IIW 2014 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2014 12

Dr. Luca Costa TMB Chair ITALY

S C I E N T I F I C A N D T E C H N I C A L A C T I V I T I E S T E C H N I C A L M A N A G E M E N T B O A R D ( T M B )

To identify, create, develop and transfer best practices for sustainable development in a sustainable environment.

a third of the Working Units involved in standardisation activities. In many cases, draft standards are submitted to working unit experts for comment or discussion. Other Units have specialist groups/sub- units working closely with ISO to develop and draft new standards. Common areas of activity are classifica- tion of welding consumables, resistance and friction stir welding, Non-destructive evaluation of welds, health and safety. One specialized IIW Working Unit provides regular reports on the direct and imminent effects of materials joining on workers’ health and safety and its impact on the environment. This is the unique forum for the exchange of information with expertise coming from different areas, such as welding engineering, chemistry, medicine. However, all Units continuously contribute to the realization of this objective via their work, notably, by decreasing the failure rates of welded joints through better weld inspection and assessment, and by reducing the use of raw materials and energy by more efficient fabrication processes. SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2014 Young professionals Graduate students and young profes- sionals also make outstanding contribu- tions and the participation of these future leaders in IIW activities is increasingly promoted and encouraged. IIW has a specific programme for this: in year 2014 a first international conference HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

for young professionals and welding was held, with a wide participation; during the annual assemblies the number of young students has been increasing significantly in the last years, with a significant numbers of contributions to the activities of Working Units. IIW Publications The IIW flagship journal, Welding in the World: The International Journal of Materials Joining, is where the results of the most significant contribution get recognition through publication and are made available to the scientific and industrial world. Papers are selected, presented and dis- cussed at the meetings of the IIW Wor- king Units, and after reaching consensus among the members, enter the peer review process for the publication on the journal. This process assures as in a in-depth quality assessment of papers. Consistently the journal has continued to grow in terms of quality, amount of papers published per issue and, mostly, in recognition and circulation. This is well demonstrated by the increase of the “impact factor” the critical measure of the scientific and technological quality of a journal, which is reaching good levels and is expected to grow even more what originally forecasted. However IIW is also active in the produc- tion of books and booklets devoted to specific matters, where readers can find a comprehensive collection of highly signi- ficant scientific content.

SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE All IIW Working Units serve as global centres of information exchange in their respective disciplines. Each unit unites experts and professionals from industry, research institutes and the world’s lea- ding universities. About 100 IIW Working Unit events take place every year, about half in association with the Annual Assembly and the remainder in intermediate sessions. During these meetings, presentations and discussions revolve around technical innovations, scientific progress and stra- tegic or standardisation issues, related to the working programmes. Knowledge is transferred and, of equal importance, strong international networks are formed. GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES Many Units pursue ambitious pro- grammes to develop IIW Best Practice, Documents, IIW Recommendations and IIW Guidelines. These documents are in great demand to industries who unders- tand the IIW logo to be a symbol of qua- lity and scientific and engineering excel- lence. They also serve as a key starting point for new international standards and new research fields. The results of this work are now a part of the common knowledge in the field of welding, such as carbon equivalent, preheat calculation methods, calibration blocks for NDT, recommendations of fa- tigue, testing methods for creep assess- ment of materials, and many more. STANDARDISATION The IIW acts and is recognized as an ISO standardisation body, with about