairs should be subject.
Head of Welding Engineering - Doosan Babcock
With over 35 years’ experience in welding and welding engineering and over 20 years of this time being spent on power generation plant, Neil is currently Head of Welding Engineering, Responsible Welding Coordinator (in accordance with ISO 3834-2) and Global Construction Welding Technical Authority at Doosan Babcock. He provides governance to both UK and overseas based operational sites in power generation, petrochemical, nuclear and process sectors. Neil is also engaged in developing novel solutions to repair of ageing plant, especially nuclear and process/gas plant, additionally providing support in the construction of the new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point.
Neil’s presentation looked at the, ‘Replacement of Spun Cast Ni/Cr Alloy Pipework in Process Gas Heaters.’ The presentation began with an introduction into process gas heaters, continuing on to look at the reasons for the use of spun cast alloys, and the reasons for replacement and potential problems faced, followed by an exploration of possible solutions and concluding with a final look at the outcomes and conclusions and a look into the future of work within this area.
Principal Project Leader – Arcs Welding - TWI
Marcello joined TWI in 2006, working in the Fracture Integrity and Arc Welding sections, after a four-year experience as a metallurgist/welding engineer with a pressure vessel manufacturer. Marcello holds a MEng in Materials Engineering from Politecnico in Milan. He specialises in welding engineering consultancy, support with the application of welding codes and standards and welding of high-temperature materials. He has published over ten peer-reviewed publications and conference papers and actively participates in many national and international codes and standards committees, including those covering the ISO 15614 and ISO 9606 series, ASME BPVC Section and Afcen committees.
Marcello’s presentation looked at, ‘Recent and Upcoming Code Changes,’ where he looked into P/T91/92 OR ASME ISO specifications.
Welding Engineering Manager - BAE Systems - Maritime Submarines
Mike is currently the Welding Engineering Manager for BAE Systems - Maritime Submarines, based at Barrow-in-Furness and leads a team of professional welding engineers and technicians supporting the design, construction and commissioning of nuclear powered submarines for the Royal Navy.
He was elected Chair of a new Trailblazer Employer Group established in 2014 and, to date, has led the group, consisting of employers representing both large and small/medium sized companies, training providers, end point assessment organisations and professional institutions, through successful submission and approval of new "employer led" apprenticeship standards for the welding industry in England.
Mike has also recently joined The Welding Institute Governing Council (read more).
Mike (FWeldI CEng) delivered a presentation which looked into, ‘Trailblazers’ and the ‘apprentice standards for welding.’ His talk covered a background into apprenticeships in relation to the Richard Review 2012 and an explanation of trailblazer apprenticeships, overview of new standards, reasons for and options in relation to apprenticeships, including an insight into funding, the apprenticeship levy and concluded with an overview of apprenticeship standards available to suit your current requirements.
Joining Processes Technical Group Chair and Fellow of The Welding Institute, Gene Mathers (FWeldI CEng) has extensive experience within this field of engineering, demonstrated by over 40 years of experience within industry working in power generation, pipeline, heavy engineering, heavy engineering, nuclear and the pressure vessel fabrication industries. Previous to his current role, Gene worked for NEI-International Combustion Ltd as the company’s Welding and Metallurgy Manager for 7 years, after which he continued on to work as a Quality Manager for 3 years at NEI-International Combustion Ltd, before joining TWI Ltd in 1991 as Manager, School of Welding Technology for 3 years, then continuing on to undertake the position of TWI’s Principal Consultant for 13 years.
Gene’s talk looked at, ‘Electro-Slag Cladding – A Case Study,’ and was a case study-based presentation looking at the of application of electro-slag cladding to an industry project with the talk additionally including an outline of electro-slag welding.
The Welding Institute would like to thank all those who attended our first online Joining Processes Technical Group Meeting and our amazing speakers who delivered in-depth technical presentations drawing from their extensive industry experience!
Jazeel Chukkan (MWeldI CEng), Welding Institute Member and TWI Structural Integrity Engineer and Fatigue Integrity Management (FIM) Project Leader, recently achieved his Chartered Engineer status with the Engineering Council and Welding Institute, therefore advancing to MWeldI status with the Institute.
Joining The Welding Institute in 2016 as an Associate Interim Chartered Engineer (AWeldI Interim, CEng) Jazeel achieved his Member (MWeldI) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) status earlier this week.
Jazeel joined TWI in 2018, working within the FIM section. Prior to his time with TWI, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Welding Engineering. Jazeel is also a former TWI Innovation Network NSIRC student and completed his PhD on the effects of cyclic load on residual stress redistribution in welded structures with Coventry University and TWI in 2019.
Speaking on his recent achievement with The Welding Institute about the reasons why he chose to gain Professional Membership and Registration, Jazeel explained:
“I knew I possessed the competence and commitment to the professional standard set by the Engineering Council and I wanted to demonstrate this to my employer and clients. Also, I believe Chartered status can benefit my career progression. These motivated me to become professionally registered as a Chartered Engineer."
“I have been working in the field of welding and joining for the last 7 years. From my past experience I am well aware that The welding Institute is the leading welding and joining institution that offers professional registration. Various events hosted by The Welding Institute, such as webinars, technical talks and volunteer activities in the field of welding and joining, impressed me and pushed me to choose to gain professional registration with The Welding Institute.”
You can find out more about Jazeel and his achievement in TWI’s recent press release here.
Find out more about how you can become professionally registered with The Welding Institute.
As many of you will be aware, our Joining Processes Technical Group Meeting, scheduled for March last year, had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. We know how much those who registered for the meeting were disappointed that it could not go ahead and, therefore, we are running this Technical Group event online with the same amazing speakers and updated presentations.
We have a range of industry leading speakers lined up to deliver the presentations for the event, including; Welding and Joining Processes Technical Group Chair Gene Mathers; Director at Mark Golding Consultants Ltd, Mark Golding; Technical Head of Materials and Corrosion at Uniper, Scott Lockyer; Welding Engineering Manager at BAE Systems and Fellow of The Welding Institute, Michael Skyrme; and TWI Principal Project Leader Marcello Consonni.
This Joining Processes Technical Group webinar will look at the major objective within the process plant and power generation industries of reducing life costs. One method of achieving this life extension is through both repair and replacement as well as the use of materials with enhanced performance. This online webinar will consider some of these methods and their role in achieving the above industrial objective.
The event will focus on the welding and repair of high temperature steels, especially within the context of the following topics:
These presentations will be delivered by a range of speakers from both industry and TWI and there will also be opportunities for discussions and Q&As of the topics presented.
The registration fee for non-members for this online Technical Group event also includes a full and discounted Associate Membership (AWeldI) of The Welding Institute for a year.
Why join The Welding Institute as a Member?
Join as a Professional Member by registering as a non-member now and begin benefiting from the professional status you can gain!
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BAE Systems Maritime Submarines Welding Manager and Fellow of The Welding Institute, Mike Skyrme has recently been elected to the governing council of The Welding Institute.
Coming up to his 22 years of membership with The Welding Institute in February, we are delighted to announce Mike’s recent appointment to the Institute’s governing council. As a Member of The Welding Institute’s Professional Board, Mike was elected, along with other nominees of Professional Board, to represent over 5000 Professional Members on Council. Council provides the overall governance and sets the strategic direction for The Welding Institute and TWI Ltd. The Professional Board oversees the delivery and management of the Institute’s services and benefits for individual professional Members, including professional registration with the Engineering Council.
BAE Systems Submarines released a statement where Mike reflected on this election saying, ‘I’m extremely proud having come from the grassroots. After joining the Institute as a Technician Member in 1999, I became a fellow of the Institute this summer. Now elected to serve on council, I’ll be helping provide the governance for how The Welding Institute and its subsidiaries operate.’
They continued with a statement from BAE Systems Submarines Engineering Director Russ Watson, who said, ‘This is a tremendous accolade for Mike and deserved personal recognition for his technical excellence. It also once again demonstrates the depth and breadth of the expertise in the business.’
Mike joined The Welding Institute as a Technician Member (TechWeldI) in 1999 and has since progressed to fellowship status during his time with us, an accolade that reflects the work, volunteering and support that Mike has provided to The Welding Institute and our Members over the past 21 years. This includes presenting at Branch and Technical Group Events, chairing our Welding Trailblazer scheme since 2014, and helping to develop and embed new, high quality standards for welding apprentices, to a name a few examples. In 2018, Mike was also the first winner of The Welding Institute’s Award for Continuous Development and Learning.
Mike’s progress from starting his career as an apprentice and joining The Welding Institute as a Technician Member (TechWeldI) in 1999, to being awarded Fellowship status in the summer of 2020 and now being elected to the governing council this year, serves as an excellent and inspiring example to all of our Members and the next generation of engineers.
Find out more about how The Welding Institute can support you with your career development!
As we are nearing the end of 2020, now seems an opportune time to reflect on the never faltering support of our volunteers, even during such a difficult year, which has seen many households affected in one way or another. As an Institute, we would like to highlight the impact our volunteers have had both in the UK and globally, including their incredible support in ensuring our services have been able to continue with minimal impact whilst all getting used to the new normal of virtual systems, which were previously face-to-face experiences.
With the support of our volunteers, we have managed to keep all of our application processes running throughout the year with virtual assessments all conducted via a steep learning curve. Our Professional Review interviews have moved online with great success and have enabled more than 75 new candidates to progress to professional registration. We are very fortunate to have nearly 50 Professional Review volunteers who are happy to donate their time, experience and knowledge to support both new and current Members across the world. The success of the Institute in servicing our Members and recruiting new ones, very much depends on the contributions given by our volunteers who really are the backbone of most things we do.
A great example of the dedication often found with our volunteers, can be illustrated by our longstanding Member Paul Jordinson CEng FWeldI who is standing down after 30 years of service to The Welding Institute as a volunteer, during which he has sat on Council, Professional Board and has chaired the Membership, Education and Registration Committee, whilst also providing valuable support to professional review activities. Paul’s history as a Member is exemplary for what we as an Institute aim to achieve, from joining as an Associate, advancing to Technician, then to Incorporated Member, followed by Senior Member, to finally being awarded Fellowship status in 2007, a title that he has and continues to uphold outstandingly. Paul’s experience of progressing through The Welding Institute serves as a truly inspirational journey for all of our Members and highlights the value that we aim to continually offer to all of our Members. Paul’s support through his voluntary work reflects the value he has been able to also offer to other Members throughout his membership journey and, for this, the Institute is incredibly grateful!
Could you fill his shoes? Get in touch to find out more and, if you’re interested, do join our next online training session on 24 February 2021.
Our volunteers conduct a large variety of roles, from scrutinising applications from new Members, working with universities and colleges to ensure suitable welding content is upheld within relevant qualifications and participating in branch networks to educational outreach and much more. It is safe to say that, much like our values as a professional engineering institution, our volunteers all share the common passion of imparting their own knowledge for the benefit of other professionals. We are incredibly grateful for their continued dedication and support.
On behalf of The Welding Institute and all of its Members, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers for their continued support and unwavering efforts as we look forward to what next year brings!
The Welding Institute
The Welding Institute is delighted to celebrate the success of the WEC Training Academy in being named Regional Large Employer of the Year 2020 at the Regional Apprenticeship Awards for the third consecutive year.
WEC are a long-standing member of The Welding Institute's Association for Welding, Fabrication Training and Education (AWFTE). The Association is comprised of many further education colleges across the country and aims to support and promote a standard of excellence in welding, joining and fabrication by providing current and progressive knowledge of practices from around the world to the trainers and educators of our future engineers.
Kevin Dunn, Chair of the AWFTE and Teesside Branch of The Welding Institute said of the win, “We believe that by encouraging the development of knowledge in our educators, we not only promote advancement in new ideas, but also encourage lifelong learning in their students and future generations. We are delighted to see this brought to reality by WEC.” Kevin is also Head of Welding and Fabrication Training at Middlesbrough College.
The Welding Institute would like to acknowledge and celebrate Xu Liu’s (AWeldI interim CEng) outstanding feedback from his 2019 continuous professional development (CPD) audit submission. Xu Liu is a project leader at TWI and an NSIRC PhD student with Brunel University, London (check out Xu's PhD research project and student profile here).
Xu’s record stood out as he had clear objectives listed and had engaged in a variety of CPD activities to meet these objectives. Wanting to expand his network, for example, Xu attended several conferences and took up the opportunity to give a presentation. Xu also attended Welding Institute branch events in order to increase his knowledge in specific technical areas he had identified.
Xu offered the following statement regarding his CPD recording, 'CPD helps to keep my knowledge up to date, which makes me more confident to handle my day to day tasks. It also provides the opportunity to continuously improve my personal and professional skills, allowing me to become a qualified Chartered Engineer in the future.’
As we are coming up to the end of the year, now is the time for our Professional Members to be reflecting on their CPD activities for 2020 and recording this evaluation. Evaluating your CPD activity is considered best practice for all our Members, but particularly if you hold Engineering Council registration. The Engineering Council has made it mandatory for us to audit registrants’ CPD records, and we run an annual CPD audit accordingly. If you are selected, you will need to provide your CPD records for the previous year. Selected auditees for the 2020 audit have already been contacted (submission deadline is 6 Jan 2021).
The Welding Institute has CPD support and resources available to help our Members in completing their CPD, including an online recording tool, ‘mycareerpath®.’ Examples of previous CPD submissions, our recording template and guidance booklet are available by logging into the Member Portal on our website. If you have any questions regarding CPD or need professional support from our membership team, please get in touch.
The Welding Institute hosted its first Technical Group Meeting online at the end of October this year. The Welding Institute’s Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group hosted a two-part online webinar format event, which hosted speakers from industry leading companies and reached attendees from both the UK and across the globe including the USA, Sweden, Philippines, France, Netherlands and Hong Kong. The Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group is just one of eight Technical Groups run by The Welding Institute in conjunction with TWI Ltd that run technical seminars throughout the year.
The first session of the event took place on the 29 of October with speakers including Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group Chair John Marlow introducing the day, Walter Sperko, President of Sperko Engineering Services delivering a presentation on, ‘Pressure Equipment Standards developed in the USA,’ Stuart Bond, European Area Manager and Technical Advisor at NACE International presenting the talk, ‘ISO15156/MR0175 Issues Related to guidance for Weldments in Sour Service,’ and Welding Institute Fellow and Joining Processes Technical Group Chair, Gene Mathers, delivering the concluding presentation of session one of the two-part event on, ‘Electro-Slag Cladding: A Case Study.’
The second session of the two-day online event continued on the 30 of October with Phil Bygate, consultant at Bygate Manufacturing and Quality Solutions Ltd presenting a talk looking at, ‘Development of Pressure Equipment Welding Standards Over the Last 50 Years – from BS to EN to ISO – Are They Better?’ This was followed by TWI Principal Project Leader Marcello Consonni, who presented the talk, ‘Convergence and Harmonisation (or Lack of Them) in Welding Standards.’ The webinar continued with Kevin Millican, Senior Materials and Corrosion Engineer at Shell UK delivering a presentation on, ‘Understanding EEMUA 235 Guidance On PWHT of Group P1 Steels,’ and the final presenter of the two-day online event, a TWI Ltd Technology Fellow and Welding Institute Fellow, Isabel Hadley, delivered the presentation, ‘Implications of Changes in ASME B31.3 PWHT Practice for the Reliability of Girth Welds in Pressure Piping; An Analysis Based on Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics,’ which concluded the Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group Meeting, 2020.
The new two-day online format of the Technical Group Meeting was described by attendees as informative, with positive comments made on all of the speakers and their insightful and knowledgeable presentations. The Welding Institute would like to thank all those involved in the organisation of the technical group event and all those who attended.
The Welding Institute’s Branch events have moved online over the past six months with our Branches having successfully continued to provide engaging and interesting presenters and presentations for our Members. We have had speakers from leading industry companies and academia delivering presentations on a broad range of subjects and topics. We have picked out a few examples of these webinars from over these past 6 months to demonstrate how successful our Branches and Branch Volunteers have been.
The Welding Institute’s Branches have made the most of their local networks to arrange excellent speakers from leading industry companies. One example includes a recent East Midlands Branch webinar titled, ‘Fracture Mechanics and Related Control in Manufacturing,’ which was presented by Adrian Walker, an ex-Rolls-Royce Material Engineer. The event also received the following feedback from an attendee describing the webinar as, ‘a first class event and very professionally organised. Adrian's presentation was splendidly given and most appreciated by me,’ The Welding Institute is hoping to re-run this talk in 2021. Our Sheffield Branch also organised for guest speaker and Business Development Manager at ESAB Specialty Alloys, Peter Stones (MWeldI, IEng) to deliver a talk on, ‘Nickel Based Filler Metals,’ which was extremely popular, attracting over 150 registrants. This talk will also be re-run in the New Year. Peter’s involvement with The Welding Institute also extends much further than his support through speaking at Branch events as he is an active committee member of the Sheffield Branch and also a Professional Review Interviewer for The Welding Institute. Our Eastern Counties Branch arranged guest speaker Daniel Pollard, superintendent at the Denver Complex in Norfolk for the Environment Agency, to deliver a talk about the Denver Sluice Complex and its role in water management.
Through utilising The Welding Institute’s unique relationship with TWI Ltd, our Branches have organised speakers and presentations from TWI’s own industry experts across its multi-industry sectors and expertise. Talks have included webinars that look at new technological and industrial advancements, for example, TWI Principal Project Leader and inventor of ‘CoreFlow,’ Joao Ganda spoke in detail about CoreFlow and its role as a new and highly disruptive, sub-surface machining technique. The Teesside Branch and Scottish Branch Members also enjoyed a presentation focusing on the energy sector where Welding Institute Fellow and TWI Sector Manager for Power and New Energy, Chris Punshon, delivered a talk on, ‘Fabrication Challenges and New Developments in the Energy Sector.’
Several Branches have worked actively with other organisations and Institutes to combine their efforts. The Welding Institute’s North Scottish Branch hosted a global joint event with the Institute of Corrosion where London Branch Chair and Welding Institute Fellow, Alan Denney delivered a presentation titled, ‘High Tensile Steel Bolts and Nuts – Hydrogen Embrittlement and Failure in Corrosive Environments,’ attracting over 600 registrants!
Engaging and addressing the next generation of engineers has also been an important topic for our Branch events. Namely, this was demonstrated by our Eastern Counties Branch which delivered a webinar titled, ‘Focusing on the Next Generation,’ where Dr Muhammad Shaheer (CEng MWeldI), a Mechanical Engineer at Bespak Limited, delivered the interesting talk which focused heavily on ways in which we can all support and encourage the next generation through volunteering, ambassador programmes, outreach activities, and mentoring.
The Welding Institute would like to acknowledge and thank all those involved with the organisation of these Branch events and therefore supporting their continuation through our current circumstances and we would also like to thank all the volunteers who spoke and those who have attended and contributed.
Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (TEW) 2020 is taking place from 2 - 6 November. The aim of this initiative is to highlight the importance of providing inspiring and exciting opportunities for the next generation of young people to experience what engineering is all about on a digital and social media platform level.
Tomorrow’s Engineers have arranged a week of activities in collaboration with engineering institutions, employers and schools to demonstrate to young people the role and importance of engineering and provide exciting information and opportunities about how they can become an engineer.
Welding Institute Member and TWI Corrosion Technician Catherine Leahy (AWeldI), is an excellent example of a young engineer who has accomplished multiple career milestones at an early stage of her career. One example includes her being named as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering by the Women’s Engineering Society in 2019. Catherine’s involvement in supporting the next generation of engineers has also extended further through her achievements of being awarded the Armourers and Brasiers STEM Ambassador Award 2020 and also recently taking on the role of Chair within The Welding Institute’s Younger Members Committee in October 2020. Each of these achievements demonstrate not only her own commitment to completing her BEng degree in Applied Engineering with the University of Warwick as a higher degree apprentice, but also her support in encouraging a new generation of engineers through using her own experiences.
Click here to find out what activities Tomorrow’s Engineers have planned for Tomorrows Engineers Week 2020 and how you can get involved.
Click here to read more about how TWI and The Welding Institute are involved in supporting the next generation of engineers.
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