IIW 2017 Annual Report

HERE AND THERE Working Group Regional Activities

A word from

1. Overview of NWC 2. Research and Development 3. Technology Diffusion 4. National and International Networks 5. Education, Training, Skills and Career Paths 6. Qualification and Certification of Personnel and Companies 7. Importance of Welding 8. Resourcing the Welding Related Activities 9. Non-Destructive Testing 10. Necessary Cultures future plans include: organisations b Develop Strategy: to encourage non-member countries to become IIW Members b Improve Process: to establish an Advisory Committee to evaluate applications for regio- nal activities and provide selection guidance b Add Support: to identify a WG-RA Vice Chair to ensure a smooth succession We also look forward to opportunities to work collaboratively with other organisations that could lead to working agreements similar to the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed with International Committee for NDT (ICNDT).

Mr Dan Tardic (Canada) Working Group Regional Activities Chair

This past year was a very busy one for the WG- RA. Lively discussions were held during the win- ter meetings in Paris and at the Annual Assem- bly in Shanghai. It was especially amazing to see how much material was covered by the WG-RA during these meetings. Of particular interest is the project on ‘Establishing a National Welding Capability (NWC)’, part of the IIW Project ‘To Im- prove the Global Quality of Life through the Opti- mum Use of Welding Technology’. The NWC project, started in 2013, is now at the stage where 10 IIW Guidance Notes, covering the building blocks for establishing a NWC project in a country, are expected to be available at the end of 2018.

These are:

Mr Chris Smallbone (Australia) Outgoing Chair of WG-RA

A big thank and acknowledge for the tremendous achievements of the WG-RA under Mr Chris Smallbone’s 21-year leadership. The IIW Weld Care Programme, and publications like the IIW White Paper and the IIW history publication Linking People, Joining Nations, are just some of the accomplishments under his leadership.

18 IIW - ANNUAL REPORT 2017