News

Introduction

The Welding Institute have been keeping in contact with our Members across the globe to see how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting different corners of the world. This Insight looks at Professor Guan Yingchun’s experience in Beijing.

Professor Guan Yingchun MWeldI CEng

Professor Guan Yingchun MWeldI CEng joined the Welding Institute as a Member in 2018 and is a Professor at the Beihang University in Beijing. As the first country to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Guan’s message offers an important insight into the hope that we should feel for the future.

How has Covid-19 impacted you personally?

Guan described how multiple factors, subsequent of the coronavirus outbreak, have led to her life being impacted. She explained that her ‘university has been locked down and all students have stayed at home since January.’ She continued by saying that everyone has had to work from home for over two months and lifestyle changes have had to be made including, ‘ordering living essentials online following delivery service rules.’ She explained that, as part of her personal preparation, she ensured that she ‘had some medicine at home in advance in case of not feeling well or common illness.’ She added that, ‘thanks to neighbourhood committees and securities as well as policing in our local community, the situation is getting much better.’ Guan commented on the fact that, ‘many companies and organisations or institutions are back to normal in April,’ however, she added that this new normal was one where, ‘we all still follow strict regulations including measuring body temperature, washing hands, sanitising clothes and shoes before entering any building.’

How has Covid-19 impacted on your work?

Within these circumstances Guan explained that her ‘research lab has already been locked down for more than three months,’ she continued by saying that, ‘all conferences, seminars, events, meetings and travel has been cancelled or delayed.’ As a result, Guan has focused on her ‘reading and writing, including proposals, papers and reports.’ Her role as a Professor has also kept her busy with ‘regular meetings with my team and online teaching of an undergraduate course for the semester.’

What have you learnt from the current situation?

Guan shared that the main lesson that should be learnt from this situation is that, ‘it is never too late to get prepared. We are essential to our family, our society, our nation and we should also be responsible for other people in these circumstances.’

What can you share with other Members at this time?

Guan finished by saying that we can all carry out an important role through continuing to ‘wash our hands frequently, eat well, rest well, sleep well, and stay as calm as possible.’ She concluded with the final statement urging others to ‘not forget to do regular physical exercise at home to keep healthy and, moreover, keep talking to your friends and attending TWI Member online events that are helpful in making us happy.’

Introduction

The Welding Institute have been keeping in contact with our Members across the globe to see how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting different corners of the world. This Insight looks at Member Chris Cobain’s experience in Perth, Western Australia.

Chris Cobain MWeldI CEng

Chris Cobain MWeldI CEng has been a Member of The Welding Institute for four years and is also a volunteer responsible for assessing applications for professional registration. He sent us news, earlier this month, of how Covid-19 had impacted his life in Perth, Western Australia.

How has Covid-19 impacted you personally?

Chris relayed a message that is familiar to us all, noting that the ‘most significant negative impacts involve family and friends and social activity.’ He explained that his families’ ‘social life with friends was an important activity for us to escape from work related stress,’ adding that it is difficult for his family not being able to see relatives face-to-face. However, Chris also highlighted that, through this time, there have been ‘noticeable benefits including spending more time with my wife without feeling work exhausted’ and added that different family activities had become the new norm, such as family walks, cooking, gardening and more.

How has Covid-19 impacted on your work?

He explained that, ‘right now, our business earnings are down approximately 30% compared to the same time in 2019. The overseas and remote location travel are impacting our earning potential too.’ He further added that, ‘several large oil and gas projects of involvement have been delayed, impacting our earnings.’ Despite these factors, Chris said a positive outcome is that that he is, ‘enjoying the new work / life balance provided by the pandemic situation.’

What have you learnt from the current situation?

Through this period of time, Chris described how, ‘we can easily be drawn into living life revolving around work responsibilities’ and explained that relaxing the work demand has allowed him to focus on other important things in life. He explained how he noticed that, ‘human behaviour in a pandemic situation focuses on self needs initially, however respect for community needs is noticeable and is nice to witness.’ He added that, moving forward, he hopes that the current attitudes of ‘community support, respect for others and working together continue in the future.’

What can you share with other Members at this time?

Chris concluded by saying that, ‘on a personal level, having more time to spend with family and enjoying local outdoor activities with loved ones is something I will be continuing in the future. I’ve found talking with family and friends, noticing increased wildlife activity within our environment, and making good use of time around the home personally rewarding. It’s amazing what can be achieved when a community not only works together but also trusts each other. Something that can be easily incorporated into working relationships too.’ 

The Welding Institute’s Fellow Member, Kevin Millican is a Senior Materials and Corrosion Engineer at Shell and will be presenting an EEMUA Webinar on ‘Standard Parameters and Site Welding Instruction Sheets.’

What the talk will cover:

For various reasons, the industry has not been able to fully benefit from the efficiencies created by Standard Parameters and Site Welding Instruction Sheets. This webinar is part of a revival of interest in this approach. Kevin Millican FWeldI CEng, will be looking at how industry can take advantage of the efficiencies generated by this type of work instruction. The webinar will be useful to all types of operators and welding fabricators where welding is not fully automated.

When:

29 April 2020

Time:

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (GMT)

Where:

The talk will be accessed via WebEx but you must be registered to attend.

This event is free but you must be registered to access the WebEx.

To apply, click here

Membership of The Welding Institute

Considering professional membership?

Becoming a Member of The Welding Institute offers you access to a range of membership benefits. These benefits have been designed to support your professional progression within your career as an engineer. These benefits include:

Click here to view all membership benefits.

Final Chance to make your Nominations for the Top 50 Women in Sustainability (WE50) Award 2020.

The WE50 awards, including the Top 50 Women in Sustainability Award, were founded by the Women’s Engineering Society in 2016. The UK awards event is linked to the International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), which is a celebration of all women in engineering held on the 23 June every year.

The aim of the Top 50 Women in Sustainability Award is to raise the profile of female engineers and also increase awareness of the skills shortage faced within the industry. This award is an excellent opportunity to change the perception of women in engineering and encourage other women to see a place for themselves within the industry.

The Women’s Engineering Society will be recognising the Top 50 Women who are involved in sustainability in engineering or an allied discipline in 2020.

The deadline to submit your nominations is the 27 of April, 2020!

For more information about the award criteria and how to make a nomination, please click here.

EqualEngineers’ mission statement is to create inclusive engineering and technology organisations, and in response to the Covid-19 crisis they have started their own EqualEngineers Covid-19 Challenge for you to get involved with!

The challenge involves creating out-of-this-world ideas and innovative solutions to help defeat and tackle the effects of Covid-19.

The aim of the challenge is to encourage participation in creative STEM related activities and get people all across the country looking at the role that engineers and technicians play in situations like these.

The winners will be awarded a £100 Amazon Voucher and will be given the opportunity to have a private tour of an engineering facility!

Entries to the competition close on 31 May 2020.

For more details about the EqualEngineers Covid-19 Challenge and to get involved visit the EqualEngineers website here: EqualEngineers Covid-19 Challenge.

In light of the current circumstances, the SkillWeld National Competition has been postponed to June, 2020, with the registration deadline for applicants being extended to the 5 May, 2020.

It has been a priority for WorldSkills to ensure the safety of all competitors through taking these measures and they hope that, by doing this, it allows as many people as possible to get involved with the competition.

If you are interested in registering for SkillWeld 2020 then check out our Insight about the Skillweld Competition 2020, which explains in more detail what the competition involves!

The Welding Institute would like to thank the existing 600 (and continually growing number of) engineers and technicians that have volunteered and stepped up to support NHS and other frontline workers to deliver frontline services throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

The engineers and technicians who have volunteered are playing a vital role in supporting the frontline services through their roles as Post-Holders at a designated site. The responsibilities within this role involve overseeing the delivery of support with medical equipment management services at Nightingale field hospitals across the UK.

For more information about how you can get involved with volunteering to support the frontline service please check out The Royal Academy Of Engineering’s section on ‘Engineering response to COVID-19: can you help?’ 

The Welding Institute is proud to announce that Catherine Leahy has been awarded the STEM Ambassador Award 2020!

Catherine is currently undertaking a higher degree mechanical engineering apprenticeship, working as a Corrosion Technician within the Materials and Structural Integrity group at TWI, studying towards a BEng degree in Applied Engineering at the University of Warwick.

Whilst working at TWI, Catherine has been heavily involved with The Welding Institute’s Younger Members Committee (YMC) and through her voluntary work, has demonstrated her commitment to promoting STEM subjects.

Her involvement includes co-ordinating outreach events such as the West Suffolk College STEM Innovation Campus formal opening, where she adapted the traditional outreach activity of ‘welding with chocolate’ to appeal to 16-18 year old engineering students. Catherine has also been involved in other outreach programmes, including the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Scheme and advertising TWI’s week-long work experience programme.

Through her work as a STEM Ambassador, and also as young female engineering apprentice, Catherine was recognised by the Women’s Engineering Society in 2019, where she was featured within their Top 50 Women in Engineering 2019, under the current and former apprentices category.

The STEM Ambassador Award holds a significant place within The Welding Institute due to our continuous aim to promote the professional development of not only established engineers and technicians but also potential and aspiring individuals. Catherine’s work and support as a STEM Ambassador has played an important role within this aim by helping others see a place for themselves within the industry.

It has been her continued work and commitment as a STEM Ambassador that has led to her success in winning this academic award, and The Welding Institute is pleased to award the Armourers and Brasiers’ STEM Ambassador Award 2020 to Catherine Leahy!

To find out more about the Armourers and Brasiers’ STEM Ambassador Award click here!

Younger Members Network

To find out more about our Younger Members Committee and get involved click here.

The Welding Institute is proud to announce the winners of the Armourers and Brasiers’ Travel Awards 2020!

The Winners:

The Armourers and Brasiers’ Travel Award aims to support postgraduate students undertaking studies in materials joining and structural integrity to attend an international conference relevant to their studies. The opportunity allows them to gain experience in presenting and attending industry talks whilst being able to network with industry experts.

The Welding Institute congratulates these students for winning the Armourers and Brasiers’ Travel Award 2020.

To find out more about the Armourers and Brasiers’ Travel Awards click here!

The Welding Institute is pleased to announce that the winner of the Armourers and Brasiers’ BEng/BSc Award, 2020, is Konstantinos Chronopoulos!

Konstantinos Chronopoulos is an NSIRC student currently working towards his MSc in Structural Integrity (Asset Reliability Management) with Brunel University, London. He studied as an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Derby, graduating in 2019 with a first class Bachelors of Engineering (BEng) (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and Design.

During his studies, Konstantinos demonstrated the key qualities for this award with practical work including designing and developing a modular wind tunnel that is able to serve a range of academic applications. Konstantinos also produced a dissertation project titled, “Design and Construction Management of Low-Speed Modular Wind Tunnel for Academic Purposes.” This has been implemented into the university’s laboratory and is used during lectures and lessons for practical demonstrations.

The Welding Institute congratulates Konstantinos Chronopoulos on his successful application and winning of this academic award!

To find out more about the Armourers and Brasiers’ BEng/BSc Award click here!