African Fusion

SAIW Member profile: Hydra-Arc

AFRICAN FUSION

August 2015

SAIW bulletin boar

ith many welding and inspection

stalwarts in attendance, includ-

ing Eskom’s chief welding engineer

and SAIW president, Morris Maroga;

along with board members Ben Beetge

of Sentinel Inspection; Dawie Olivier,

the SAQCC CP representative; Frikkie

Buys of Sasol Synfuels; Gert Joubert of

ArcelorMittal; Robin Williamson, an ex

SAIW president and consultant; Tom

Rice, a consultant to Böhler Udderholm

Africa; Johan Pieterse of Afrox, Joseph

Zinyana of New Age Welding Solutions;

and Pieter Venter, chairperson of the

SAIW Technology and Training boards

and a welding engineer at ArcelorMit-

tal. “Also a special word of thanks to

the SAIW staff members. Without your

continued effort tonight would not be

possible,” said SAIW executive director

Sean Blake during the welcome.

Comedy was chosen for the eve-

ning’s entertainment: “We have a sur-

prise for you tonight,” said Blake. “We

have brought, all the way from Durban,

the tallest Indian female comedienne

in South Africa,” referring to the 1.77 m

beauty, Karmen Naidoo, who is also a

qualified mechanical engineer.

Delivering themotivational address,

Gert Joubert said that graduates enter-

ing the world of the welding inspection

need to understand welding specifica-

SAIW celebrates the success of its students

tions, guidelines and rules and they have

an important responsibility to ensure

adherence to the Occupational Health

and Safety Act (OHS Act).

“The concept of weldability is com-

plex and involved,” he advises. “It

depends on material properties, pro-

cedures to be followed, metallurgical

behaviour during welding and heat

treatment, the choice of welding pro-

cesses and the competency, skills,

workmanship and knowledge applied

throughout the process of fabrication

and inspection.

“An inspector’s job is to assure the

quality of welding. To do so we inspect

weldments during and after fabrication,

using visual andNDT techniques, andwe

deploy quality systems such as the ISO

3834 –Welding Fabricators Certification

Scheme in our welding environments,”

he adds.

“In performing these responsibili-

ties, though, I urge you to develop re-

spect and understanding of welders and

the tasks they perform. A good inspector

understands the welding conditions,

knows what is required of a welder and

treats him or her as a true artisan. You

need to understand the limitations of

welding position and accessibility, have

intimate knowledge of the weld design

and quality requirements and it helps to

knowwhat is happening in the arc at the

point of welding.

“Together with the welder, you are

part of a quality team and together you

can build knowledge and experience

about the importance of proper joint

design, the control of process param-

eters and the need to always follow

welding procedures. While we inspect

and test in accordance with applicable

specifications such as AWS and ISO,

there is no substitute for following ap-

proved procedures from start to finish

of a welding project.

“Non-adherence to proper proce-

dure can kill people, cause failure or

damage, and significant downtime costs

can be incurred. Your job is to save lives,

ensure production ismaintained, main-

tenance costs are reduced and a quality

product is delivered.

“Now that you are qualified, be

proud! Go out and build your career

in this exiting engineering discipline.

You are indeed a significant and much

needed role player in this industry,”

Joubert concludes.

Gert Joubert of ArcelorMittal delivers a motivational

address at the SAIW’s second Johannesburg

graduation dinner for 2015.

Londeka Princess Mavuso receives her Level 2

Welding and Fabrication Inspector Level 2 certificate

from SAIW President Morris Maroga.

Alex van Jaarsveldt (left) and Robin Nankomar (right) photographed with their respective partners

receiving IIW Welding Inspector and SAIW Level 2 Inspector certificates.

SAIW’s second Johannesburg graduation dinner for 2015

was celebrated at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park

on July 24, 2015, at which 108 Inspector Level 1 and 36

Inspector Level 2 graduation certificates were awarded,

along with one IIW Welding Specialist qualification.