IIW History 1990-2015

Adolf Hobbacher (Germany), and the 4th Edition of Reference Radiographs for Assessment of Weld Defects by Deutscher Verband für Schwei β en (DVS), the German welding society, which were issued in 1996. 25 Both these publications were well received. In the case of the reference radiographs these had been produced using the latest digital copying techniques and were to become one of the more important sources of revenue from publications for IIW. 26 Diminishing interest in the database, noted earlier, together with a need to market the Institute’s image more effectively, was to stimulate a corresponding level of interest in the development of a website for IIW, specifically to attract a much wider audience. Reacting to the use of new technology in digital communication, the CEO of IIW’s Secretariat, Mr Michel Bramat, made a presentation in 1998 to the WG Publications to promote a project for the creation of a website at a cost of FRF 130 000. Expressions of interest were sought from a number of parties to provide resources to undertake this project. Following a review of the respondents regarding the project, the WG Publications recommended to the Board of Directors an offer of FRF 90 500, including one third of the cost going towards the integration of the database into the website. Within nine months of final approval the Internet site became functional in April 1999. However, it did receive mixed reviews during its first year of operation due to the normal problems associated with an initiative such as this. Further improvements were made to respond to criticism and a new version was launched in 2001 with an updated user-friendly navigation tool and facilities for access to both public and restricted areas of the website. The next stage was to improve the content of the website and by 2003 all Working Units were using it for the storage and distribution of their documents. With these improvements, the usage of the website went up considerably. Within two years, visits per week went from around 500 to 1 150. This was viewed as an indication of increased popularity and satisfaction in the changes made. With a marked increase in downloadable documents and with over 12 000 records in place the website was becoming a victim of its success, moderate though that was, and the increase in website traffic was starting to cause the website to crash or slow down as a result. Not surprisingly this was often due to difficulties caused by multiple entries of the same document into the database. 27 It was evident that a major upgrade would be required to keep it functioning satisfactorily. By 2007 the need for change became acute and the Chair of WG-COM&MARK, Mayer was to comment on the difficulties that faced the Secretariat and that modification of the website was somewhat more problematic than thought. As a result, in-depth discussions began with the aid of feed-back from the users of the website to improve the situation. 28 A steering committee was eventually set up to look into the development of a new, interactive website that would better respond to the needs of IIW’s members and its

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