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THE NEW MILLENNIUM
structure of IIW, the Select Committee
Standardisation
(SC-STAND) was to play a valuable
role in the organisation of IIW’s standardisation programme through maintaining links
between the IIW Secretariat, the ISO Central Secretariat, and the principal ISO Technical
Committee on welding, ISO/TC 44. As mentioned, IIW was one of the first organisations to
be approved by ISO to prepare draft standards and submit them for voting without having a
peer review by ISO working units. Dr David Shackleton (UK), who then became Chair of
the SC-STAND, was known to be a proud supporter of publishing technical documents in
addition to conventional standards.
Time was marching on for the Secretariat, as it was for everyone else. The term of
the French Institut de Soudure’s contract as Secretariat for IIW was due to expire in 2000
amid some expectation that the Secretariat’s performance could be improved markedly.
25
A
Board of Directors Task Group (TG-SEC) was therefore formed, consisting of Braithwaite
as Chair, plus group members, Pekkari, Smallbone and Reynolds and Prof. Jan Pilarczyk
(Poland) IIW Vice President, with Prof. Lin Wu (China) added later. The Task Group gave
preliminary consideration to proposals from interested Member Societies at its inaugural
meeting in Villepinte in January 2000. The group then met again during the American
Welding Society (AWS) National Convention in Chicago on 26 April 2000. The purpose of
this meeting was not only to review the proposals from the respective organisations but also
to interview representatives of each of the organisations that had submitted bids. Included
among the interviewees was Mr Daniel Beaufils representing the Institut de Soudure.
Presentation to Daniel Beaufils by the IIW Board of Directors, including four
Past Presidents and three IIW CEOs, in Paris, February 2008