News

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of The Welding Institute, we spoke with some of our Professional Members about their career memories, uncovering some interesting stories that we want to share with you as part of our centenary celebrations.

We received a message from long-standing friend and Member of the Institute, Fellow CEng Alan Gifford, who went on to tell us the story of what could be the world’s first-ever welded pressure vessel - as well as kindly donating a unique replica of this piece of engineering history to The Welding Institute!

Here, Alan tells us the story in his own words:

“We all take welding, especially of pressure vessels, almost for granted, but there had to be a first one to be welded and pressure tested.

“Back in 1961, I was welding engineer at International Combustion Ltd (ICL), one of the UK’s seven boilermakers, and they were licensees of the multinational American company Combustion Engineering (CE) with its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. CE, as indeed was ICL.

“CE’s main boiler plant was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it was deemed desirable that I went asap to learn how they had such a massive output of both boilers and super heaters.

“On my visit to their laboratories I went past a small cylindrical pressure vessel mounted on a steel plinth. From memory it was about 5’0” long and 30” in diameter with two semi ellipsoid ends. I enquired what it was and was told it was the first all-welded pressure vessel ever made. Corbin Chapman, the then chief metallurgist at CE, gave me, as a memento, a very small replica of the vessel mounted on a wooden base. There was a plaque attached which reads:

CE

First All Welded Boiler Drum

Tested May 2, 1930

CE Combustion Engineering

Energy Systems Worldwide

“I retained this as a desk ornament through the next 45 years whilst I followed a variety of welding associated roles in the company until I retired in 1993 and it came home with me, still sitting on my desk. As I now approach 94, I felt it needed to be preserved and so sought more information on the item. Throughout my career I have maintained contact with one of the welding engineers who I met on that first visit – J C Campbell. I emailed him and asked if he knew any more about the manufacture of the vessel.

“He responded to say, ‘It was on display when I started at CE in 1950 and was hand stick welded by a guy called Amaziah Jones Moses –who went on to become VP/GM of the Chattanooga plant. It was hydro tested to failure. The welds did not fail but the manway cover on one of the ends leaked first - at well over the calculated pressure,’ adding, ‘you have made my day full of nostalgia!’ I believe it was done under ASME observation, but not approved by them at that time.

So, as The Welding Institute celebrates its 100th year of life, it seemed right and proper that I should donate there - otherwise it would probably be in a dustbin when I am no longer the keeper!”

Call for Presentations for the 2023 Meeting to be held at TWI Abington

The 2023 intermediate meeting for IIW Commission C-XI Pressure Vessels, Boilers and Pipelines will be held as a hybrid meeting on 17 and 18 May 2023 hosted at TWI Ltd Abington.

The themes of this meeting include:

This meeting is to bring together experts and stakeholders in the field to discuss the latest developments and advancements in the above topics, and to explore potential opportunities for collaboration and partnership, share knowledge and insights, and to network with other professionals in the field. The target audience will be all IIW members and colleagues who are working or interested in the relevant areas from around the world.

Registration for the meeting is free. For those who plan to present at the meeting, please send the title or topic of your presentation and your short bio to Prof. Sujun Wu and Dr. Xing Sun (the Chair and Vice Chair of IIW C-XI) using the emails below, before 1st March 2023:

sujun.wu@iiwelding.net or wusj@buaa.edu.cn

xing.sun@iiwelding.net or xing.sun@twi.co.uk

1 9 2 3  -  2 0 2 3

This year, The Welding Institute celebrates the 100th anniversary since its establishment in 1923 as ‘The Institution of Welding Engineers.’

Our formation as a professional engineering institution, supporting the development of Members in the fields of welding, joining and allied technologies has enabled us to act as a voice for industry, providing authoritative guidance to bodies including the British Standards Institution, the Engineering Council and the UK government.

Licensed by the Engineering Council, we are an independent body promoting and advancing the welding, joining and allied technologies engineering disciplines. The Welding Institute is licensed by the Engineering Council to assess Professional Members in becoming professionally registered as Chartered Engineers (CEng), Incorporated Engineers (IEng) or Engineering Technicians (EngTech).

Foundations

The formation of The Welding Institute began with the establishment of ‘The Institution of Welding Engineers,’ on the 26 January 1923 with a meeting between 20 men at the Holborn Restaurant in London. The Institution of Welding Engineers united acetylene welders with engineers engaged in electric arc welding and was later formally registered under the Companies Act in February 1923.

The Institution set forward aims to ‘advance and develop the science and practice of welding,’ which included activities such as the reading of papers and lectures, the establishing of welding schools, the drawing up of recommendations and regulations for the welding industry and, additionally, the promotion of related legislation.

Over the following ten years, the Institute’s income grew to £800 per year and our number of Members reached 600.

Library

The library has been a continuous thread throughout the Institute’s history, enabling our Members to explore and share their own personal and professional knowledge.

It has and continues to be a necessary pillar within the Institute with the modern adaptation to all publications being made accessible online. The library archive stretches back to the 1920s, with a commitment to excellence being carried out since then. This has materialised with the library staff being information professionals, always ready and willing to aid Members in their research. They aim to bridge the link and enable Members to make informed decisions using the library’s extensive resources.

Merger

In 1935, 12 years after forming, the Institution merged with the British Advisory Welding Council, becoming ‘The Institute of Welding.’ This merger enabled for a ‘wider and more comprehensive programme of work’ to be conducted whilst additionally addressing the ‘pressing demands of all branches of engineering for guidance in welding matters.’ It also further enabled companies to become Members of the Institute, as well as individuals.

Welding Research

Within its new, wider scope, the Institute’s Welding Research Council was formed in 1937, providing ‘status and recognition for the valuable work of the research committees and the standing of their personnel.’ Within this year, the Institute was awarded three grants by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to support welding research.

However, despite the Institute’s new scope of work, it didn’t actually have its own laboratories, therefore meaning that work was primarily supported by UK universities.

Split

With professional institutions debarred from being able to also act as research organisations, in 1946, the Institute was forced to split. This led to the formation of the British Welding Research Association (BWRA) as a separate body to The Welding Institute.

The current headquarters of The Welding Institute and TWI, near Cambridge, were also bought in 1946 by the BWRA with the purchase of Abington Hall. Operations were much smaller back then, with the welding shop operating from stables adjoined to the Hall and fatigue research being conducted in a former army hut on the site. The BWRA also owned a residence at 29 Park Crescent in London, which later became the metallurgical laboratory; the butler’s pantry served as the polishing room and the coachman’s quarters hosted the machine shop.

During the Institute’s silver jubilee year of 1948, a Grants of Arms was awarded to the Institute, featuring a coat of arms depicting the formation of a joint with heat and the Latin motto, ‘out of two, one.’

Training and Certification

A growing demand for training courses on welding design and construction resulted in the creation of a course on the welding of pressure vessels in 1957.

Hosted at a property near the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, the success of this first course was exemplified by the 100 applications exceeding the course’s 40 places. This quickly led to more courses being organised and, by the early 1960s, the training school had hosted over 300 visiting lecturers.

1965 saw the formation of the School of Applied Non-Destructive Testing by the BWRA and the Non-Destructive Society of Great Britain. The new school pioneered formal training in further disciplines including ultrasonic weld testing and radiographic interpretation, leading to the foundation of what would become CSWIP, the Certification Scheme for Welding and Inspection Personnel and TWI Certification.

Reunification: The Modern Institute is Created

With the realisation that both The Institute of Welding and the BWRA’s activities would serve industry better as a ‘single voice for welding technology,’ 1968 saw both bodies merge once more. In the March of 1968 ‘The Institute of Welding’ was renamed as ‘The Welding Institute’ – forming our current Institute.

We have since continued to serve and support our global network of Members’ professional development with the aim to ‘promote professionalism, and the advancement of knowledge, in welding, joining and allied technologies.’

Join us as we celebrate 100 Years of The Welding Institute!

As signatories of Tomorrow’s Engineers Code, we are pleased to say that The Code has reached an important milestone now, with over 250 Members having pledged to increase the diversity and number of young people entering the engineering and technology industry and embarking on their careers!

Launched in 2020, the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code is managed and delivered by EngineeringUK, for the engineering community, to bring together organisations by working towards common goals. As a signatory of The Code, The Welding Institute has made four pledges to:

inspire connection

drive inclusion

showcase engineering

improve the impact of their engineering outreach

Find out more about Tomorrow’s Engineering Code or get involved.

Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS, has been appointed as the new President of The Welding Institute.

Appointed by The Welding Institute Council on 28 September 2022, she is the first female president appointed since the formation of The Institute nearly one hundred years ago back in 1923.

Baroness Brown has achieved many accolades in her lifetime including graduating from the University of Cambridge with an MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Fracture Mechanics. She has also been awarded the Grunfeld, John Collier, Lunar Society, Constance Tipper, Bengough, Kelvin and Leonardo da Vinci medals; as well as the Erna Hamburger Prize and the 2012 President's Prize of the Engineering Professors' Council.  In addition, she has been involved in chairing the Science and Technology Select Committee, the Carbon Trust, STEM Learning Ltd and the Adaptation Committee of Climate Change Committee.

Her preceding roles include a decade spent as the Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, being the Principal of the Engineering Faculty at Imperial College, London, and a multitude of senior business and engineering posts at Rolls-Royce plc.

Baroness Brown has published over 160 papers on fatigue and fracture in structural materials and on developments in aerospace and marine propulsion technologies. Additionally, she is the holder of 10 honorary degrees and is an honorary Fellow of IoMMM, IET, the British Science Association, the Energy Institute and the Society for the Environment.

Julia King was announced as a life peer in the House of Lords on 13 October 2015 by the House of Lords Appointments Commission, with her title officially gazetted as Baroness Brown of Cambridge on 30 October 2015.

Speaking on the appointment, TWI CEO Aamir Khalid said, “We are delighted to welcome Baroness Brown as the new President of The Welding Institute, where her wealth of experience and standing in the industrial community speaks for itself.”

The Welding Institute is pleased to welcome Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown’s new presidency.  

Last month The Welding Institute’s Northumbria Branch hosted its 88th Annual Dinner, Showcase and Student of the Year Awards 2022 at the Newcastle Civic Centre. With over 245 people in attendance, including 16 local companies showcasing their goods and services, the Annual Dinner was a success! Student Awards The annual dinner also included a Student Achievement Awards Ceremony with the winners being: 1st place: Courtney Newton – WD Close 2nd place: Daniel Bishop – Dyer Engineering 3rd place: Bradley Mitchell – Responsive Engineering 4th place: Mollie Leach – A&P Tyne 5th place: Ryan Anderson – Francis Brown Congratulations to all student award winners and entrants and additionally thank you to all of the award sponsors: Lincoln Electric, Gorilla Workwear and Eng EPA. Younger Members’ Vice Chair and Northumbria Branch representative and Dyer Engineering SHEQ Assurance Engineer, Adam Black AWeldI, supported in the coordination and organisation of this event and provided the following statement: “This event was a bit of a trailblazer with the numbers in 2020 down to 90 attending we knew we had to freshen it up and get as much recognition and support for the next generation of students. To do this we added networking and the company showcase and got to work promoting the event, luckily this was a huge success with numbers in attendance hitting 245, 16 companies showcasing themselves and networking, over £5000 worth of prizes to give away on the night and, the highlight, student of the year award!!! There were over 20 entrants, with 10 interviewed, the top 5 making it to the evening and top 3 separated by a single point!!! What an evening what an event and what a lot of talent we have on show!!! My role as Vice Chair on the Younger Members’ Committee (YMC) gives me the chance to inspire. I remember reading a quote “Legacy is not what I did for myself it’s what I’m doing for the next generation,” how true can that be? We need to excite, engage and inspire to keep achieving and excelling the next generation of engineers. The opportunity we have to do this by showcasing the industry means everything and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve as a Branch and a YMC over the coming years!!!” TWI Head of Marketing, Mike Emmett AWeldI was also in attendance at the annual dinner and provided the following statement: “A tremendously well organised event, with a wealth of sponsors from across industry. It was a very special moment to see the young apprentices and students, being rewarded for excellence and making them front and centre of the event.” The Welding Institute would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all those involved in organising, coordinating, volunteering and executing this successful event! Check out their amazing drone footage and video of the event on their YouTube: Look out for - Members will also be able to find out more about this event and the winners in the Younger Members’ section of the next edition of our ‘Welding and Joining Matters’ Journal!

We would like to inform our Members in the Tees Valley region of the Materials Integrity Technology Transfer (MITT) initiative, a FREE business support scheme created to help small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the Tees Valley region.

The scheme has seen companies in the region gain free support with issues ranging from troubleshooting production problems, compliance with codes and standards, ensuring quality control, and integrating new processes, technologies and software.

Delivered by TWI’s welding engineers, the programme provides several days of free, globally respected, authoritative and impartial expert advice, knowhow and safety assurance through engineering, materials and joining technologies, including bespoke support to suit your organisation.

The MITT programme is open to companies in the Tees Valley area (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees) who employ less than 250 people, you can find out more at the dedicated MITT website.

The Materials Integrity Technology Transfer (MITT) project is part of the Tees Valley Centre for Materials Integrity Programme, which is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020) and Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Discover more about our current vacancies for Committee Members for Professional Board and Professional Members for Council below:

Annual Call for Committee Members for Professional Board

All Professional Members of The Welding Institute are invited to apply for one of the eight vacancies on the Professional Board of The Welding Institute. Candidates from currently under-represented groups (e.g. women, younger Members, non-Caucasian) are particularly encouraged to apply.

The Professional Board is responsible for the regulations governing individual Professional Membership and registration with the Engineering Council. It also oversees the work of the Branch Management Committee. As part of our governing arrangements, new Members are appointed to the Board each year to ensure the work of the Board remains relevant and representative of our Members’ interests.

Candidates need to complete an application form illustrating how they meet the selection criteria and outlining what they can contribute to the Board.

Appointments are initially for 3 years with a potential further 3 years if re-elected.

These posts are voluntary, but reasonable out of pocket expenses will be met by The Welding Institute.

The application form and more information can be found on The Welding Institute website, here.

Please contact the Professional Membership Office if you would like to talk to a member of the Team.

Applications should be submitted to: theweldinginstitite@twi.co.uk by 17 July 2022.

Annual Call for Professional Members for Council

All Professional Members of The Welding Institute are invited to apply for a place on Council. We welcome applications from a diverse range of social and economic groups and especially from underrepresented groups.

Applicants will preferably, but not exclusively, be current or recent Members of Professional Board.

Council and its delegated bodies are responsible for the co-ordination and strategic management and oversight of The Welding Institute group of companies. The organisation is managed on a day to day basis by a Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Board.

Applicants should have experience in one or more of the following areas:

■ Human resources, diversity, equality and inclusion

■ Health, safety and wellbeing (strategy and culture)

■ Finance (management, audit and/or risk)

■ International business and commercial development (for example legal, commercial, contractual, international trade, management of foreign subsidiaries)

■ Business governance

■ Strategic (for example information technology, cyber security, strategic development)

Candidates will need to submit their CV and a covering letter setting out how they meet the selection criteria and outlining what they can contribute to the Council.

Appointments are initially for 3 years with a potential further 3 years if re-elected.

These posts are voluntary, but reasonable out of pocket expenses will be met by The Welding Institute.

More information can be found on The Welding Institute website, here.

Applications should be submitted by 17 July 2022 via this link

https://www.twi-global.com/careers/current-vacancies#/

WELDING BASICS FOR ENGINEERS – OPTIMAL JOINT DESIGN FOR WELDING

5 JULY 2022, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (UK Time)

Following on from the successful launch of our back-to-basics webinar series with our Welding and Joining Processes Technical Group earlier this year, we are excited to announce that our Structures and Infrastructure will also be launching their first back-to-basics webinar looking at optimal joint design for welding on the 5 July.

Event overview:

Poor welded joint design and misunderstanding can result in additional costs and lower quality.

Attendees will get an insight into some of the issues associated with poor joint design, and be given guidance on:

o how to avoid problems

o when to question requirements

o how to provide the best solutions

This webinar is aimed at design engineers, draughting personnel, welding engineers, inspection and testing personnel, fabrication supervisors and fabrication planners working in civil engineering, construction, typically steelwork for bridges and buildings.

Speaker Panel and Presentations:

Julian French, Partner at Sandberg LLP

Problems associated with poor joint design

Tom Cosgrove, Consultant at Sandberg LLP

Designing optimum joints for welding

FULL EVENT AND REGISTRATION DETAILS

We recently interviewed The Welding Institute’s Southern Counties Branch to find out more about them and their Branch activities.

About The Welding Institute’s Southern Counties Branch

The Branch restarted, after a few years of inaction, on 28 April 2016 and currently has seven Committee Members and approximately 100 Branch Members, while its membership continues to grow (find out more about joining the Southern Counties Branch).

How does the Southern Counties Branch operate?

The Branch Committee organises and facilitates regular online meetings to keep in contact, network and deliver presentations. You can keep up-to-date with their upcoming events here.

How do you encourage Younger Members to take part in activities?

The Branch interacts with colleges and training organisations to inform them about careers in welding and engineering. Additionally, Adrian Simister EngTech TechWeldI is the Southern Counties Younger Members’ Committee Representative, working with our Younger Members’ Committee (YMC) to promote and aid the engagement of younger engineers in a supportive professional network, encouraging and assisting their professional and career development (find out more about our YMC).

What type of meetings, webinars and social events do you run?

All throughout the lockdowns, the Southern Counties Branch continued to deliver meetings and presentations online, something that they are continuing moving forward for committee meetings to enable more people to attend.

Within the past couple of years, the Southern Counties Branch has been delivering a range of technical talks online and, more recently, has been offering some in-person site visits and events with expert speakers from across industry, amassing over 950 registrations from both Members and Non-Members. Some of these include:

- The Welding Quality Standard for Industry - EUR ING Mike Baverstock MSc CEng FWeldI

- Southern Counties Branch AGM and talk - The Cutting Edge: The development of swords – Stephen Cater (Principal Project Leader TWI)

- Practical aspects of welding aluminium – Jan Lukaszewski BSc. MBA. C.Eng. FIET. CQP. FCQI (Technical Manager, ALFED)

- Rapid Welding site visit - Rapid Welding

- A presentation on the TWI Welding Qualifier Software - Andy Brightmore (TWI)

- Southern Counties Branch AGM and talks from Lincoln Electric and the AWFTE - Paul Bryant (Chair of the AWFTE) and Steve Parnell (Lincoln Electric)

- Site Visit to Ultramag Inspection (NDT) and Training facilities - Ultramag Inspection (NDT)

What are the benefits of joining the Southern Counties Branch and why do its volunteers support the running of the Branch?

The Southern Counties Branch Committee offered the following, “Welding/engineering is a fascinating subject and it’s talking to like-minded people who share the same interests that drives people to volunteer and join the Branch. We all have been helping the Branch for quite a few years with the aim of trying to get more people interested in the subject and career.”

From the Branch Chair Chris Simmonds BSc CEng MWeldI, “Having been involved with testing and inspection for over thirty years, I feel it very important that our committee Members can offer support and encouragement to all our Members and those engaged in the welding and inspection industry. We aim to encourage younger Members to join our Branch and offer those already involved, options for career progression and opportunities to gain much more knowledge and experience."

Branch Secretary EUR ING Mike Baverstock MSc CEng FWeldI, also noted, “I run my own company welding consultancy business, so I visit a lot of different companies and I see how short some of the companies are of skilled welders and, so, getting to new people in the industry is very important, this is one of my motivations.”

Where do you see your Branch in 5 years’ time?

The Branch Committee outlined that they see the Branch as, “hopefully a bit bigger, but this will depend upon getting younger people involved. We are also working towards introducing a welding competition for local schools to act as an introduction to welding and engineering as a career.”