IIW History 1948-1958

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associations of UATI have decided to exchange all available documentary inform– ation concerning those aspects of their work which is likely to be of interest to the other members. For this reason, the IIW circulates to the other member associations of UATI its press releases and the annual reports of the Chairmen of Commissions . Apart from permanent contact with this group of international organisations, the IIW maintains liaison with the International Standards Organisation (ISO), and particularly with its Committee ISO/TC 44 «Welding »and its Sub-Commit– tees, in connexion with standardisation problems in welding. This subject is described in detail in the report of the work carried out by Commission VII (Standardisation) of the IIW (1), the meetings of which are systematically attended by a representative of the General Secretariat of ISO/TC 44 while, in return, the IIW, by sending qualified representatives, participates in the meetings of ISO/TC 44 and its various Sub-Committees. In this connexion, the results of the technical work of the IIW which are of interest from the point of view of international standardisation are considered by ISO, which uses them as a basis of discussion '"''ith a view to the preparation of international recommend– ations. In addition, ISO frequently asks the II\V to give it authoratative advice on the technical problems which arise in the discussion of questions studied within its Committees. Although the IIW's liaison with ISO is principally with ISO/TC 44, it nevertheless maintains contact with other Committees, among which may be particularly mentioned ISO/TC II « Unification of Boiler Codes >~ and certain of its Sub-Committees and ISO/TC 8 « Shipbuilding Details for Sea Navigation ». As regards international specifications, the International Electro-Technical Commission has also asked the IIW to provide it with the definitions of a certain number of welding terms which it wished to include in its collection of terms; these definitions were forwarded to it in 1956. The IIW has always been conscious of the necessity for directing its work so that there is no overlapping with other international organisations dealing with related matters. For this reason, contact was established at the approp– riate time with the «Commission Permanente Internationale de I' Acetylene, de la Soudure Autogene et des Industries qui s'y rattachent ». These contacts led to an agreement between the two organisations on the distribution between them of work relevant to both. Similarly, liaisons were established with the International Federation of Documentation in order to consider the possibilities of a concordance between the Universal Decimal Classification system (UDC) and that used in the Bibliographical Bulletin for Welding, the relevant headings of the UDC being under revision as a result of the experience gained within the rrw. Finally, the study of welding productivity problems has necessitated close collaboration between the IIW and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). In 1953, a European mission (No. 143), largely composed of members of the technical Commissions of the IIW, went to the USA to study problems connected with welding research, welding instruction and the applica– tion of welding. One of the most important conclusions reached by the mission led to the organisation, in 1955, of another mission (No. 250), this time intra– European, which was also made up to a large extent of European members of the technical Commissions of the IIW, together with several delegates from the United States m1d Canada; the purpose of the mission was to compare the possi– bilities offered by the development of welding in the following countries : - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. This mission showed how

(i) See Part II.